BEE kind to your garden
Posted on November 30, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
Every gardener knows how important bees and other insect pollinators are to your garden, whether you grow vegetables, ornamentals, or fruit trees. Unfortunately, in recent years, you may have noticed fewer honeybees than you used to, not to mention all the media reports citing a shortage of honeybees. I’ve enjoyed beekeeping off and on since […]
“Lasagna” Gardening
Posted on October 31, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
My father, Papa John, as he was fondly called by his family, took great pride in his vegetable garden during the later years of his life. My grandmother was an avid gardener too, working mostly with flowers. I’m not sure which of the family lines my gardening-genes came from, but I began to really enjoy my […]
African Violets & My Mom
Posted on October 2, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
When I was growing up, my Mom had African Violets (Saintpaulia) all over our house. My worst nightmare was being told to water the violets. “Aarrgh!” I’d think. (At least I was smart enough not to voice that consideration aloud.) There were so many rules, like don’t get water on the leaves, don’t overfill the […]
Create a “Hillbilly” Garden
Posted on September 1, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
A friend and I were discussing gardening in pots and how I wished I had a bigger space for herbs. At the time, creating a raised bed was too expensive and labor intensive for me. “Have you ever planted a ‘hillbilly’ garden?” my friend asked. It turns out that a ‘hillbilly’ garden was the perfect […]
Care & Feeding of Orchids (+ Garden Help Line)
Posted on July 31, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
As a child, I remember spending my summers in Hawaii helping my grandfather and watering his many orchids. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the hours spent performing this family chore would create a fondness for orchids, albeit decades later in my Montgomery home. For most, orchids have the reputation of being difficult […]
Garden Memories
Posted on July 1, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
The birds singing outside the window sounded like they were calling me out to play even though the light was still dim. I hurriedly threw off my pink cotton nightgown, pulled on the flowered t-shirt and shorts that had magically appeared at the end of the bed and ran to the kitchen. “Good morning sleepyhead”, […]
Potatoes and Pups
Posted on June 1, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
Retiring in Montgomery, AL, and purchasing our first house in 15 years presented a number of interesting adventures. Perhaps the most amusing adventure was my attempt to stabilize the soil where the neighborhood water drain exited through the end of our back yard, under the fence, and into a large cement drain. Rain was an […]
Create a Fairy Garden
Posted on May 2, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
“Surely some small sprite will find our garden fairy home to be practically perfect in every way.” She stooped down and looked inside the broken flowerpot covered in sticks and bark. “But where are the fairies?” she asked in a slightly upset but definitely disgusted voice. The expression on her face matched the tone of […]
Late Season Pruning+Free Workshop
Posted on March 29, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
If you have not been out in the cold to prune your landscape plants and are wondering if this is even the time to do it, hopefully this information will be of help. Whether or not you should prune now depends on the plant, so be careful — not all plants should be pruned at […]
Sharing Shamrocks (& Free Help Line!)
Posted on March 1, 2016 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
March 17 is in the air, and my shamrocks are “restoring” their hardy growth, getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day. Oxalis, commonly called a shamrock plant, grows a green and purple leaf, both of which produce lovely pink and white blooms. Did you know that this special plant “sleeps” at night? Around dusk the leaves […]
