Some of my favorite things about summer time gardens are fresh home grown tomatoes. There's nothing like that taste. It's fresh and sweet and just plain delicious. Since the flavor of the tomato itself is wonderful, I don't like to cover them up with a lot of spices or cook them. Rather, I prefer them in a fresh tomato salad, mixed with fresh basil from my garden and some feta -- just sprinkled with a bit of balsamic vinegar. Fresh Tomato … [Read more...]
Lyreleaf Sage – Mississippi Wildflower
Spring comes early in Mississippi. While my friends who live in states to the north continue to fight through snow and ice, I start to see the fresh green of new plant growth emerge from my lawn in mid to late-March. The early arrival of spring weather is one of my favorite things about living in Mississippi – the early respite from the cold, gray skies of winter. With the warming of the air, the wildflowers start to get a jump on their … [Read more...]
Two in a Canoe – Spotting the Flowers on the Water
Every third weekend in the spring and summer my local wildlife refuge holds a free canoe day. They bring the canoes and you bring the paddlers. On an overcast Saturday this weekend, my friend Megan and I decided to give it a go. We packed the sunscreen, the bug spray, hats, our cameras, and some water and headed out to the boat ramp. We were running a little late that morning but we drove up just in time to claim the next to the last canoe. … [Read more...]
Getting My Perspective Back
It’s been a rough day. This is one of those days where nothing seems to go right and the minute hand on the clock just isn’t moving fast enough. As a result, I’m grumbly. That’s what I call myself when I’m half way between grumpy and grumbling. I’ll start muttering under my breath about the stupid, annoying things that wouldn’t normally bother me at all. It’s not pleasant for anyone around me when I’m grumbly. I sat at my computer all … [Read more...]
Add Structure, Style, & Color to Your Garden with a Trellis & Flowering Vine
This content includes affiliate links. I get a small percentage of the sale for purchases made through links in this post. However, I use each product I review and only recommend those that I like and have worked well. Read my disclosure for more information. When I decided that the raised bed in my front yard needed a little height to give it added structure and color, my first though was some sort of permanent structure, whether it be … [Read more...]
Buttonbush for Wet Soils and Cool Blooms!
Nature produces some interesting shapes and this is very true for the flower of the buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Common buttonbush (or buttonwillow) produces these crazy looking little spiky ball-like blooms of compound florets. They’re pretty cool, actually, and both bees and butterflies agree. I caught this skipper butterfly feeding on a buttonbush flower while hiking in Choctaw Lake Recreation Area in the Tombigbee National … [Read more...]
Landscape Solutions for the Base of Trees
Updated: July 8, 2017 Leaving the base of the tree bare can often look unkempt or out of place since it's not easy to mow right up to the edge of a tree or to even weed-eat around it carefully. Plantings or mulching around the base of the tree trunk can not only help protect roots from the mower's blades, but also make your existing trees a part of the landscape design and reduce the amount of weed-eating that is necessary. Here are some of my … [Read more...]
June 2017 Flowers From My Garden
The weather this late spring and first days of summer have been hot, wet, and sometimes in between. It may be a little hard on us humans, but my garden seems to be enjoying it well enough. June is the month for Asiatic lilies, hibiscus, zinnias, and echinacea. These flowers have been blooming their little hearts out. These are some of my favorite photos I took during the month of June 2017 from my garden. I hope you like them! Click on an … [Read more...]
How to Keep Your Gladiolus Flowers From Falling Over
The gladiola flowers have been putting on quite a show this year. Pink, white, red, greenish-yellow, and purple gladiolus have graced my garden. I really like gladiolas but whenever there is a heavy rain or higher-than-usual winds, the glads dip over or break off. This content includes affiliate links. I get a small percentage of the sale for purchases made through links in this post. However, I use each product I review and only recommend those … [Read more...]
To Find a Windflower
Although I've lived in Mississippi for a long time off and on, there are many of our state's wildflowers that I still haven't seen. There are so many beautiful surprises in the woods, lawns, and roadsides of Mississippi. We just have to look for them. As I was walking through a nearby neighborhood in March, I stumbled across a patch of small white flowers in the yard of one of the houses. This was a new discovery for me and I went online to my … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- …
- 24
- Next Page »