Potting Prep

Tonite I am clearing out The Shed to make room for
8 motivated ladies to come over and pot the
colossal amaryllis bulbs for the Press On Fund
as described on Tuesday.

Team Tennis has a goal of 100 to meet, and believe me,
this group is fueled by a challenge like this!



















This is the result of last year's potting effort.
Could someone tell my dear hubby that I need more room...??!!



More tomorrow.
Blessings from the Garden.
PS...All entries for "Porches on Parade" will be voted on soon...

Press On: Potting for Patrick

This Friday, a half dozen or so of my tennis buddies will gather in The Shed to pot up Amaryllis bulbs for the Press On Fund to Cure Childhood Cancer. My friend Kris has received over 1000 orders for the aromatic paper whites and the colossal amaryllis which we pot and wrap in a festive Christmas cloak.

There are several "potting party hostesses" who invite "Press ON angels" to come pot for this movement. We've surpassed the order goal of 1000, so now it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

More on Friday.Blessings from the Garden.
ML

SuperFood: Kale

(Kale:the green ruffly stuff cozied up with turnips and sweet potatoes)

I just read an article in Oxygen magazine compounded by a Facebook notice from Garden City Organics which sparked this post! Earlier this month, I described the 12 most common SuperFoods and their benefits.

It's time to conjoin the food we grow and eat. Kale hits the spotlight today as it is one of the top SuperFoods. The term "superfood" is such because of its nutrients and health protecting qualities. According to the CDC, Kale was brought to the US in the 17th Century, ended up in the South as a "poor man's food" because it is so cheap and easy to grow. Hear that? EASY TO GROW!

With this in mind, I purchased several beautiful & healthy kale plants from Garden City Organics on Broad Street.

Blessings from the Garden

ML

Holiday Planning continues...

Once again, cousin Nancy with some great ideas for those of us "challenged" by the Holidays!

I hope you are making progress with your Holiday planning!

It is not too late to make a plan. Let's get started on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at your house:

• Decide on a menu. Are you cooking everything or is everyone bringing a dish?


• Buy your turkey or reserve a fresh one


• Don't forget the Butterball TalkLine and the website for questions! http://www.butterball.com/


• Is there a special drink you will serve? go ahead & buy ingredients, strike off the list...

Away for Thanksgiving:

• Offer to bring a dish/decoration/appetizer


• Make a list of travelling items needed


• Take along early Christmas gifts to save on mailing


• Check maintanence on your car- oil change, windshield wipers, etc...


• Flight reservations?

Fall is a season for many gatherings, so don't forget the following:

• Camera with charger & batteries, check "card" to make sure it's not full!


• Hair, nail, facial, pet grooming appointments- they book up fast during holidays

Most importantly, make time for your family & friends. Enjoy this time together during the busy holidays.

Thanks Nancy!

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

Porches on Parade contest...

Impressive entries in the "Porches on Parade" contest. So far porches have been so individual and creative! Here is another from Maria in Augusta.

Maria loves the simplicity of her porch. She recently re-finished the door a rich warm dark brown which complements the fall decor.

Great job, Maria and thanks for sharing.
Remember, one front door will be adorned with an MLCHgarden full & fluffy Christmas Wreath valued at $80 (with a bow!).

Blessings from the Garden
ML

Porches on Parade...continues...

Our Porches on Parade contest for the Winning Wreath continues.
Here is a submission from Deborah Sasser of Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farm
here in Augusta...

I accidentally posted this prematurely without Deborah's "take" on
her arrangement of pumps, flowers, and gourds... Here is what Deb
has to say about her whimsical arrangement.

"This arrangement is at the entrance to my bee yard. It is anchored
by a giant coleus and the Orange Bulldog pumpkins are surrounded by
asters, impatiens, pansies, traditional pumpkins and gourds. The watering
can is in the shape of an old fashioned bee hive called a "skep". We are all
enjoying the pumpkins and the cooler weather. "

If you are hesitant to send me a pic, do it any way. I need some of your scary
Halloween stuff too!! Send your pic to mlchgarden@comcast.net

Blessings from the Garden.
Mary Louise

What's going on...

I am dependent on lists. If I ran out of index cards, I'd be in deep!

Here is a list of what's going on with MLCHgarden for the upcoming holidays...

• All pumps at my house are now $4. Getting ready for Christmas, so come on!

• "Stuffed Pumpkins" for $35, delivered on Tuesday before Thanksgiving for a beautiful arrangement on your sideboard or dinner table for Tday...filled with fall flowers, berries and very fresh greenery.

• Orders are underway for Custom Christmas Wreaths. These are full, fluffy 36" diameter wreaths delivered to local clients. This is a magnificent gift for anyone, too! Bows available on request. Wreaths are $65 & packed with beautiful fresh mixed greens.

• WOW! MLCHgarden WreathWorkshops are filling. Email registration is required. $45. mlchgarden@comcast.net



• MLCHgarden Tools Newsletter has been a great way to keep us all straight on what to do each month in the garden. Subscibe on http://www.mlchgarden.com/ at right sidebar.

My little garden business is growing, and I love it. Working on a "Augusta Gardens!" guide for "transplants and natives'". There are many people who move here from out of town because of work, so I think a "how to "guide is in order.

Details on most of the above at website...

Blessings from the Garden.
ML

Purposeful Gardening: Herbs

Spoke to Spade & Trowel Garden Club this week about Herb Gardening. An excellent question from the audience:

"If fall is the best time to plant herbs, why aren't they in the garden stores?"

Well, if you are talking herbs used mainly for flowers, they are in the stores...however, the herbs for cooking? SCARCE...I ask that question every year about larkspur, poppies, cornflower,etc...and I see Christmas trees everywhere!








I called Bedford Greenhouses here in Augusta, and they DO have perennial herbs for you...A report from Joanne...


Three different types of parsley - flat leaf Italian, triple curl and Rialto ( a new variety with a really nice flavor). We also have cilantro which does much better in our cooler months than in the summer. Great sages - normal garden sage and also three other varieties that have variegated leaves and pretty colors during the winter. Two types of thyme - lemon and English.
And of course rosemary and chives. We have a little bronze fennel and basil left as well.

Lots of fall/winter veggies too.

So, go shop!
Blessings from the Garden.
ML

Holiday Panic!

Addressing envelopes for custom Wreath orders is always illuminating for me.
The reality of Thanksgiving just days away and Christmas weeks away, puts me in high gear. My cousin, Nancy, is extremely prepared for the upcoming holidays & shared a few ideas to get ready:

Reality check -

Thanksgiving is 39 days away, Christmas 69 days and New Years 76 days!

A few years ago I got caught up in all the fall stuff with two kids in school and working before I realized that it was the week before Christmas and my tree was not up, very few gifts were purchased and looking back our Thanksgiving was pretty bland. I was all over Atlanta buying Christmas presents on Christmas Eve!! I did get the tree up with minimal decorations but was so stressed about the holidays. I LOVE holidays! Never again would I let this happen so I started looking for ideas on how to make special times enjoyable and less stressful.

Prioritize what needs to be done first.

• Any home improvements, repairs to furniture get those done ASAP. If you hire it out they get much busier the closer it gets to Thanksgiving. Going away? Make reservations to board pets or have someone look in on them. (Don't forget vaccinations need to be up to date for pets that are boarded.)

• Special wreaths, flowers or decorations need to be ordered.

• Do you have a nice vacation or family photo that would look great for your Christmas card? If not, fall is a great time for pictures outside. (Next year look for an opportunity to take a special picture during the year.) This is a great start! More later...
  

Thanks Nancy!
Blessings from the Garden.
ML

---

Week Wrap

I must be getting older, because this week FLEW by. Here's what happened in my garden world this week:

• Monday- Meeting with the Master's Garden Project committee. This is a project for the Master's Table Soup Kitchen on Fenwick Street. Decided to have a "Daffodil Dig Day", planting 800 daffodils on November 9th with the Mayor present... A good kickoff to the new Kitchen Garden we are designing..

• Tuesday- My garden club met today, and our president was out of town, so I got to be chief! We have several new members that are so pumped about being in our club, it's catching!

• Wednesday- A day to blog, catch up on email. Asked cousin Nancy to put a "guest blog" together for getting us (you and me) organized for the upcoming holidays. That post will be on Sunday.
  

• Thursday- Actually threw out a few seeds in the Home Garden, weeded a bit. Gotta get ready for the Soil Sisters coming next Tuesday...

• Friday- Back down to Master's Garden on Fenwick Street with Charles Phillips(horticulturist) to mark lines for beds and boxes. Raised beds to be delivered tomorrow afternoon- made by Eagle Scout Christian Portinga. Worked in the home garden for a couple of hours, trying to neaten up for the Soil Sisters! Off to Farm Garden, tomorrow is opening day- ugh! So much for sleeping in on Saturday morning with the four "heavy feet" walking around the cabin. Looking forward to the first fire, though. My bet is that will be tonite. So there is the week of gardening. Like you, there was so much more than that-- toting kids, groceries, shopping, LAUNDRY... I'll post Holiday to-do /countdown ideas tomorrow.

Blessings from the Garden.
ML

Porches on Parade

Well, here's one porch entry from Ginger in Columbia County...WOW!

Looks like a Better Homes & Gardens set up, huh?!

Ginger likes growing topiaries near the front door step year round for color. Here she has showcased the colorful mums tucked in with real and faux pumpkins. Her sweet hubby has had to scoop pump remains off the porch too many times, thus the faux pumpkins! Being an artist and a southern girl, Ginger painted her monogram on the creamy faux pump complementing the moss covered "B" on the front door. Fall is Ginger's favorite time of the year, no doubt!

I'll be showcasing more "Porches on Parade" in the next two weeks. Remember, there is a MLCHgarden custom fluffy Christmas Wreath at stake here. Delivered. So get busy, send me a pic. I need some spooky stuff, too!

Blessings from the Garden.
ML

Mary's Garden

Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus, is often found symbolized in meditative gardens. Her presence in the Garden brings peace and comfort. See an example of a Mary Garden below and some suggestions for flowers in the garden.

Right now is a good time to plant snapdragons(transplants), larkspur seeds(blue & white), poppy seeds, cornflower seeds(bachelor buttons, blue & white), & sweet allysum(transplants). For year round green you could plant rosemary, roses and boxwood. There are hundreds of plants devoted to Mary, but at least this gives you a start...A beautiful statue for Christmas, perhaps?

Blessings from the Garden..

ML

Traditions...

I thought I was going to get away with some simple Halloween decorations, but
my 14 year old said, "When are we really going to decorate for Halloween?".

The ladder is on the front porch, electrician called to get floodlights in
working order, and I just purchased a dozen crows...Flashbacks of
"The Birds"...

I've always decorated for Halloween, Tday, & Christmas. Looks
like I always will...
Blessings from the Ladder.
ML

Plasti-"culture" ?

The New Age of Plasticulture

For the last several thousand years, gardeners and farmers alike have dealt with the unfortunate withering of their flowers in the fall. Miraculously, it seems as though one wealthy Augusta gardener has found the solution.

What is his secret? As a Master Gardener, I have some curious speculations. A special brand of fecal matter- that of a magical Unicorn, perhaps? Or maybe a Miracle Gro product infused with steroids? whatever the substance, this garden is a fabulous caper.

In fact, so fabulous, it may be mistaken for plastic of all things!!!???

See you
ML

SuperFoods

Are you eating your veggies?

There is nothing better than homegrown cabbage, broccoli, swiss chard(above) and spinach. They taste better when you grow them! The October issue of Oxygen magazine highlights 12 (one for each month) SuperFoods. Some of these veggies have cancer fighting properties and all are packed with healthy vitamins.

According to the CDC, based on my age, physical activity and sex(female!), I should consume about 2.5 cups of fruit and 2 cups of veggies every day...Working
on getting close to that target.

I was just at Big Lots and Fred's last week and noticed an abundance of seed packets- many of the SuperFoods we can plant right now in zone 7/8. If you have children, it's a great teaching experience- so much fun to watch seeds pop out of the ground within days of planting.

It's time for planting the following:

• carrots
• lettuce
  
• beets
• spinach, collards
  
• cabbage- transplants at home garden stores
  
• broccoli- lots of transplants at home garden stores
• turnips
• swiss chard
• garlic
• blueberries/strawberries (transplants for spring/summer fruit)
  

Get your SuperFood in the ground now!

Blessings from the Garden.
ML

ps. you should subscribe to "clean eating" by oxygen

FlowerCamp

Saturday, October 2nd

It was a glorious day! Not only was the weather on target- cool breeze and sunny, but I nearly fainted to see my mother step in to the cabin! You have to realize that in 5 years of having this extremely comfortable place in the country in addition to hosting Thanksgiving there every year, my dear mama has only stepped foot on the property ONCE! Today makes twice. Am I adopted?

A great group of Campers today. One declared she thought I was going to be doing the designs for them to take home! Off to a ponderous start, these girls cranked out some truly perky(ribbon worthy!) designs. Driving home, I even saw one on a front porch bistro table!

Here's the day in pics. Thanks Marianna(photographer) for your hard work, and blessings to all you Campers from 09 & 10.... Conjuring up some new ideas for next year!

More on Facebook.
Blessings from the Garden.

ML