The Daily Lily

(double click on pic for full view)
A squirrel trying very hard to eat birdseed and a chipmunk eating what falls on the ground.

(more…)

Blossom end rot is a physiological condition of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant that can occur when there is not enough calcium in the fruit that is developing. This deficiency can occur from drought stress or too many fluctuations in the water supply when the fruit is developing that somehow makes the calcium unavailable to the fruit. On a tomato it looks like a brown patch on the bottom that continues to enlarge and eventually sink or rot.

(more…)

Promise was born January 3, 1998 in Pea Ridge, North Carolina under the watchful eye of dog breeder and caregiver, Wallace Craddock. Sara brought him from North Carolina to Leesburg, delivering him to me in the early spring. I remember the first time I laid eyes on him…the cutest puppy, trotting happily right behind her down the sidewalk in our Leesburg, Virginia neighborhood. And for twelve and one-half years he continued to walk happily alongside each and every one of my family members who were willing to take him out for one of his favorite things…a walk down the sidewalk in the same neighborhood.

(more…)

Denise Bunch’s photo

(more…)

garden sale!

(more…)

We have lots of beautiful handing baskets! And remember we are sending students to college!

(more…)

Almost everyone wants a beautiful, care-free garden. As you think about and select plants to buy for that garden you may be hoping for the same thing. As a horticultural consultant, I am frequently told, “I want a low maintenance garden with plants that are easy to grow and easy to maintain.” While there is really no such thing as a maintenance free garden there are some colorful plants you can use that will help your summer be more care-free…that is less time working in the garden and more time enjoying it!

One of my favorite care-free perennial shrubs for blooms from April to November in many areas is the Knock-out Rose. It grows about four feet high and wide and when planted in a sunny location, it will smile with color without the use of pesticides or cutting the stems. It appreciates a light haircut yearly, a feeding of slow-release fertilizer and a drink of water when dry, but other than that it will leave you alone. I think the red and pink varieties are the best.

(more…)

Winter is a valuable time of year for completing many important garden activities vital to maintaining and producing beautiful, productive plants in the growing seasons of spring, summer and fall. I would like to share with you four that top my list.

I love ornamental grasses. Most varieties provide great landscape interest and are relatively low maintenance, pest–free, drought tolerant and deer-resistant. But after a heavy snow beats them down, I realize it’s soon time to get out and give them their annual shearing. If you wait too long, those new green shoots will soon be springing up and then it will be too late. They should be cut back 4-6” above the ground depending upon the size clump. If you cut them back too close, they may be injured and not grow back. For smaller clumps, I like to grab the clump in my hands and use sharp, good quality by-pass pruners. (I feel a pair of these is indispensable for many gardening jobs.) For a larger, tougher clump, I may use gas powered hedge shears. This year I am going to try something I read about: tying bungee cords around the clump so it all stays in one place and is easy to dispose of. Other tools that people like to use to cut back grasses are sharp hedge shears, sickles, machetes, weed trimmers with blades, saws and loppers.
(more…)

If you put your houseplants outside for the summer you will soon have to bring them back in if you live in an area like I do that gets frost and temperatures below 32F. You may notice that they have grown larger or longer (in the case of trailing plants) over the summer and may have overgrown the house space they were previously in. Many can be trimmed back without harming or disfiguring them. And the nice thing is, you can actually do something with many parts you trim off. This would be called propagation by cuttings. In other words, you can reproduce the plant you love, making more just like it. It’s fairly easy and inexpensive.

(more…)

Just because summer is fading fast doesn’t mean your garden color and excitement has to fade with it. September is a great time to change out those worn out blooming annuals for a fresh harvest look. A standing favorite are fall mums which come in a kaleidoscope of colors from yellows, oranges, reds and bronzes to lavenders, pinks and whites. One of my favorites is the Belgian mum with its giant mounding form. Unlike many other garden varieties, this series doesn’t need to be pruned during the spring and summer months to control its height and shape. It just naturally grows that way year after year if you plant early in full sun and water regularly

.
(more…)