It is that time of year again when I feel like I’m racing to get things under cover to save every last bloom available.  Unfortunately, I’ve been feeling behind schedule since my trip to Costa Farms for the Social Summit back in March of this year.    Keeping me in tune with the sharing I love to do from my own gardening world my iphone has been helping me keep up with photo documenting, social networking via apps and the beloved numerous art programs keeping my creative juices flowing.  This week I downloaded Camera+ after @CathyRoss on Instagram suggested this photo capture / edit program for the iphone.  Most of the photos used in this entry have been ‘jazzed’ up with that phone app.    As I scan through the 1,000′s of photos captured in one day from my garden on my iphone I realize myself nor my garden is ready for Autumn.

2 Year Rose In September Full Bloom

For goodness sakes – I still have roses blooming out near the pond.  I think this beautiful bloom survived because she was blocked by some major call thistle weeds I’ve been neglecting to pull.  There is no doubt the bunny compost I’ve added to this bed is keeping the green super healthy.  The deer attached one of my newly planted ornamental trees we added a few months ago along this same garden.

Healthy 1/4 Acre Pond Thanks To A Dozen Spring Tilapia

The pond is totally not ready for Autumn yet.  The Tilapia we added late spring have been keeping this portion of our garden totally natural.   This image will change drastically as the leaves begin to turn and fall from that willow tree shading the water lily garden.  I’m sure the water lily blooms are doing so well from all the nuterians  the southern fish addition have been providing.   This is the first year they were totally clean and blooms every other lily pad.

Standing On The Edge Of Autumn

Plenty Of My Favorite Things Via September Harvest

My veggie garden may have been neglected this summer as far as me keeping up with the weeding but it sure is giving in September with the harvest of plenty.   Each day we’ve enjoyed loads of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, onions, just to name a few of the veggies.  I may have forget to plant the sunflowers like I had planned last winter but the zinnia’s are putting on the most spectacular show providing plenty of cut boutiques to bring to friends and into the home to enjoy.   With every basket full I’ve pulled out of the garden the thoughts of guilt our out weighted by the memory of all the time that was spent growing the seeds, spreading the top coat of manure in the late fall and all the watering that took place.  A few weeds can’t stand to that love!

Calico Betty Heads Up the Nap Crew

However my felines might have a totally different opinion when it comes to who is ready for Autumn.  Judging by this nap time image they are loving life with out a care to the world!

Are you ready for Autumn?

Silver Princess Shasta Daisy Take Center Stage

This evening I spent a few moments with my 50mm lens on my Nikon Camera in my home garden that is totally taking shape after a rough spring.  I will admit that after spending yesterday in award winning landscapes  with the APLD group I thought I would return home with hopeless envy when it came to the design in my space.   I experienced amazing landscapes with some extremely talented people from across the country while touring in the Cleveland area returning to my NW Ohio property with some creative ideas.  I captured some fabulous images that I’m anxious to share with you on my network.

When I added these yellow tomato cages for the Mighty-Matoes I honestly forgot about the yellow in the Shasta Daisies that will bloom from June to August.    Unfortunately, I didn’t see too many landscapes yesterday with veggies growing in them.

The Shasta Daisy I captured tonight reminds me of my first year of growing year-round.  This was the first perennial seed I grew in the greenhouse and I was ecstatic to see it blooming today reminding me that growing is a wonderful thing!

If you are familiar with flying on any major airline these days I’m sure you are like me and consider other sources to travel to your set destination to avoid any complication commonly experienced at airports.   A negative of flying is the dilemma of what to pack with flight safety in mind.  I’ve been reserved about sharing what I walked through security with on a recent flight back from a garden tour event.    First of all, I can’t help but think I will be put on  a ‘watch list’  with our homeland security because I do feel the items I got through security could have been a bad thing if in the wrong persons carry on luggage.  Second, it isn’t like me to brag about goodies I acquire for my gardening experience unless it involves sharing what it can do to benefit someones growing experience.  As I’m in the heat of planting season I keep thinking about what I flew home with and I can bite my tongue any longer…… I must brag!

It was a pleasure to meet up last April with some amazing garden writers at the Garden2Blog event in Little Rock, Arkansas.  We had a fabulous mini ‘vacation’ touring spectacular gardens designed by  P.Allen Smiths and spending an educational day at his Farm.  As a few of us caught cabs together  to the airport as we began our journey home it was wonderful networking about what we had experienced in the short time we were together.  We also had some awesome garden goodies to bring back home with us as souvenirs from our trip.    I must say I was the lightest packer carrying a small plan tote that can actually fit in those crazy ‘example’ of carry-on size gizmos devises at the check in line and my backpack filled with camera equipment that is shoved under the ‘seat in front of me’. It was great to be flying out of a small airport because after getting through security we all met up at the one coffee shop for a last good-bye until the next garden networking event.  Much to my surprise we all made it through the same security with the oddest combination of garden souvenirs.  I couldn’t believe I still had in my possession items the rest of the group got thrown into ‘the box‘.   You know, the box of nail clippers, tweezers and things you wonder where they go when they don’t make it through security at the airport.

One of the items that my travel friends had confiscated from them was the 9B or orange snips from Corona Tools who happen to be one of the sponsors of the Garden2Blog event.  You can find the original 9B / orange snips on display at the  CA State Citrus Museum as a tool that was instrumental in the success of the citrus industry.  I’m proud to BOOST I have one of my own thanks to security check randomness! It is hard to believe  I got it through security when  on a flight a few years earlier on this same airline I got my hair pin thrown in the box after an embarrassing scene of pat-downs in the security line.   Don’t get me wrong,  I’m willing to obey the rules and guild lines but I just can’t believe how RANDOM the security really is.

My Treasures From #G2B11

I must admit that as we sat and swapped stories about what we made it through security with I was totally wishing I had packed those yummy sugar cookies I was worried would get smashed after hearing one of the girls had them in her carry on.   It would have been one more thing I would have made it home with despite the condition it would have been in after being smashed into the over head compartment.  Another item I was surprised made it through was my hand shovel.  REALLY….. a shovel! I can’t help put wonder what would have set off the security personnel  to act upon emptying out my carry-on into ‘the box’.   I guess I will have to see what luck I will have with the next garden travel adventure through airport security.  Can you blame me for wanting to brag that I made it through and the others are shovel and snipper- LESS! < na-na-na-na-boo-boo! >

I’d love to hear your traveling story so please leave a comment below!

@BG_garden Collection Of #gardenwalk Shares

With summer weather arriving in my garden and planting  is in full swing, it is hard to fit everything in my new daily schedule.  After the unexpected and totally out of season weather patterns most of the Midwest has been left scratching their heads and a few who are throwing their hands up with frustration.  The list of what is ‘normal’ is constantly changing in my garden and networking world.  Another major out of the norm and totally not expected for this time of year  is the attendance at the Monday Night #gardenchats is up with new participants each week.  This is wonderful news for this time of year and totally unexpected because most of our garden enthusiastic are out in the garden. This tells me that many new gardeners are catching on to how easy it is to connect with others around the world using social networking.

It is @BloominChick @RedneckRosarian @agardendiary who deserve the credit for creating the hashtag #gardenwalk.  I’ve always been about giving credit where it is due on the networks as we know can be a difficult task because we all see things differently and social networking being a new frontier in the garden world.   I  noticed these #gardenchat friends sharing images from their morning garden walk and networking it on Twitter one morning last week.  I loved the connections and basically the ‘bragging’ rights to share my garden with them all from my neck of the woods.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Joining in the #gardenwalk is super easy if you have a twitter account and you are guaranteed to connect with fellow gardeners who enjoy sharing whats growing from their garden via Twitter.   Here are 3 simple steps to participate:

1. Set up a Twitter Account : HOW To’s at Twitter

2. Capture a photo with a camera  to upload onto the web.  Cell phone captures work great for this networking because your share does not have to be professional quality.

3. Send a twitter message with that image and the hashtag #gardenwalk attached in your share.

More about what a ‘hashtag’ is refer to : What’s a Hashtag on Twitter help blog.

4.I invite you to use #gardenchat in the twitter subject line when you share your #gardenwalk to connect with an established group of garden enthusiasts  on Twitter.

JOIN IN the A.M. as we tour some of the most beautiful gardens across the world – including yours on Twitter.  Please leave a comment if you are joining in the fun so we can watch for you.  Also I would love to help you if you have any questions about what we are doing so please feel free to comment here or email me.

Two Year Old Lantana Putting On A Show

It was a race to beat the storm on Wednesday as I ran out to the garden with my Nikon to capture some of the action.   First on the list was to water the greenhouse goodies and move the flats of bedding plants I had waiting to go in the new greenhouse landscape project area.   Boy was I kicking myself for spending over an hour of watering outdoor because within the  next two hours we received 2 inches of rain in 1 hour!

Iris Fall From The Heavy Rain

Walking from the back deck where the containers of lantana and hibiscus bloom I’ve been building up the wood-line garden with perennials from what has been thinned from other gardens throughout my yard. Over the past two years this garden has totally taken off in size and color.  When we first moved to the country I had only a few of the yellow iris. After a few years of thinning and giving each iris grouping room to grow the yellows in the garden have tripled.   Unfortunately, as quick as they are opening this year they are falling over from the quick heavy rain storms we have been receiving.

Yellow is My Favorite Color

With a bloom like that yellow iris in the photo above how could YELLOW not be on your favorite list?  Ever since my very first bike with the bright yellow banana seat the sunshine happy color has been my favorite.

In the wood-line landscape the newly built bird house that is attached to the top of the antenna tower we used for the wild rose shrub to climb.  If you look close you will see what most likely will be blooming next Friday for a Flaunt on Tootsies ‘Fertilize Friday’.

My First Bloom Of 2011 – Proven Winners Cherry Pie Shrub Rose

As I walk over into the split rail garden surrounding the greenhouse growing area I notice a little hint of red coming from with in the lush green.  Tucked in the green I find my first rose to bloom for 2011.  My friends at Four Star Greenhouse were totally right when they told me this rose bush would not disappoint!

Little Red Lady Bug

I don’t see many ladybugs outside of my greenhouse so you can imagine the delight to see this glimpse of red running on this Indian Mix Bittersweet  climber I have next to the rose shrub.

Mystery Native Shrub

I’ve been growing a few of the bush picture above in my landscape for well over a year.  I don’t know the name of this beautiful grower but when I brought these to my garden they were little sticks from the County Conservation Group.  These lush shrubs have to be trimmed back often because they are quick growers.  I have a feeling I will have to move them out of this landscape grouping to grow on it’s own before the summers end.

IF YOU KNOW WHAT THIS SHRUB IS…. Please leave me a comment with the answer.

Verbascum Start To Bloom

A few shades of pink start to arrive in my late May garden.

View From The Bunny Barn

Next stop is into the  greenhouse to snap a few photos of what I have yet to plant outdoors.  The image above shows the bunnies view from the rabbitry that is attached to the greenhouse.  I was anxious to get out and take a photo of those iris in full bloom.

Water The Block Floor to Keep The Temp Down

As you can see from the image above I still have plenty to do in the garden as far as getting the annuals and veggies in the ground.  While this sun was out before the storm the greenhouse was well over 100*f.  Getting the temperature to drop is very important and a major challenge.  One trick I’ve learned is to water the floor to allow the humidity to climb and the temperature to drop at any where from 5 – 10 degrees.

The Raised Beds Just Outside The Bunny Barn Are Filled With Spring

I will admit I often find myself stopping at the door to study the view in the image above.  A few spring bulbs and plenty of spring veggies and blooms are what fill these two 4′x4′ beds just outside the bunny barn door.

Iris Before The Rain

I should have titled the image above ‘ Iris Before The Fall’.   The quick heavy rain we received in the past few days has knocked many of these beautiful iris to the ground.    These are the blooms under the bunny barn windows complete with newly planted window boxes that have been recycled.

These girls are my kind of ladies – they just just wanna have fun!   I love seeing fellow garden friends getting on the hashtag (#) movement and sharing some of the most wonderful things about growing your own garden.  The Seed Keeper Company girls are living out their dreams as they travel across Ohio, Michigan and Indian sharing with their love for making it easy to organizing and grow seeds.

I THINK the happy dance is because my pond is all natural! I’ve been working double time the past week trying to get the landscape/ gardens around the entertaining area of our home ready for a very important visit.  Thrilled when I received  a DM on Twitter from my @seedkeeperco girls asking if they could swing by during their #seedkeeperpalooza tour.   We’ve been so wet in Ohio and I’ve been unable to get out in the garden early May  as much as I would have liked.  One of the major spring chores in our garden is to clean the kidney shaped 1/4 acre natural pond.  I always feel self conscious about the pond after living in town for so many years.  This time of year the water is slowly warming up after a long winter freeze and it is just getting to be the time to rake the pond from all the leaves that had fallen the weeks before the pond froze.   I will have to share with you all in detail all the interesting things you can do to keep your pond healthy the natural way after learning ourselves by trial and error the past 7 years.   Carol and Kerrie shared with me that they were ‘camping’ kind of girls and the pond reminded them of camping trips at the Lake.   The cool water on their heavy #seedkeeperco boots was totally refreshing on their feet!

OFF WE GO … on a garden cart ( AKA golf cart ) tour of my spring gardens.

These two make a great team – Carol drives while Kerrie tweets out the adventure.

While in the wooded area of our property we were reminded of the beautiful things in a natural garden and the way nature works.  This was one of the first trips with the cart back to the wooded trails for the year because it has been so wet in my ‘neck of the woods’. This property is part of what use to known as the Black Swamp Region of Northwest Ohio.   Many large split Ash trees are down this spring on the trail as their devastation from the Ash Borer bug start to become more evident.  It looks like we are going to have a few extra weeks in the woods cleaning up from natures mess as they Ash trees are now splitting half way down the tree .  Each spring we spend many hours back in the woods on our property cleaning up trash that has washed down the river that runs through this area of our yard.  The trails are mowed once a year so the cart can be driven back to little campsite /fishing spots. Carol found a great stick to help find our way!  ( photo on the left)

NO… that isn’t where Santa Claus is hiding for the summer.  Carol found my sons tree fort tucked back in the woods.

What a great spot to be a kid again!

On the Road Again….

And they are off after a fun afternoon of hanging with me in the BGgarden. (image above) I can’t wait to see what garden centers they will visit during this trip.  Be sure to follow Carol and Kerrie on their website at SeedkeeperCo.com

I love taking photos and sharing them on Twitter!  The collage above shows some of the images I shared while the #seedkeeperpalooza were visiting my garden here in Ohio.  Friends from across the country were able to communicate with us via those images during the visit.   Our friends on the west coast like @4bratz2luv @greensoil and @RedneckRosarian from Texas shared thoughts via tweets live stream!  Curious to how the HASHTAG works on Twitter and how you can communicate with 1,ooo’s of gardeners online?  Check out #gardenchat each week to see the #hashtag in action!  You can also contact me and I will try and answer any questions you may have.

CHECK OUT WHAT SEEDKEEPER COMPANY CAN do for you in the garden

I first started using the Seed Keeper kit back in Spring 2010.  It was part of my adventures to learn how to grow everything in my veggie garden from seed.  In the past year it has been wonderful watching my seeds grow easier and healthier by using this kit.  It not only keeps my seed collection organized it is a great tool to learn more about how to make my garden better.   I strongly recommend this kit to ANYONE who wants to dabble in the world of seeds.  Thank you Carol & Kerrie for providing such a wonderful tool for today’s gardener!