10.31.08
I’d Better Get Crackin’
NaBloPoMo starts tomorrow. I must be insane, but I’m trying again this year.
10.28.08
Fabulous Find: WWND?
I love this shirt.
And this one.
Who am I kidding? I want them all! 
SuperFantastico is a great site that is related to one of my favorite gardening sites, You Grow Girl. Enjoy!
10.26.08
Green Thumb Sunday: Hydrangea
Hydrangea have always been a favorite plant of mine. Growing up on the East Coast we had an Hydrangea plant that, if I remember correctly, was grown from a cutting of my paternal grandmother’s plant. Our yard was very shady, so I don’t remember a lot of blooms, but it was always a fantastic, elegant plant.
It wouldn’t have been easy to grow Hydrangea in Arizona, and it wouldn’t have made sense to grow it there anyway with so many great desert plants. No, Hydrangea would have to wait until I moved to a more temperate climate. Now that I am in Northern Virginia, I see Hydrangea of all kinds serving as landscape plants. Oh happy day!
Just before meeting friends at a local outdoor mall on Thursday, I happened upon what I believe to be a type of Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). I think this is my new favorite plant!
(Please forgive the somewhat blurry photos. All I had with me that day was my cell phone camera.)
For more information on Hydrangea, check out the American Hydrangea Society and a site by an AHS member.
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.
10.19.08
Green Thumb Sunday: Preparing for Next Season
I still don’t know what kind of tomato this was, but it sure was tasty. I’m saving the seeds for next year, so I can attempt them again.
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.its development.
10.14.08
Fabulous Find: Corn-Free Lollipops
When you have a food allergy, sometimes even the simplest things are not safe to eat. Many people are shocked when I tell them that I can’t eat something as seemingly benign as a lollipop or hard candy. Sadly, most candy is off-limits for me because of the corn syrup and/or the citric acid. I’m not sure if this is good or bad news (definitely bad for my teeth), but thanks to YummyEarth, I can now eat tasty, fruity lollipops, and you probably can too.
10.12.08
Green Thumb Sunday: Ageratum
My Hardy Ageratum is blooming!
I bought two of these last year, and this is the second bloom season since I purchased them. They are easy to propagate from cuttings, grow well in less than perfect soil (mucho clay in my yard), and are apparently a cultivated version of a local native. I’m really happy with this plant and I will definitely be taking cuttings before we move.
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.its development.
10.05.08
Green Thumb Sunday: Holly
“The holly bears a berry, as red as any blood…” but before it gets there, it’s green, and then brown. The holly outside our townhouse is currently very brown, but quite attractive.
I never would have planted this myself, but I’m enjoying watching
Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.its development.
10.02.08
My First Eggplant
The first eggplant that I’ve ever grown was eaten on Friday, September 26th, 2008. It started out looking like this:
And then it became oven-roasted eggplant slices with an asian-inspired tahini sauce. (Sorry, no after photos - it didn’t last long enough!) I think it was pretty tasty, but I’m not sure that it was actually that fabulous. I was kind of caught up in the “I grew it myself” moment, so it might have just been kind of “meh”. I couldn’t even tell you.
10.01.08
Salvia guaranitica
Several people have asked me about the Salvia guaranitica that I mentioned a couple of posts ago. I’m happy to answer individual questions vial email, but I thought readers might be interested in having the information at hand.
If you’re interested in some technical information, you can find it via the University of Florida Extension Service. You’ll see that this Salvia has a wide potential range of habitat. It is not, however, a U.S. native, so keep this in mind if you’re trying to keep your garden focus on native plants. Please note that there are several spellings for S. guaranitica. I’ve seen it also spelled “guarantica”.
If you’re interested in purchasing this Salvia, both times that I’ve purchased it, I purchased it as a mature plant from Home Depot (two different states). I’ve seen it at other nurseries, and if you do a google search, you should be able to find it easily. I’m going to attempt to grow it from seed next year, so we’ll see how that goes.
I really love this plant, and I’m glad to see that there is so much interest in it!