Blogs that are NEW to Me

Last weekend Stacy Tornio did a guest post on this blog to kick off her Virtual Book Tour for Project Garden, her latest book.  You can win a copy, by the way, just go here.  Anyway, I was checking out the other blogs on the list and these five stood out to me and I thought I would share them with you.

• Red, White & Grew™ - Pamela Price is a Texas girl who blogs about victory gardens, vintage stuff, secular homeschooling, caring for an elderly parent and a whole bunch of other interesting stuff.  I really like her writing style, I think you would too.
• Two Women and a Hoe™ - I recently discovered them on Facebook and was delighted to see them on Stacy's list so I could check out their blog too.  I was completely hooked by their name alone; they are always sharing cool salvage garden ideas on Facebook. I am proud to same that I too am a Hoe!
• Garden Fowl - I would really love to have chickens someday, so I am delighted to live vicariously through Jessi Bloom.  She's very entertaining and just released a book called Free-Range Chicken Gardens.
• Garden Therapy - This blog is a perfect mixture of gardening, food and crafty projects.  I'm really looking forward to reading more posts and learning new things from Stevie.
• San Diego Urban Organic Gardening - Though I am a northern gardener, it's nice to follow others in warmer climates; you can always find something blooming online when you are in the middle of winter.  Make sure you take the time to visit Anya's site.

So, there you have it.  I hope you enjoy the list and have a great weekend!

Plant Profile - Hostas

Hosta 'Sundance'

 
I fancy myself as a bit of a hosta collector.  I bought several dozen named varieties a few years back and had to overwinter them in pots and the voles got to most of them.  I was devastated. 

Now before you go wondering why I'm recommending a plant that can be so easily destroyed by voles, I must tell you this.  They were a very small size; liners in fact, that had to be grown for a year or two in pots before being planted in the ground.  I thought I had them well protected, but alas, I did not.  The voles loved those little tender roots and ate them up like they were at a buffet.  Once the hostas have had a chance to grow and get established, the voles pretty much leave them alone since the roots are bigger and a little tougher.

There are so many more hosta varieties than what you see in mass plantings at shopping centers and planned developments.  There are blue ones, green ones, gold ones and variegated ones.  There are plants with round puckered leaves and long slender razor-like leaves; plants that stand on upright colored stems and huge sprawling plants that spread to more than 5' wide.  If you've got a little shade, there is a hosta for everyone.

What I like about hostas:

• They look great all season long.
• You get a bonus flower in late summer; some are very fragrant and all are attractive to hummingbirds.
• They mix well with spring blooming bulbs, ferns, trillium, astilbe, bleeding heart, heuchera coral bells, columbine and coleus.
• Super hardy, zone 3-9, and they are hard to kill once they are established.
• They don't need a lot of fertilizer, just top dress with compost at least once a year and use an organic mulch that will retain moisture.
• Hostas will grow in nearly any type of soil (though they prefer well-drained soil) as long as they are given adequate moisture.
• They all have such cool and interesting names, which for me, makes them collectible.
• Smaller varieties work great grown in containers.

 Hosta 'Chartreuse Wiggles'

 Some Words of Caution:

• Hostas can be bothered by slugs, snails and deer.  Take the proper precautions and you will have lovely hostas all summer long.  I've written articles on slugs/snails and deer, so check them out.
• The warmer your climate, or more sun your hosta plant gets, the more water it will need.

 Hostas mixed with other perennials

CNY in Bloom Show 2012

Had a great weekend at the CNY in Bloom show at the new SRC Arena at the OCC Campus in Syracuse, NY.  Syracuse has had trouble sustaining a garden show, especially since the economy went down a few years back, so I wasn't surprised when I heard that they changed it to more of a lifestyle show, where gardening took a back seat.

The promoters also changed the venue, which was actually a great thing.  The new arena is fantastic!  Easy to get to, great parking, and it's really well laid out inside.  They already have some concerts scheduled in addition to all the sports games, so it should be a really great addition to Syracuse.  And with the Landmark Theatre recently remodeled, I really hope we can get more quality acts in Syracuse.

Anyway, back to the show.  There was a great section with just New York State based businesses, crafters and artisans, so that was good.  I bought a couple of really cool pieces that I'd love to share with you.

There weren't very many garden displays, but what they had was so nice to see after a long winter.  We've actually been having a mild winter with little snow, which just makes me yearn for Spring even more with all the mild temperatures we've had.

Now on to my goodies.  I love this bird.  I guess he is supposed to be a peacock, but what I do know is he is a beautiful piece of rusty goodness.  They actually had several really great birds, all with different types of bodies.  Some had enamel bowls and pots and one had a gear for a body (which I almost bought), but then I saw this one and had to have him.  I love the fluted edges of this dish.  It's quite heavy also, so not sure what it was used for originally.  I can't wait to display him in the garden.

I'm a sucker for flower shaped garden art, so of course I had to buy this one.  There is a glass plate attached to the metal shaped flower petals.  Not sure what they used to attach it, so I'm curious to check it out a little further.  If I can figure it out, I think I might cut some green stained glass leaves to add to the wire leaves, otherwise they sort of disappear into the landscape.

And my favorite piece of the day is an art print from a local artist named Bob Ripley.  You can check out his work here.  I fell in love with this one the moment I saw the original watercolor hanging in his booth.  It's titled "United Plates".  He told us that he discovered the barn a while back and then found this car sitting alone and thought they would look great together, and thus this masterpiece began.

Recycling Sports Balls in the Garden

Guest Post by: Stacy Tornio

Stacy Tornio is an editor at Birds and Blooms magazine and has just released a new book called Project Garden.  Check out my review of that book here and enter to win a FREE copy of Project Garden here.  And don't forget to visit Stacy's blog at stacygrows.com.

You know those old sports balls in your shed, garage or at the bottom of a bag or bin? Well, start digging them out because they could have a second life in the garden!  Here are three ideas for upcyling some of those balls. All of these kid-friendly ideas are in my month-by-month gardening and activity book, Project Garden, so look in there for full instructions and more recycling projects. 

Soccer Ball Birdhouse. First off, figure out how big you need to make the entrance hole. Then slowly use your tool of choice to cut a small hole into the middle of the soccer ball. Use a piece of wire (or even an old wire hanger) to loop through the top of the soccer ball. Hang and wait for visitors! (Keep in mind that you’ll need to clean out the house after nesting season. Or it might be good for just a single season.)

Golf ball Caterpillars. Take a few old golf balls and paint your favorite color. After they dry, glue together, gently curving the body around like a caterpillar would do. I like to glue my caterpillars onto a cork mat, which you can find at a craft or garden store. For the caterpillar antennas, I curled paperclips around a pencil. Then for the final step and to add a little personality, attach googly eyes or draw on your own with a permanent marker.

Basketball Planter. It seems like basketballs are always going flat or leaking, and then it’s difficult to patch and fix them. Here’s a way to give them a new life instead of throwing them out. Outline where you want the opening of your basketball to be. Then cut with scissors (it’s easier to make the shape along the ridges of the ball). Add drainage holes to the bottom of the basketball, and then fill with soil and plants.