*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for your support in this way.*
Last winter, I was enjoying a rare moment of peace….no kids or husband in the house, the garden didn’t need any attention and no articles to write. So, I decided to see what was on television. As I was channel surfing, I saw a gardening show and of course, I stopped and watched.
What I saw was the host and featured garden expert, showing how to grow vegetables and flowers together in containers. Since I love both vegetables and flowers, I was intrigued. So I bought the book written by the featured garden expert and got started.
I found nice plastic containers on sale along with some tiny trellises, as well as planting mix (NOT potting soil, which gets too soggy for container plants).
Planting mix is specially formulated for containers – it has a light texture and holds just the right amount of moisture for plants.
Then, I started planting. I came up with the vegetable and flower combinations on my own and I must admit that I was happy how they turned out…
The first container has purple violas, spinach, bell pepper plant and nasturtiums. I started all of these from transplants, except for the nasturtiums, which came from seed that I planted.
I periodically snip the spinach for salads and I have harvested a single bell pepper so far. However, there are flowers on my pepper plant, so more peppers are on the way.
This container was planted with red and green leaf lettuce, pink dianthus and cucumbers.
I snip the lettuce for salad and the dianthus has been blooming nonstop. The only problem that I have had with this container are the cucumbers.
Cucumbers do best when started from seed, not transplants. I have grown a lot of cucumbers over the years. So, I placed two small trellises in the back of the container and planted cucumber seeds at their base. I picked a variety of cucumbers that were small and would do well in a container.
Unfortunately, they never came up.
I tried planting them in my regular vegetable garden and they never came up.
I tried starting them indoors and they didn’t sprout.
*I had purchased the seeds online from a very reputable seed company, but the entire package of seeds was defective.
So I planted my go-to cucumber seeds and they are starting to grow beautifully.
My last vegetable/flower container has romaine lettuce, sugar snap peas and Icelandic poppies.
The lettuce has done very well, BUT my little dog discovered that he likes lettuce, and he would take some little bites from the sides of the lettuce. I simply put some plastic patio chairs around the pot and he kept away. Later, I took the chairs away and he left the lettuce alone.
The poppies haven’t bloomed yet, but I can see their buds, so it won’t be long now.
I have been picking off sugar snap peas every time I am in the garden and eating them on the spot.
So, does the idea of growing vegetables and flowers together appeal to you?
The book I read was “Easy Container Combos: Vegetables and Flowers” by Pamela Crawford. (I haven’t been asked to promote her book – I bought it myself and really enjoyed it so much).
I can’t wait to try some different combos this summer once the lettuce fades away. I promise I will share 🙂
**One thing I love so much about gardening is trying new things. This one was a home run for me.
Growing Annuals: An Unusual Flower Container
Leaving on a Jet Plane….
AZ Plant LadyIn just a few days, I will be boarding a plane with my mother as we embark on our second road trip together.
Last year, we toured the Midwest. We started in Holland, Michigan and ended up in Springfield, Missouri. On the way, we visited Indiana, Illinois and Kansas.
Visiting Lincoln’s tomb in Springfield, Illinois
Our goal for road trips is to avoid major highways and take smaller highways. The reason is that major highways are often screened on the sides with walls or trees and you don’t get to see the surrounding area.
My mother and I have road trips planned for the next few years – each one focused on a geographical area of the United States.
So this year, we are traveling to the……
Northeast!
geographical area
We will fly into Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday and will end up in Kennebunkport, Maine at the end of our journey.
On the way, we will visit:
Amish Country in Ohio
Washington, PA (just outside of Pittsburgh)
Niagara Falls, Canada
Geneva, NY
Potsdam, NY
Burlington, VT
and
Kennebunkport, ME
Although I have visited the Northeast before, my visits were usually confined to the coastal cities. So, I am very excited to see all of these places.
Have any of you traveled to these areas?
Or maybe you live nearby?
What do you recommend we do?
**********************
I will be bringing my laptop and camera along with me and will be blogging from the road.
I hope you’ll join me 🙂
Road Trip: Day 1
Green Bean Harvest
Recipes From the Vegetable Garden, Vegetable GardeningEarlier this week, I stepped into my new vegetable garden and was pleasantly surprised to discover that my bush beans were ready to be picked.
I was so excited.
You really have to look underneath the leaves to see the beans.
So, I ran into the house for a basket and got to work, picking beans.
This will be enough for my family for dinner.
But, instead of eating them now – I decided to blanch them and freeze them.
Why? Well, so I could show you how to do it 🙂
You may wonder what ‘blanching’ is?
‘Blanching’ is the process of submerging your vegetables in boiling water for a short period of time.
This is important to do before freezing your vegetables because:
– it halts enzymes, which decreases the flavor and texture of your vegetables.
– it cleans the surface of your vegetables and kills any germs.
– it improves the color of your vegetables.
– it helps to retain vitamins.
So, how do you blanch vegetables?
Well, the process is pretty much the same for most vegetables with the only difference being the amount of time they need to be submerged in boiling water.
To blanch green beans:
Cut off the stem ends.
Add to a pot of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. This step varies depending on the type of vegetable (check here for more info).
Immediately scoop out your beans and submerge in ice water.
Keep in the water for 3 minutes until the beans have thoroughly cooled.
Drain off the water.
Aren’t they a pretty green color?
Pack into a vacuum-sealed bag or put them in a plastic freezer bag.
It is very important to remove all the air, or your vegetables will get freezer burn.
To do this, close the zipper more then halfway and then carefully ‘roll’ your beans up, pushing out all the air and then seal the bag completely.
You can see all the air is gone and now my blanched beans are ready for the freezer.
They will last up to 9 months in the freezer. But I’m so excited about my first harvest this year that I think I will serve them to my mother on Mother’s Day.
To cook, I will simply add my frozen beans to boiling water (the same way I cook frozen beans from the grocery store).
I grew Bush Blue Lake 47 Beans. I bought the seeds from Burpee. I planted them in late February, although you can plant them through March in our area.
***********************************************
Guess what??
Only 6 days to go before my road trip with my mother.
I’ll share our destinations next time 🙂
“Before” and “After”
Vegetable GardeningThis weekend, I spent a lot of time out in my vegetable gardens. I harvested carrots, the last of the cauliflower, herbs and green beans.
I am still amazed at how much I enjoy working in the garden, growing vegetables.
My new vegetable garden is doing very well. Yesterday, I took a photo of it from a different perspective – at the ground level….
You can see the stepping stones leading their way through a ‘forest’ of bush beans, marigold, cucumbers, cosmos and corn. It’s all very green and lush.
The carrot tops look like miniature trees, don’t they?
*Okay, I realize that carrots are NOT a warm-season vegetable and I have no idea how it ended up in my new vegetable garden that we planted this spring. But it looks pretty, so they can stay – even if I don’t get any carrots.
Here is a different view of the garden, where I spent some time harvesting green beans.
I need to start building supports for my cucumbers to climb up on.
In the back part of the garden, corn is rising up quickly….I can hardly wait!
It is hard to believe that this vegetable garden was brand new only nine weeks ago…
If you would like to read about how we built our garden and planted it, you can visit my previous posts, if you like:
“The Beginning”
“Vegetable Garden Progress”
“Making Progress”
“New Vegetable Garden Finally Finished”
************************
I hope you have a great week ahead!
I will be hitting the road again soon with my mom on another road trip. Last year we visited the Midwest for 10 days. This year we are going to a totally new area.
I can’t wait to tell you all about it and of course, I will blog from the road 🙂
A Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden Finished!
Hummingbird GardeningLast time we ‘talked’, I was showing you a Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden that I was asked to work on.
“Creating a Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden”
As I promised, here is the photo of the finished project…
Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden
Although the new plants are somewhat small and scraggly-looking, they will soon grow and produce many flowers.
Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden
We created a pathway throughout the garden and groups of plants will visually guide visitors along the curved path.
The pathway was made of 1/4″ stabilized decomposed granite, which is essentially decomposed granite that has been mixed with a stabilizer. This creates a natural pathway that has a hard surface.
As I promised last time, here is a list of butterfly / hummingbird reflecting plants that we included:
Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) Butterfly & Hummingbird
Baja Ruellia (Ruellia peninsularis) Hummingbird
Black Dalea (Dalea frutescens) Butterfly / Hummingbird
Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana)
Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii)Butterfly / Hummingbird
Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)Butterflies
Lantana (all species)Butterfly / Hummingbird
Red Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)Butterfly / Hummingbird
Red Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica) Butterflies / Hummingbirds
These are but a few of the plants that will attract butterflies and/or hummingbirds. So how about including some in your garden?
Creating a Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden
Hummingbird GardeningDo you like butterflies and hummingbirds? It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t.
Hummingbird at the Living Desert in Palm Desert, CA
Over 13 years ago, I was working for a golf course management company. At that time, I created a butterfly garden and a separate hummingbird garden, adjacent to one of the golf courses.
A few years afterward, I created another hummingbird garden at another golf course. It was so rewarding to see the little hummers visit the flowering plants and perch up high in the Palo Verde trees.
Hummingbird Garden
So you can imagine how excited I was when I was asked to help create a new butterfly & hummingbird garden.
In fact, the site was the same hummingbird garden that I had created over 10 years ago (above).
Over the years, the plants hadn’t been replaced and it didn’t look the same as it did.
I visited the site with the person who was spearheading the new garden and we started to determine what existing plants would stay and which ones we would have removed- because this garden is to be an educational garden for the community, we needed to keep only the plants that attracted butterflies and/or hummingbirds.
The woman I was working with is a retired horticulturist in Minnesota and we had so much fun talking about ‘gardening’ and past projects.
Then I went to work on the design. The garden will have a path and benches on either end so that people can sit and enjoy watching butterflies and hummingbirds.
Because this was to be a combination Butterfly/Hummingbird garden, I incorporated plants that would attract both.
In fact, there are many plants that attract both butterflies and hummingbirds.
Once the design and estimate was approved, it was time to come back out and mark out the path and flag for plant and boulder placement.
It was so much fun to see my old friends from my former landscape crew stop by and say “hi”.
A few days later, it was time to place the plants, which is my absolutely favorite part.
Later that same day, the landscape company came out to install the plants.
I can’t wait for you to see the finished project and show you the plant list.
**To see the finished project and plant list, click here.**
PS. Thanks to all of you who so kindly voted for me for “Top Gardening Blog”(I came in 7th out of the 51 blogs that were nominated :-).
Red Poppies
AZ Plant LadyI like to include flowers in my vegetable garden.
I could say that the reason is that they attract pollinators, which in turn help to fertilize my vegetables.
But, the real reason is that I think they are just pretty.
Every year, I grow bachelor’s button in my garden because I love their bright, blue flowers.
This year, I threw some red poppy seed into the garden.
Seriously….I didn’t even cover it with soil or designate a certain area for it. I simply threw it in there on a whim.
Just last week, they began to bloom.
I love the way their unopened blossoms gracefully droop downward, don’t you?
And I must say, that I am just overwhelmed at how beautiful they are….
Red Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
I will definitely collect the seeds so that I can plant them again next year.
How about you?
Have you ever grown poppies?
Collecting Seeds….
Vegetable GardeningI enjoy growing nasturtiums in my vegetable garden every spring.
They come in a varying colors of orange and yellow.
They also did very well in my containers.
Now that the weather is heating up, they are beginning to fade and it will soon be time to pull them out.
So, I decided to harvest their seeds so that I can plant them next year.
While it can be hard to harvest small seeds from flowers – the seeds from nasturtiums are quite large, which made it easy to pick them off.
I will let them dry and then store them away for next year.
***********************
Although my nasturtiums are beginning to fade, I have other flowers that are just beginning to bloom.
I can’t wait to show them to you next time 🙂
**I HAVE BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE TOP GARDEN BLOG AND WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR VOTE FOR AZ PLANT LADY THERE ARE ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT FOR VOTING. **
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY VOTED FOR ME 🙂
Too Much Cauliflower?
Vegetable GardeningI have really enjoyed growing cauliflower this year.
But, we have an awful lot of it. Much more then we can eat.
And even though my kids will eat it….I’m afraid if they see it at every meal that they will soon get very tired of it.
So, I gave a whole head away to my mother and then got to work on preserving my cauliflower so that we can enjoy it for the next six months.
It is very easy to do and this method works for broccoli as well. It called ‘blanching’, which scalds vegetables in boiling water for a few minutes.
Blanching must be done to vegetables before they are frozen.
Why?
Well, blanching stops enzymes that would normally cause the vegetables to loose their flavor, texture and color.
In addition, blanching helps your vegetables to retain their vitamins and even improves their color.
Here is how I did it:
Cut the cauliflower in equal sized pieces – about 1 – 2 inches in size.
This is about 1 1/2 heads of chopped cauliflower.
Place the cauliflower in a pot filled with enough water so that the vegetables are covered. The add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Bring the pot to a boil and then cover for 3 minutes and keep boiling.
Immediately pour the cauliflower into a colander and cool them off with cold water and ice.
You can also dunk them in a bowl filled with ice water.
This ‘shocks’ them and stops the cooking process.
Now it is time to store your newly blanched vegetables.
Divide your blanched vegetables into plastic freezer bags and squeeze all the air out before sealing the bags.
Label your bags and write the date on the bag when you blanched your vegetables.
Put in your freezer, where they will last 6 months.
So, what type of vegetables would you like to preserve this year?
**Thank you all for sending me your ideas for using cauliflower earlier this month. I can’t wait to start using them 🙂
**************************************
I HAVE JUST BEEN NOMINATED AS A “TOP GARDEN BLOG”.
If you enjoy reading my blog, I would very much appreciate your vote.
Just click the link below and you will find me under AZ Plant Lady.
Thank You 🙂
Online Colleges
‘Secret’ Tips for Roses
CompostDo you love roses? I do….
At first, I made a lot of mistakes because at the time, there wasn’t a lot of information on how to grow roses in the desert.
However, I did learn from my mistakes and found knowledgeable people who steered me in the right direction. Soon, I had 40 rose bushes growing in my garden in our first house. I lovingly tended them and was rewarded with gorgeous blooms.
Years later, I don’t have quite as many roses in my current garden, but I love growing them just as much as I did years ago.
Photo: Abraham Darby
Because we grow roses for their beautiful blooms, I learned some tips from rose-growing experts on how to maximize blooms and the health of my rose bushes.
So, I’m going to share them with you.
*Basic rose care consists of fertilizing your roses in spring, using a fertilizer specially formulated for roses. You can do this and have a lovely rose bush. However, if you want the biggest and most floriferous rose bushes in your neighborhood, you’ll want to follow these tips.
1. In spring, grab your broom (yes, I said a broom) and make six holes around each rose bush (about 1 ft. from the base). Each hole should be 6 – 8 inches deep.
2. For this next step, you will need 6 cups of compost, 3 cups of composted steer (or chicken or horse) manure, 1/2 cup of Epsom salts, the recommended amount of your favorite rose fertilizer and two handfuls of alfalfa pellets per rose bush.
So how do these ingredients help your roses?
– The compost improves your soil by adding fertility, increasing its ability to hold the right amount of water and feeds microorganisms in the soil.
– Using manure adds a natural source of nitrogen that is slowly released into the soil. Make sure the manure is composted (aged) before using, or it can ‘burn’ your roses.
– Head to your nearest feed store and pick up some alfalfa pellets. When alfalfa breaks down in the soil, it releases an alcohol (triacontanol) that roses love. They respond to it by growing more branches (basal breaks) from the bud union AND increases the number of roses and their size.
Photo:Falstaff
3. Mix all the ingredients together and then pour the mixture into each of the holes. Work any extra mixture into the top inch of soil around your roses. By adding the mixture into the holes, you are putting them right where the roots are.
4. Water deeply to 18 inches.
That’s it! Follow these tips, and your roses will soon be the envy of all your neighbors.
But, I’m not finished yet….
If you want to do even more….then follow this next step:
5. Add liquid fertilizer to your roses monthly during the growing season.
**In hot, dry desert climates – your roses will slow down their growth during the heat of summer because it is hard for them to focus on growth when it is hot. Apply liquid fertilizer at 1/2 strength once a month beginning in May and lasting through August. In September begin your regular fertilizer schedule for beautiful, fall roses.
Winter and Bare Root Roses
Vegetable and Flower Containers
Arizona garden, AZ Plant Lady, Containers, Flowering Annuals, Vegetable Gardening*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for your support in this way.*
Last winter, I was enjoying a rare moment of peace….no kids or husband in the house, the garden didn’t need any attention and no articles to write. So, I decided to see what was on television. As I was channel surfing, I saw a gardening show and of course, I stopped and watched.
What I saw was the host and featured garden expert, showing how to grow vegetables and flowers together in containers. Since I love both vegetables and flowers, I was intrigued. So I bought the book written by the featured garden expert and got started.
I found nice plastic containers on sale along with some tiny trellises, as well as planting mix (NOT potting soil, which gets too soggy for container plants).
Planting mix is specially formulated for containers – it has a light texture and holds just the right amount of moisture for plants.
Then, I started planting. I came up with the vegetable and flower combinations on my own and I must admit that I was happy how they turned out…
The first container has purple violas, spinach, bell pepper plant and nasturtiums. I started all of these from transplants, except for the nasturtiums, which came from seed that I planted.
I periodically snip the spinach for salads and I have harvested a single bell pepper so far. However, there are flowers on my pepper plant, so more peppers are on the way.
This container was planted with red and green leaf lettuce, pink dianthus and cucumbers.
I snip the lettuce for salad and the dianthus has been blooming nonstop. The only problem that I have had with this container are the cucumbers.
Cucumbers do best when started from seed, not transplants. I have grown a lot of cucumbers over the years. So, I placed two small trellises in the back of the container and planted cucumber seeds at their base. I picked a variety of cucumbers that were small and would do well in a container.
Unfortunately, they never came up.
I tried planting them in my regular vegetable garden and they never came up.
I tried starting them indoors and they didn’t sprout.
*I had purchased the seeds online from a very reputable seed company, but the entire package of seeds was defective.
So I planted my go-to cucumber seeds and they are starting to grow beautifully.
My last vegetable/flower container has romaine lettuce, sugar snap peas and Icelandic poppies.
The lettuce has done very well, BUT my little dog discovered that he likes lettuce, and he would take some little bites from the sides of the lettuce. I simply put some plastic patio chairs around the pot and he kept away. Later, I took the chairs away and he left the lettuce alone.
The poppies haven’t bloomed yet, but I can see their buds, so it won’t be long now.
I have been picking off sugar snap peas every time I am in the garden and eating them on the spot.
So, does the idea of growing vegetables and flowers together appeal to you?
The book I read was “Easy Container Combos: Vegetables and Flowers” by Pamela Crawford. (I haven’t been asked to promote her book – I bought it myself and really enjoyed it so much).
I can’t wait to try some different combos this summer once the lettuce fades away. I promise I will share 🙂
**One thing I love so much about gardening is trying new things. This one was a home run for me.
Growing Annuals: An Unusual Flower Container