Gardening has long been a struggle for me

For the past 20 years of living in Arkansas, I have dreamed of a bountiful harvest. Every year, I begin with more optimism than anyone could ever hope to muster. In fact, from the time the leaves start to fall from the trees, I am stricken with Spring Fever, anxiously awaiting the coming of spring, my very favorite time of the year.

From reading a lifetime of gardening magazines, watching You Tube videos and television programs, trying plants and cuttings from friends, and having pretty good success with house plants, I have really tried to grow pretty flowers and tasty vegetables, but with little success.

I have planted beautiful gardens only to have them produce few flowers and even less vegetables. I’ve planted spring bulbs, perennials that never show up after the first year, and annual flower seeds that never get more than a few pair of true leaves. Something always happens along the way. Animals are a big problem. The deer, which I love to watch, like to eat nearly everything I plant. They are brazen, like the deer I saw on my front porch munching on a pot of petunias. Raccoons, squirrels, and armadillos, not to mention the three stray cats that have adopted me, dig up tulip bulbs, hyacinths, lilies, etc.

I’ve tried composting all my kitchen scraps. I never understood why they seemed to break down so quickly until one day I looked out the window and saw a family of foxes munching on a cantaloupe rind. I still compost sometimes, but realize I will never be making dirt. Admittedly, I think I’d rather give in to buying compost and still feed the foxes. I love watching them.

I’ve learned that soil is a problem, so additives are always necessary. The many trees have taken most of the nutrients out of the soil. And, of course, there are too many rocks. Trees block out sunshine that just the year before was not a problem. Too little rain…On and on, there is always something. I’ve tried to remedy each problem as it came up.

This year, as always, I will anticipate that first mouth-watering tomato from my own backyard.

As previously mentioned in another post, I took a trip at the end of March to celebrate my mother’s 95^th birthday. I had a wonderful time, but was anxious to get back to planning my garden. Then I got sick, some sort of a stomach bug. It seemed to last longer than it should. I just wasn’t bouncing back as quickly as I’d wanted to. But once the antibiotics were out of my system and I finally did get a little energy, my enthusiasm came roaring back.

I had lots of yard work to do, but I was ready. Outside chores had really suffered during my late husband’s illness. He died in the spring last year and I didn’t even give the garden a thought. But this year, I was bound and determined to get the property looking like there were actual people living here and not just animals playing in the tall grass and weeds. I hired a yard guy, who came once. It just didn’t work out.

So I got to it all myself. While trimming some bushes along the sidewalk, I had my first ever encounter with poison ivy. I knew what it was, and I took precautions. I disposed of my gardening gloves, washed my hands and arms with hot, soapy water, even though I was sure I hadn’t touched it. I put my arms inside a garbage bag as I pulled the plant and turned the bag inside out, careful not to get it anywhere near me.

Well, that didn’t work because my right upper arm was covered with red raised bumps and blisters that itched profusely. I used my favorite essential oils, but had to reapply often. I won’t lie; it was pretty miserable. Finally, after about a week I could stop tearing at my skin. Oh boy, that stuff is nasty. Needless to say I am not a fan of poison ivy. And I thought ticks and chiggers were bad – well they are bad – but this stuff!!!

Once healed, I thought I was in the clear to get outside and start working on the garden. I purchased some tomato and pepper plants, tending to them lovingly until time for planting. Finally, I added several bags of soil to the raised bed my husband made for me years ago and prepared a few pots.

I was pretty excited to get my plants in the ground. But the fates stepped in once again as I came down with a nasty respiratory infection. The last thing on my mind as I breathed with the help of an inhaler, was gardening. Gradually though, I started feeling better and was able to nurture my little garden space.

I finally feel good again. I am anxious to enjoy that first tomato of the season, pictured above.

My hot pepper plants are already producing beautifully and I have eaten a few Black Cherry Tomatoes.

I even had a few phlox that I planted last year put on a pretty show for the first time.

High hopes are in the offing. I got a late start but this might just be the best garden I have ever had, though it is early yet and time will tell.

Admittedly, I think I just got lucky. We had lots of rain at just the right time and temperatures have been great. It is now the end of July and there are lots of flowers on my tomato plants. Even the house plants I bring outside each year are doing well, which makes me pretty happy.

Because this is Arkansas and two crops are possible, I added a few cucumber seeds and squash seeds from last year.

I even planted an herb garden. Things are looking up around here and that makes me very happy.

 

Gardening--I might as well laugh...

My green thumb has to be a recessive gene, because I have more trouble trying to grow food here in Arkansas than anyone should have to. I keep trying though. One day I am going to figure this out and will have the world's greatest crops to eat all summer, have a pantry filled with canning jars and a freezer brimming to capacity. At least that is what I dream about.

Granted, this year, I didn't put much effort into it. Since my husband, John had a stroke a year and a half ago, I've been relegated to chief household chore meister, cook, therapist, and animal tamer--we have cats. Truthfully, I'm lucky to get the yard mowed. I did however, get a container garden going on the deck. I planted some tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and a couple of flowers. The result is, as always, a mixed bag.

This pot of Basil, that I shall call "Count," fills a huge 20" pot, shown left, with its intoxicating scent, is attractive all on its own. It would be a success story for anyone, but the beauty of it is, I didn't do a thing. This was last year's garden plant, wintered over inside. The plant died--I have very little luck keeping Basil growing all winter. When I cleaned my sun porch this Spring, I placed this pot on the deck. The seeds that had fallen previously began to sprout and this is the result. I just love how it turned out.

I think it is time to make a little pesto, yes?

You can't get much more neglectful than this pot of Bermuda grass, at right. I call it "Shorts." I actually hate this stuff because it invades every garden and tries to wipe out every plant I have ever dug into what little soil I have.

This stuff is a scourge, for sure, but doesn't it make a pretty plant when it is contained in a pot?

At least that was my thought.

I have no idea what was growing in this pot before. I suspect a tomato plant, but whatever it was, it is long gone.

Shorts will be having an abortion the moment I see seeds form. And, it will be cremated in the Fall. But for now, I kinda like it.

One of my success stories, except for last year, has always been my favorite Serrano peppers. This year is no exception.

I just love these things. The heat is just about perfect. They might be a touch hotter than jalapenos, but it is a different kind of heat. And, they have such a wonderful flavor when cooked. They make delicious salsa, taco seasoning, and can be added to chili, or any other tomato-based dish.

This plant, "Peppy" like Count, is from last year. I dug it out of the garden and brought it indoors. I got a pepper or two while it was inside. It was really happy when I brought it out in the Spring, once it was warm enough. Peppers don't like the cold, so I was careful to monitor the temperature before I subjected Peppy to his new environment.

I think he liked it, because almost immediately, he started growing flowers and making babies.

And then there are the tomatoes, the one thing I really want to grow more than anything. For some reason, I am just unable to make it happen. This is one of several I have in pots on the deck. Thank goodness for the farmers in the area that are much more skilled than I. Only once in the 11 years that we've lived here have I canned tomatoes. A friend, who is no longer with us, was overrun with tomatoes and donated to my cause.

These pictured above happen to be Black Cherry tomatoes. The plant was doing really well, growing some beautiful fruit that was just nearing its ripening phase when I saw a rotten varmint squirrel carrying off the one I had been eyeing for weeks, in its fat little cheeks. This literally means war. I've begun playing Annie Oakley with a BB gun and mostly I just scare them...so far! As much as I love little animals, I see squirrels as evil thieves.

Anyway, a little fertilizer has encouraged this plant, "Tommy" to begin again. I still have high hopes for my garden.

A green bean plant seeded itself in the garden, which I have totally ignored this year. I've harvested one bean from it. There are lots of flowers though, so it behooves me to keep my eye on it.

And then, there's always next year.

Simplify

One word exemplifies my philosophy; simplify.

Though I already was a plant-lover, maintaining about 30 of my own house plants in what was then my small apartment,  I learned so much from this man, whose shows I never missed. When John and I bought our first home, I couldn't wait to plant a garden.

This isn't new for me now that I'm in the autumn of my life. I've never claimed to be a minimalist; that is, I really like 'my stuff,' as the late, great George Carlin often joked about all the worldly possessions a person gathers in a lifetime, in one of what I consider the funniest stand-up routines ever. But I do prefer a simple life.

I have never figured that bigger was better. It is just bigger. I've never liked the drama even though I rather enjoy problem-solving. I do not like, and will sidestep at every turn, creating them.

I had an epiphany this morning, as I was watering my plants. There could hardly be a more simple task. But this Tuesday morning, with no plans for the day except to get caught up on some chores--at my own pace--, and the sun shining brightly through the windows, I realized how much joy I felt in doing this simple task.

My life has been complicated of late, not of my own doing. So, those simple, moments of pure joy, mean all the more.

I have always been a hobbyist of some sort, whether it be quilting, crocheting, writing, or whatever. I have always loved plants. I suppose it is in my DNA.

My mother had house plants. My father liked to garden. When I was very young and my grandmother would steal me away to spend the weekend with her at her spacious three-flat in Chicago, it was always my job to water her plants. I guess you could say my thumb has history of being green.

Grandma had lots of cacti and other succulents. My mother had beautiful African Violets. I love them all. With the exception of the Bermuda grass that invades my gardens outside, I love everything that grows.

When John and I got married, we honeymooned in Florida. On a Saturday morning I was watching television; it was an episode of Crockett's Victory Garden on PBS. It was the first time I had seen it, and was immediately hooked. I fell in love with Jim Crockett and so admired his gardens and method of sharing everything he knew about raising both indoor and outdoor plants.


I also liked to grow roses. I recall one day a lady walked by. I was outside pulling some weeds when she stopped by to admire my roses. They really were incredible, although I don't think I had very much to do with that. I had purchased nine hybrid tea roses from Jackson & Perkins. A cold killed them the next winter, but they were lovely. I haven't bought a rose since then. Perhaps I should give it another try.

Whatever the endeavor, I believe it is the simple things that bring the most pleasure. So, the word of the day, every day, for me is "simplify."

Time for gardening

The garden is finally planted. All the doctor visits are out of the way for at least six more months, John is doing well at physical therapy, and my energy level is picking up a tad. Rarely do I wait until May to plant my vegetable garden, but this has been the year from hell. Hopefully, things will turn around.

I always start my gardening tasks with the highest of hopes only to have them dashed when one or more of a gazillion things defeats my efforts and deflates my dreams.

Perhaps this will be the year that all my efforts pay off. I hope to so many tomatoes that I exhaust myself cooking and stirring and canning and eating a bounty of delicious, juicy, heirloom tomatoes. I hope to have so many that I get so sick of fresh salsa and the sweet fragrance of basil mixing with tomato juice that runs all the way up to my elbows.

I know it doesn't look like much right now, but this little raised vege bed holds all the promise I can muster. It still needs a little fencing around it, but since Mother Nature is watering this morning, the fence will have to wait. I doubt the neighborhood critters have even noticed yet. I must get to that chore soon, however because the animals have no mercy when they are hungry. In addition to several heirloom varieties of tomatoes, I've planted my favorite Serrano peppers, yellow squash and cukes along with green bean seeds.

Gardening in the Ozarks is not easy, but I am determined. 

I also planted the herb garden. What a mess that was. Note the pile of leaves and 'vinca that ate Arkansas' at the top of the pic. I'm growing lots of basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon verbena, lemon balm, last year's chives, one lone garlic plant that popped up out of nowhere, and the yummy asparagus that I enjoyed earlier this Spring from seeds I planted three years ago.

While these are not great photos, I suspect they will get better as the plants grow. Even at this early stage, they do represent high hopes. There can be no bigger thrill than growing, nurturing, and consuming fresh, wholesome home grown food.

I used to have a green thumb, but I never realized how easy it was to grow a garden in the rich topsoil I became accustomed to in Illinois. A bountiful harvest was nearly effortless. But that was before moving to the Ozarks. Things here are a little more labor intensive. Admittedly, I've had little success since living here. Whether it is soil, water, drought, too many bugs, plants too close together, the deer, rabbits, squirrels, skunks, raccoons, possums, and armadillos, eat that the plants, each year has been a learning experience. Perhaps this will be the year!

Autumn reflections

Days are getting shorter. All the windows in the house are open and gentle breezes are wafting through the house. I feel like I can breathe once again. I love the fresh air. The air conditioner is getting a needed break.

The hot, humid weather of summer has given way to Autumn's cooler temperatures and low humidity. It is positively beautiful outside.

It is time to reflect on the summer.

We've had plenty of visitors this year. It is always a thrill to enjoy the wildlife.

After all, we recognize that we moved into their habitat.

We are honored to share with them, although I do believe they took a little unfair advantage this year, resulting in our dismal gardening feats. In fact, chalk up the summer of 2014 as a total bust.

While these young bucks were just passing through, it was the  rest of the family that seemingly caused all the problems. 

These resident fawns, and their mother, who didn't accompany them on this particular jaunt, were the real culprits in our garden failure.

They had a voracious appetite and ate everything in sight. Sometimes I caught them and could scold them until they moved away, but sometimes I didn't. From the Mimosa sapling to the cone flowers, petunias, geraniums, and everything else we planted, it was open season on greenery at our house.

My vegetable garden didn't fare much better, as we had planned to install a new picket fence around the raised beds, but never got around to it. In addition to the deer, the squirrels picked the tomatoes clean long before they ripened. Even the plants in containers on the deck didn't have a chance. The total lack of rain didn't help things either.

When all is said and done, it was not a good year.

Just the other day I went out to plant some fall perennials only to be eaten alive by chiggers. This is never a pleasant experience! I spent an entire week of absolute misery with all the home remedies I could find. The only thing that really works is Benadryl and time, and scratching. 

I'm happy to report that indoors life was so much better. In addition to revamping the sun porch, as previously mentioned, I also finished a quilt I've been working on for more than two years.

The entire year is rapidly coming to a close. It goes without saying that time is moving way to swiftly these days.

Sadly, some of our best friends--the hummingbirds--will probably be moving on soon. This little guy is likely one of the last hummingbirds we'll see for a while. Looks like it is time to make more food; now is not the time to run out since they will need all the energy they can get before their long journey southward.

We've already seen some migratory activity as the Starlings from the north stopped at our bird feeders.

Twice every year, we see an abundance of these. They are very animated and make their appearance obvious. Their  chatter is so loud in the woods that it is as if the trees are talking to one another. The first time I experienced their 'landing' I was amazed, by the shear number of them.


I dread the winter coming, but anticipate a beautiful Autumn. There really is no time like Autumn in the Ozarks. It is almost as exciting as the Spring.
Oh, I think I feel a little Spring Fever coming on!

 

Gardening can be a challenge

Springtime Azaleas 

One of my favorite summertime tasks is watering the gardens. That is a good thing, because it never seems to rain at our house. I cringe when I hear news of flash flood warnings, 30 miles to the north or south of us. Here, nary a drop. This lack of rainfall is becoming habitual. We sure could use the rain.

While watering is my favorite chore, calling what I have 'gardens' may be a misnomer because since moving to the Ozarks, I have been completely garden-challenged. I used to pride myself on having a green thumb, but that was in Illinois, the land of perfect tilth in a rich, deep layer of topsoil. I really do miss Illinois dirt.

I have gardening successes now and then, such as my herb garden that is sporting a rosemary plant so healthy it may take over the entire back yard or the vinca that stands up to anything and grows and spreads wherever it can. I let it have its way, because it is alive, pretty, green, and has flowers. Besides, there are snakes living in it and I see no reason to disrupt their happy home. I can also grow hot peppers extremely well, which is one of my favorite things to grow and to eat. However, high achievement generally is not the norm. When I set out my first plants with all the hope and expectation of a new, novice Ozarks homeowner, I never counted on the animals that live in the woods eating everything I put into the ground or the extremely hot conditions that turn healthy plants into crispy critters, or the nitrogen-starvation in the soil that prevents anything other than trees to grow in my woodland landscape.

Still, I try. I will conquer this gardening thing!

I thought I solved my tomato gardening escapades when my husband built a lovely raised bed garden for me. Last year, I actually ate tomatoes, albeit not as many as I had hoped. Tomatoes will generally grow anywhere, except at my house.

The current condition of the many different heirloom varieties I've planted are now just sticks. Something is eating them, although I have no idea what. I can't find a single tomato hornworm, and I have checked at various times of the day. Thankfully I have tomatoes planted all over the place in pots on the deck, the patio, on the stairs--places the deer haven't gone yet. I refuse to be tomato-free this year. Whatever is eating the leaves is very curious. There are little drills in the dirt that look like ant hills, but with a large shallow hole the size of a marble in the center. I have no idea who is making those. I don't even know if they are coming from the surface and escaping under ground or if they are living under ground and coming up.

Flowers don't do much better at my house. My husband and I just spent some quality time moving landscaping bricks from the backyard herb garden. He recently enlarged it, to accommodate the rosemary. He used landscape timbers. Our aim was to build a small retaining wall, since our front yard is heavily sloped. We have tried various plants, but so far, the only thing that grows are lilies, daffodils, and irises. But there is another problem. The deer help themselves to every flower they see. They have even walked on the front sidewalk and onto the porch to grab something.

A flower garden in the making

Deer just make themselves at home here. I'm flattered, but stop eating my flowers!

I just planted some cone flowers--native plants--thinking they will do well. I've tried amending the soil with bone meal to add phosphorous and blood meal to add nitrogen. The plants were actually showing signs of life. I watered carefully every day during the hot weather. I woke up one morning and the flower heads which were just about to show color, were gone along with most of the leaves. It is my rogue deer friend, Sarah. Not only does she drink from the bird bath, as state in a previous post but she helps herself to flowers too. She and her friends have eaten every living thing that I've put in the ground. We have sprayed all kinds of natural products that promise to repel deer and snakes and chiggers and ticks, apparently to no avail.

This is disheartening, but it is also a learning experience. I will not give in. I will grow beautiful flowers and vegetables if it kills me.

Quilting, gardening, and flying geese

Lately, there have been a few forks in the road of my quilting quest. The latest took me down a dirt path--quite literally. I've been doing some gardening, thanks to the beautiful weather we have been having this Spring. Things are looking alive and healthy. It is all I could do to not get out there and play. Last year, with its hot, dry conditions, I couldn't imagine anything ever coming back to life, but it did. So after tugging at the tangles of Bermuda grass in the flower beds, there were honestly times I wondered if I will ever quilt again. That stuff is so hard to pull with its long underground root system that rivals anything I've ever seen.

I did manage though, to get some quilting in, even though not as much as I'd like. I know I will never be far from a threaded needle. It really doesn't matter much, whether that needle is attached to my sewing machine or stuffed into a pin cushion, the little thing calls to me. 

I have a few projects in various stages, but the main one is my quilting board Block of the Month (BOM) project. I'm not sure if I'm pleased with the colors I've chosen--turquoise and yellow, but I'm sure when it is a completed quilt, it will be beautiful. After all, quilts are just naturally beautiful! 

The only other projects I have been working on lately are to make a few table runners as birthday gifts. I've made three so far, in different colors, using the same favorite pattern. 

I just made this green one for a friend of mine.  

The pattern is from my purple quilt, the BOM sample quilt from last year's Craftsy class. In fact, that's it peeking out from behind the table runner.

The quilted design is from the free-motion quilting pattern taught by Leah Day for her Craftsy class, Free Motion Quilting a Sampler. I'm getting pretty good at these stitches, but only because I've done them on 10 blocks now--three for the three table runners I've made and the original block in the quilt. 

This is the only table runner of the three that I managed to snap a picture. 

It is a simple block, made of several pairs of flying geese arranged with simple squares.

Flying Geese - done! (Photo credit: jeansophie)

For non-quilters, a piece of patchwork known as 'flying geese' refers to the pattern shown at left with four flying geese patches. There are many different ways to make this patch. I use the one where in this example, a blue square is sewn diagonally onto two corners of a cream-colored rectangle. The excess fabric--half of the blue square, a triangle, and its accompanying cream colored triangle beneath, are then trimmed away. The pattern is vintage and represents as it suggests the pattern made by geese flying north in the summer and south in the winter. 

It has been said that runaway slaves fleeing northward used handmade patchwork quilts to communicate, with one another. They used to hang flying geese quilts on the line to signal to others that it was time to follow the geese northward. Their movements were masked by the noisy geese. The direction of the points on the quilt showed them the way.

I've achieved 'flying geese' progress in that I no longer have to draw a diagonal sewing line onto my squares. I have learned to eyeball it. Now that's progress! 

Time to go water the garden.