Jeanne S

I have a small garden but I cram lots into it, and I grow lots in pots. I supply us and friends with tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, green beans,garlic, onion and many herbs. I love gardening as much as quilting. I guess I get a real sense of accomplishment from gardening and the vegetables are organic and fresh.

Purpleprint

I finally found a solution to keeping a garden, I hired my collage son to do the hard work. Now I am enjoying salads and greens. Can't wait for the tomatoes.

Kelsie

Garden Gnome: There is a Persian poem from, oh I can't remember let's say the 10th century. I came across this perhaps 25 years ago and just love it.

If of thy mortal goods thou are bereft
And from thy slender store
two loaves alone to thee are left
Sell one and with the dole
Buy hyacinth to soothe thy soul.

Blueridge Beverly: You can fool the neighbours. I have friends that grow Ruby Swiss Chard in with their flowers. I helped a friend plant two blueberry bushes in the front, they have lovely fall foliage colours. How about a border of just chives - they bloom once a year just like other flowers. I have seen Artichoke relatives in "Designer Gardens" I am going to plant one close to the front of our new place. You can let some of the smaller chokes open as flowers. A big bold statement. I don't think I will have as much room for beds in the back yard so I am thinking of this already even tho we are in the midst of a big reno.

Blueridgebeverly

Kelsie, the blueberry bushes mixed in with a border is a great idea! I hadn’t thought of that. I did grow thornless blackberries in the backyard for a few years, but they can get pretty wild. My husband wanted them out as they were sprouting up in the yard. The two blueberry bushes I planted just didn’t do well. Not enough sunlight I think. I bet they would do well out front.

Jane Quilter

The massive rain made our garden burst. We are harvesting corn on the cob, tomatoes to die for, green beans, potatoes and squash. Good thing we have family living near us to share with. (last year our corn came in on aug 10, this year July 23)

cindyb

I love the idea of having a raised garden for the berry plants. We usually have one raised bed that we can't figure out what to put in it.

rryder

All this rain has turned my garden into a jungle! Our eggplants are unfortunately rotting before they ripen up, never had that problem before and I think it’s from the huge amount of rain we’ve gotten this summer. The beans are coming in real well and I’ve got 8’ tall okra plants that are also producing pretty well. My collards are being eaten up by the cabbage moths but they are leaving the kale alone. Have gotten some peppers, both bell and chili types, but they really prefer drier weather. Our volunteer butternut squash is producing really well- we had one for dinner last night. The cukes are done, but am just now getting flowers on the summer squash (we were way late putting it in). We’ll see if it produces anything- I stuck it in the middle of the beans this year to see if that would give it camoflage from the squash borers...oh, and we’ve lost all the paste tomato plants and a cherry tomato and one of the cherokee purples to a wilt.. but that’s ok since wekve filled the freezer with tomatoes that need to be turned into sauce when we get time and the other Cherokee Purple, Mortgage lifter and Brandywine are producing more slicers than we can eat- giving lots away to friends and family.

The weeds are growing tall and thick now- all the rain has made it really hard to keep up!

Rob

SusieQOH

We've also had quite a rainy summer. None of my things look as nice as usual.

Kelsie

I just visited a friend while we were in our old town for a medical appointment and I never even thought to ask and I have been offered a truck load of old manure. WOW!!! I am tickled pink as our "soil" is mostly sand. Looking in the back yard you can tell there is no nutrition as you can hardly find a blade of grass and even the weeds are small. Another friend with a small sheep farm has already offered a load of 3 - 4 year old sheep manure so with the two lots I think I should be all set. I had already framed in one of the beds and started to fill it with seaweed, old leaves, etc., but realized it would be very slow to build each bed that way.

Jill

It's hard for me to have gardens because I live in a wooded, private area with lots of deer and rabbits. I do have two garden spaces in our local community garden where I grow tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peas, green beans, squash and bell peppers. We had so much rain this spring and my tomatoes have suffered because of being in the soggy ground. My house is on one acre so I have lots of areas for flowers, mostly perennials. I love working in the gardens, next to quilting it's my favorite way to spend time. And it's great spending time outside.