Simple Abundance

Do you have the book Simple Abundance?
 It was published in 1995, and I've stored it under my bed only to pull it out and read it over and over. It has a thought for each day of the year- all related to child rearing, housekeeping, daily living, etc. giving you "comfort"  in what may be a crazy world.

June is filled with home & garden ideas in the book.
 I'll take a few days this month to expound & refresh some of the main concepts in the book. Follow along if you have the book, if not, no worries.

Today is June 14th: Decorating with the Seasons: Summer Houses


Here is my take on "summer houses"...

Porch sitting

Hammock napping.

Garden dreaming

Summer is much more relaxed than any season. Cut an handful of whatever is growing in your yard/garden today & put the vase on your kitchen table. Buy some ivy and shady coleus to put on your porch. We have a round "foot fan" on our porch that is perfect for hot summer evenings. 

Enjoy your summer house & let me know what you do to make it summer-y!

Blessings. 

ML

You've enjoyed the first flush of spring blooms, and noticed the blossoms beginning to fade. 
It's time for a haircut! 
Yes, pansies are famous for requiring dead heading, but they are not alone! 
My experience with most plants has been- the more you cut, the more you get!

So, grab your clippers, a trash bucket, and get to work.

Here are just a few plants that need a trim:

Knockout roses

Hydrangeas

Gardenias

Any herbs beginning to flower

Zinnias

Marigolds

Snapdragons

Ornamental sage/Salvia

Nasturtiums- cut the flowers & enjoy at your bedside

Parsley

Sweet William



See you.

ML

WANTED: SQUASH VINE BORER

WANTED DEAD

SQUASH VINE BORER

A note from a garden buddy, thought I would share

since June is when this nasty critter lays it's eggs...

Hi, Mary Louise,

My modest squash crop has been wiped out by what I suspest are squash vine borers --- maddening! Emailed Sid who responded that he is having the same problem --- he suggests Liquid Sevin and/or Kay Pittman's organic tip of planting radishes around the squash (while I appreciate organic approaches, I am suspect about this one) --- am assuming you have some squash out there with all of your other bounty --- do you have any suggestions for me should I get around to re-planting??? I seem to recall having this problem every other time I have tried to grow squash, many years ago. Also remember Daddy dusting everything in sight with white powder when I was growing up - which I assume was Sevin - which probably explains a lot!!!

Help!

Here's what I know and gathered from the UGA website:

Symptoms:

** wilted plant, think you've not watered enough

** pin size hole at base, look for SVB scat

** happens to the best of us overnight

Strategy:

** remove section of vine affected and rid

yourself of those nasty worms(larvae)

** cover wounded section with moist soil

plant will heal and hopefully develop roots

** inspect your garden daily, look closely at leaves

and especially with squash, the base of

plant

Who is at risk?

Hubbard, zucchinni, pumpkins

The SVB is not as likely to bother with your

cucumbers or melons, whew.

Blessings from the Garden.

ML

Twine

There are several items I keep handy in the

garden. Twine is one of them, especially now

that growth is exponential.

The primary function of twine or jute during

spring/summer(in my garden) is to tie tomatoes to posts.

My toms have grown as high as 8 feet, so I just keep

tying the stems to the posts for upward persuasion.

Jute, which is actually a plant, is much heavier. I used

jute to tie the "teepee" posts together...Jute is too

harsh for the delicate tomato branches/stems.

Here(below) is another way I use twine. An upside down tomato

cage with twine working its way up the cage. My first blooming

sweet peas are appreciating the support! Next up will be

Blackeyed Susan vine. Topped off by small garden pot!

Also, the twine comes in handy to provide support for peas

& beans...Here are English peas growing rampant up a trellis

I concocted...

Buy some twine at your local garden store or big box

home store.

Well,I just counted 30 tomato plants in the Home garden! WOW.

I had 9 plants last year. A LOT of twine!

Blessings from the Garden.

ML