powdery mildew remedy

It's too late in the season for me to try this but I will definitely try it next year.  A natural remedy I read about today for powdery mildew is to mix 1 part milk with 9 parts water and spray your plants.  Repeat after each rainfall.  My zucchini and phlox plants get hit every year with powdery mildew and they look terrible.  Has anyone tried it?

Missing the monarchs

Has anyone had monarch butterflies in their gardens this year? I've only seen one - so sad.  I enjoy watching them flit around my butterfly bushes but there are  none to be seen this year.  I know there are studies being done to find out why they are missing.  I have a lot of milkweed in my yard, but if they can't find any between here and Mexico, then what good will it do?  I hope they can recover and come back next year.

Mystery plant - Is this Velvetleaf?

My friend's mother had this plant come up in her yard this year. It isn't anything she planted. I searched my North America Wildflower Guide and the closest plant I found is velvetleaf.  Is anyone familiar with that plant and does this look like it?  Is it common to just appear in your yard? Maybe the birds drop the seeds. I've never seen or heard of it before.

recycled fabric wreath - Girl Scout craft

I came up with this craft project for my Girl Scout troop because they enjoy crafts but I needed them to discuss Bronze Award ideas and come up with a project while having a craft to work on at the same time.  I wasn't sure how well 10 yr-olds were at multi-tasking.  This project was easy enough for them to work on and think at the same time.
 
It starts with a plastic lid from a whipped cream container or coffee can - any size can be used.  Cut the inside away to leave an outside rim.

We had 50 strips of material cut to fill this rim - tulle, stiff lacy fabric, any stiff fabric or even strips cut from plastic shopping bags will work. My strips were about 8 inches long and about 3/4 inch wide. I wasn't very particular in making them all the same exact width.
 
Strips are tied onto the rim by folding each strip in half and slipping it under the rim with the folded end on inside.

Bring the cut ends over the top of the rim and through the loop of the material, then pull to make a knot.

 

Continue tying strips on rim until it's as full as you'd like.  The strips can be pushed together as you work to fit more on. 

 

This is the finished wreath - I used a scrap of shiny material to make the bow.

 

 

 

This wreath is a sample I made for the girls to see what different materials would look like.  Most of them chose to mix materials together.  The beige strips at the bottom are from a plastic grocery bag.

 

 



 

 

 

It's the little things in life

It's the little things in life that count -
this is such a common statement.
It's true in so many ways - the little moments in life that might pass you by if you're not watching.  The smile of a baby, the purr of a kitten.  The brief scent of flowers on a summer's breeze or the smell of new fallen snow.  
We are all so busy in our lives, we don't stop to "smell the roses."  How many little moments pass us by without us noticing?  
I love noticing the little things in life, but I also love the little, miniature physical things you can buy or make.  Doll house furniture, miniature fairy gardens, anything little captures my attention.  
These little colanders were a Christmas gift from my daughter. She knows me so well.  I have them on my kitchen window sill where I take pleasure in seeing them every day.  I even use them!  They're great for rinsing a handful of strawberries, or grapes. Or to use as a tea strainer, or set tomatoes in to ripen.  I just love them!!
What little things in life do you enjoy? 
 

Cold but beautiful morning in Oswego, NY

This morning was one of those snow-crunching, lung-burning, clear, sunny, and COLD mornings here in Oswego.  The temperature was -1 at my house, which was pretty warm compared to other communities. Lake Ontario keeps us "warm" in the winter and cool in the summer.  Fortunately, I had my camera in my purse today. On my way to work I couldn't help but make some detours to take some morning pictures.  The Varick Dam, on the Oswego River, was breathtaking. The sun had just come up and mist was rising off the river just below the falls.  
The pictures are beautiful but also a bit eerie looking.

It was so cold, the steam station started up today. The only time we see it running is in extreme cold or heat.  It was stunning against the gray-blue sky. You can see where the sky was darker out over the lake - behind the stacks, where there was a band of snow.

 

strange weather

3 weeks ago on Sunday we had about 2 ft. of snow and temperatures about 32 degrees. We had a nice sledding party - perfect winter day.
2 weeks ago on Sunday we had 60 degree weather. Snow melted and I was outdoors cleaning up matted down leaves that had blown into my yard this past fall.
This past Sunday, we had 30 degree temperatures but with wind gusts up to 60 mph.  Crazy, I tell ya!!  The wind blew over the outdoor cabinet I keep my flower pots in - many of which are clay pots from my grandfather's greenhouse.  I bet they are all smashed to pieces.  I have a cement block and a cement paving stone in the bottom of this cabinet to keep it from tipping over.  Guess that didn't work!! 
 The temperature has dropped to single digits and we have more snow today so I won't be going out anytime soon to check out the damage.

Re-purposed suitcase cold frame

Has anyone seen this use for old suitcases?  I saw it on the Backyard Diva facebook page.  How many old suitcases have you passed up for $1 at yard sales?  This didn't have instructions with the picture but I found the directions online at this site _ http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomandemma/sets/72157622462783382/with/3957266675/

How do you survive a snowy winter?

Last year we had about 2 snowy days - very unusual for an area that normally receives about 200 inches of snow each season. So far, we've received about 24 inches.  So, what would you do - hibernate or play in the snow?  I'm tempted to hibernate but I know that leads me down the road to depression. A sledding party is what we need!  Sunday was the perfect day - temperature was about 35 degrees, a few snowflakes in the air.  We invaded my parents back yard, invited friends, built a fire (and a snowman), cooked hotdogs, drank hot cocoa.  (and then I went home and hibernated for night.)  I find that I survive winter better if I force myself to get out of the house (other than going to work.)  I get my groceries after supper, attend meetings, and play in the snow.  

I'm looking forward to this weekend. The weathermen are forecasting a January thaw - it may get up to 50 degrees.  I guarantee people will be out in shorts. Not me! But I will be out taking walks and soaking up some fresh air.

January hibernation

Christmas trees and decorations are down, shopping, wrapping, cooking, baking - over. Now is the time of year to relax and work on winter-time hobbies. As my grandmother always said - January and February were her vacation times. There's no gardening to be done and no holidays to prepare for.  I spent November and December making wreaths for our tree farm. My niece apprenticed with me this year and did a great job. We took some of our wreaths to a craft show.

My current project is decorating an egg. My aunt was an egger - someone who decorates eggs. She passed away last year and I inherited her supplies. I've only had time to complete one egg. Regretfully it was after she passed. I took classes with her 40 years ago. She continued learning - I got married and had children!  Now I'm re-learning.  I'll post pictures as I progress.

First snow confusing my flowers

We received our first snow of the season. Our area only received a couple of inches while 40 miles north received 2 feet.  Good for them!!  My flowers are still in bloom, although maybe they are just "frozen" in time.  This time of year is confusing for them. It could be 50 degrees or 20 degrees. Sun or snow or rain.  All in one day. I will continue to enjoy the color in my garden until it is completely covered with snow.

Wednesday Ramblings - Hurricane Sandy, Alyssum, and more

Good news, Hurricane Sandy didn't do anything here - just another windy day.  2 sections of my neighbor's fence did fall onto part of my flower garden, but I had an old metal step-stool there and an old wooden chair that broke its fall so it didn't destroy any plants.  The wooden chair is history. Good thing I only paid $1 for it at a garage sale! My heart breaks for everyone in Sandy's path who've lost everything.

The following is a verse from my children's story "The Moonlight Garden" about a stroll through a flower garden bathed in moonlight -

Clumps of white alyssum, swirling around our feet in waves of glowing mist, guide us down the garden path. The smell of sweet cotton candy floats up to greet us. 

My alyssum is still blooming, although a bit more buried in leaves than when I took this photo.  I have not had a hard frost yet at my house despite some morning temperatures in the high 20's. 



This weekend begins my marathon month of wreath making.  I've been "grooming" my niece for the past few years on how to make them and she will be helping me this year.  Besides selling them at our family Christmas tree farm, we have signed up for a craft show.  She's 10 yrs old and very excited at the prospect of earning her own money.


                                Stay warm and enjoy the busy holiday season coming up!

Last of my flowers bracing for the "superstorm"

Our weather Thursday and Friday was wonderful. It's hard to believe that an historic "superstorm" is headed our way. I can only hope we are far enough on the outskirts to get a mild version.  Rain and 50 mph winds are predicted, nothing we haven't had before.  But what will it do to the rest of my flowers?

begonias are still going strong

Coleus looks beautiful against the yellow leaves of my hosta. I took a few cuttings to root.

Feverfew is re-blooming with more blossoms yet to open

This is my favorite mum.  I don't know the actual name of it - I get many of my plants from friends and the original names don't come with them. I should pick a bouquet of these and bring them to work before the wind demolishes them.

Jupiter's Beard and rust-colored mum

2nd blooming of lavender, alyssum doing great now that the hot, dry summer is over

miniature rose bush hanging in there

Climbing roses still working their way up the arbor

Turtle head not done yet

Morning glories and snapdragons

I let my morning glories come up wherever they want, which is all over my yard. Occasionally I have to pull some out when they threaten to strangle another plant. It's such a joy to go out in the morning and wander about looking for their pretty little blossoms greeting me with the morning sun. They have migrated to my back yard and are now growing in with my raspberries. That could become a problem - I'll have to stay on top of them next year.

Speaking of raspberries - look at what is still growing in my yard!  I've been picking and eating them right at the bushes - no chance of them making their way into the house.

For all the east coast bloggers - stay safe and dry the next couple of days.

Fried Green Tomatoes

The weatherman said it was going to freeze. Here was my dilemma - I live so close to Lake Ontario, it was possible we would stay above freezing while 1 mile inland might freeze - so do I take my chance on not freezing and leave my tomatoes on the vine or do I pick them? 

  


Then comes the question - what do I do with all those green tomatoes?  I could let them ripen indoors, sure they'd turn red but they wouldn't have any flavor. They'd just be a tasteless red thing in my salad - like those things we use all winter just to add color to our salads. Then I got an Epiphany - FRIED GREEN TOMATOES!  YUM

I forget to make these all summer, or maybe I just don't want to pick my green tomatoes. I'd rather pick them ripe and slice them into a sandwich.
Here's how I make my fried green tomatoes:
Fried Green Tomatoes
mix yellow cornmeal with spices (I like salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano)
slice tomatoes about 1/4" thick
dip tomato slices in beaten egg, then dip in cornmeal mixture
fry in a little bit of hot oil until crispy on each side
serve with a dab of mayonnaise

And there you have a delicious end-of-summer treat when the weatherman says your garden is going to freeze - oh and by the way, mine didn't freeze.  I left a few tomatoes out there but they are still green.

Epsom Salts for your garden

I've been reading a lot about using Epsom Salts in your garden on other blogs so I decided to share what I've been learning. They aren't just for sore muscles anymore!
I've used them on my green peppers for many years - I never knew why they were good for them, I just heard that they were.  Well, here's why:
Epsom Salts are magnesium sulfate. Magnesium and sulfate provide many benefits to your plants

• helps seed germination by strengthening the plants cell wall
• helps the plants produce chlorophyll
• helps plants absorb fertilizer such as phosphorus and nitrogen
• many gardeners believe using Epsom Salts make their plants bigger and greener and produce more flowers

How to use:

• Mix 2 Tablespoons into 1 gallon of water. This can be used to water potted plants, including houseplants, and outdoor plants in the garden once a month.
• Mix 2 Tablespoons into 1 gallon of water and use in a sprayer to water your plants.
• Before setting plants into the ground, put 2 Tablespoons of Epsom Salts into the hole or sprinkle 1 cup per 100 square feet of  garden over the soil and work it in before planting.

Tomatoes tend to become magnesium deficient during the growing season resulting in yellowing leaves and less fruit production.  Water every 2 weeks with the Epsom Salts mixture or work 1 Tablespoon of Epsom Salts per each foot of plant into the soil around the base of the plant.

Peppers also suffer from magnesium deficiency. Treat as for tomatoes but feed twice a week.

Roses benefit from feedings of the Epsom Salts and water mixture.

Shrubs- work 1 Tablespoon per 9 sq. feet of shrub into the soil over the root zone.  Repeat every 2 weeks.

Your lawn can also benefit from spraying with the water mixture or putting Epsom Salts in a spreader.

I'll have to wait until next spring to give this a try. It seems like a no-fail way to give your plants an all-natural, low-cost boost.

Wedding guest basket for reception bathrooms

My nephew is getting married soon and my sister wanted some guest baskets in the bathrooms at the reception so I volunteered to put them together.  My daughter and I had fun roaming the store aisles looking for anything that someone might need in those little "emergencies" that pop up.  
Included in the girl's basket are:
hairspray, deodorant, feminine pads and tampons, combs, static guard, band-aids, Tums, dental floss, mini disposable toothbrushes, Advil, nail file, hair scrunchies, clear nail polish, tweezers, wet wipes, and a  lint roller. The men's basket has the same items minus any "feminine" stuff.  
Each bathroom will get a can of air freshener and a box of tissues. The girl's bathroom will also get some pretty smelling soap and hand cream.

I lined the baskets with fall fabric. With the girl's basket, I cut a large circle of fabric and let it hang over the sides and glued a fall ribbon around the outside edge, finishing with a big bow.  For the men's basket, I folded under the edges of the material and hot glued it to the inside edges of the basket.

I'm joining A Delightsome Life's A Return to Loveliness party this week.  An early morning paddle on Nick's Lake in Old Forge, New York always brings loveliness to my life, and peacefulness, calmness, and happiness.  Although I don't like summer leaving us, a trip to the Adirondacks in the fall always makes for a joyful, restful camping trip.  This picture was taken last year. We aren't able to make it up there this year and the leaves are at peak right now.  I'll have to be content with memories of years past.

Join in on the party here - A Return to Loveliness

Green beans - who knew?

While walking around my yard the other day, I found a green bean bush I hadn't yet pulled up. There were still beans on it in various stages of life. I picked a couple and ate them on the spot but then I picked one that had dried and turned white. I split it open and found to my wonderment - dried beans! Now, it makes sense that if you leave the beans on the bush long enough they will dry - but I've never heard of anyone cooking the dried beans - or do dried green beans go by a different name?  I don't know why this discovery surprised me, I'm an analytical thinker so I should not have been surprised by dried green beans.  Things need to make sense to me and this makes sense!  I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about them - have you ever used dried green beans or do you manage to eat all your fresh beans? Maybe they turn into magic beans and grow like Jack's beanstalk!

tomatoes and salsa

Like everyone else, I have an abundance of tomatoes. Fortunately, the blight has not hit my plants yet this year.  How cute is this little red colander?  It was a birthday gift from my daughter. She picked up on my fondness for it when we were at T. J. Maxx.

Along with all my tomatoes, I picked a bunch of green peppers and got some huge bulbs of garlic from my Dad. I was also given a bag of onions and I had some leftover corn on the cob. Put all those together and what do you get?  SALSA!!

I cut everything up and put it in my crockpot, set it on low and let it simmer for about 4 hours.  After it cooled down, I strained off most of the juice (which I made vegetable/hamburger soup with) and froze my salsa to enjoy this winter.  For now - I will eat fresh, uncooked salsa!

A perfect moonlight garden night

Last night's full moon and warm temps made for a perfect moonlight garden night.  I wasn't able to get outside until 11pm. I wandered through my gardens in the moonlight, deadheading some flowers. I sat and listened to the multitude of crickets chirping and enjoyed the warm summer breeze brushing against me.  Unfortunately, I had to get up very early this morning otherwise I would have sat out for a much longer time.  Nights like that are what inspired me to write a children's story titled The Moonlight Garden.  Here is the very first paragraph of my story -

On warm summer nights with the moon shining bright, gardens magically come to life. There’s music and dancing, light shows and more. Come with me into the garden with its many wonders to explore.

Now if I only knew how to draw better so I could illustrate it with the images running through my brain!