Passiflora lutea

 A smaller relative of the much more common Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), Passiflora lutea is another beautiful native Southeastern passiflora -- much more delicate than its more assertive congener!Passiflora lutea flowersSo I was delighted to see it thriving on the porch railing, without the...

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Back in the Piedmont

A quick trip back home to the Piedmont found an overgrown garden (which I expected).  Even though it's been a bit dry, there are weeds in all of my vegetable beds.  There's an ancient dogwood that's finally giving it up, but it's not entirely unexpected.I harvested some (very small) fingerling potatoes, which I'll be eating for dinner this evening, and there will be more to come, as I clean...

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6 reasons to use pine needle mulch in edible gardens

I use pine needles in between my wide rows in the edible gardens.Here are some of the reasons for using pines needles in wide-row edible gardens. (Read my post "Wide row planting & trench composting" for the details on this planting method.)Pine needle mulch:1) does a good job at limiting weeds.2)...

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Contemplating fall

It's just the end of July, and I'm harvesting lots of tomatoes, and hoping for a few squash and more eggplants, but I'm thinking about fall, too.  The woodchuck has made inroads on the bean vines, so maybe I'll still get a few (from admittedly very late planted vines), before the end of warm weather,...

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Slugs, woodchucks, and other gardening conundrums

A brazen woodchuck went across the front of the house this afternoon, undoubtedly heading toward the beans, as I was reading on the couch (looking out).  Woody, our Golden is totally uninterested, of course, but I managed to rouse my gardening companion to help chase the woodchuck back into the...

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Harvesting corn: Down on the farm

A guest post from my grandson Weber who is working on a farm in Delaware this summer.   Summer at Magee Farms: Part Two (Summer at Magee Farms: Part One) Hi everyone – I would have sent in another post sooner, but once we started the sweet corn harvest, I have been working 12-hour days and...

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Nocturnal symphony

Coming upstairs to the main floor just now, I was surrounded by the nocturnal symphony, of field crickets and other night-singers.It's loud, and in full swing now.A new neighbor, across the street, was marveling last night about her first sighting of fireflies when she came east.  Add to that the night songs, and we have everyday magic.Bumblebees and other flower visitors are coming to the Liatris...

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Kohlrabi

Hi kids, each year I feel like I grow the same vegetables over and over again, although they may be new variations of them, they are still the same thing. I wanted to mix it up this year and try something a little bit different, Kohlrobi. Now back when I lived on the farm we grew Kohlrobi and it...

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Gardens, nurseries and pollinators

As a gardener who favors native plants, pollinator-friendly plants, and generally "plants that work for a living," I always enjoy visiting gardens that support flower visitors, whether they're cottage gardens full of nectar- and pollen- rich plants from wherever, or native meadow gardens.I loved visiting...

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Terrible taro and other invasives

The taro removed from the bulkhead garden. Removing invasives, sooner rather than laterJust this last April, we redid this weird bulkhead space to fix a slumping problem. At the time, I thought I'd removed all the taro roots and corms (Colocasia esculenta) and the soil we used to fill in the space was...

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