Monthly Archives: July 2010

Garden Tour Take-Aways

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Mary Schier

This past month, I have been really lucky to attend several garden tours. I started with tours around the Quad Cities in Iowa as part of a Garden Writers Association event, then hit the Northfield Garden Club tour, followed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Travel, Gardening Know-How | 5 Comments

Caterpillars Pig Out

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Mary Schier

Last fall, Northern Gardener published an article on ways to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. In it, Tom and Donna Krischan recommended a plant called bloodflower milkweed  (Asclepias curassavica). The plant is known as a terrific food source … Continue reading →

Posted in Critters | 3 Comments

Pickle Time

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Mary Schier

Right now, the squash and cucumbers are duking it out in my back garden. I’m afraid that, without intervention, the squash — an allegedly “compact” butternut variety  — may win. In the meantime, the cukes are growing like crazy, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Canning and Preserving, Garden of Eating, Recipes | 4 Comments

Hosta in Pots

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Mary Schier

One last post about my trip to the garden bloggers meetup in Buffalo, NY: One of the highlights of the trip was a tea party/garden tour at the home of noted hosta authority Michael Shadrack and his wife (also a … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Design, Garden Travel, Hosta | 2 Comments

Conjoined Daisy

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Mary Schier

My sister sent me this photo of a Gerbera daisy from her garden, in which two blooms of the daisy are attached to the same base. I’d been trying to find some information about what causes this and how common … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazing Plants | 6 Comments

New Northern Gardener Available

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Mary Schier

The July/August issue of Northern Gardener has been on the newsstands for a couple of weeks now, and I love the cool look of this hosta-themed cover. I passed the issue out to many of my fellow garden bloggers at … Continue reading →

Posted in See it in Northern Gardener | 2 Comments

Cherry Crisp

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Mary Schier

Yesterday was the first day in a long time that the weather was cool enough to fire up the oven. With cherries in the freezer and a few cherries still on the tree and ready to be picked, I made … Continue reading →

Posted in Fruits and Vegetables, Garden of Eating, Recipes | 2 Comments

The Power of Gardening in Community

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Mary Schier

If there is one thing I took away from my weekend in Buffalo with my fellow garden bloggers (other than a serious case of plant envy — which will be discussed at length later), it is the conviction that gardens … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Garden Travel, Gardening in Community | 4 Comments

Peeking into Other People’s Gardens

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Mary Schier

This was me all day today — camera stuck to eye, as I toured some fantastic gardens in Buffalo, N.Y. As one of the organizers of the National Garden Festival said, “Please let people know Buffalo is more than snow … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Travel | 7 Comments

Off to Buffalo!

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Mary Schier

I’m heading to Buffalo, N.Y., today to participate in the Third Annual Garden Bloggers Meetup, an informal gathering of about 70 garden bloggers. It’s the first one I’ve been able to attend, and I’m excited because this promises to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Travel | Leave a comment