Saturday's #GardenWalk

 Okra flower in my Garden

 A Magnolia flower is someone's yard

 Something you don't see a lot of in Florida

 A couple of streets over

 Palm tree Dreg Locks 

Purple Okra Majesty

Flowers In My House Today

 "None can have a healthy love for flowers unless he 

loves the wild ones."  ~Forbes Watson

 "With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some
books , I live without envy."   ~Lope de Vega 

"And 't is my faith, that every flower Enjoys the air it 

breathes."~William Wordsworth  

 "Where flowers bloom so does hope." ~Lady Bird Johnson

Thoughts of Summertime

"The serene philosophy of the pink rose is steadying.  Its fragrant, delicate petals open fully and are ready to fall, without regret or disillusion, after only a day in the sun.  It is so every summer.  One can almost hear their pink, fragrant murmur as they settle down upon the grass: 'Summer, summer, it will always be summer.'"~Rachel Peden  

 "I walk without flinching through the burning cathedral of the summer.  My bank of wild grass is majestic and full of music.  It is a fire that solitude presses against my lips."~Violette

 "If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance."~Bern Williams

"He stood beside a cottage lone And listened to a lute, One summer's eve, when the breeze was gone, And the nightingale was mute."~Thomas K. Hervey

 "Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." ~Russel Baker "Oh, the summer night Has a smile of light And she sits on a sapphire throne."~Barry Cornwall  

To meet it -- nameless as it is --Without celestial Mail --Audacious as without a Knock
To walk within the Veil."~Emily Dickinson, The Last of Summer is Delight

 "That beautiful season the Summer! Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 "There is no season such delight can bring,As summer, autumn, winter and the spring."~William Browne

 "A summer's sun is worth the having."~French Proverb

 "Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more?"~Bev Adams

"No price is set on the lavish summer; June may be had by the poorest comer."~James Russell Lowell

"Press close, bare-bosomed Night! Press close, magnetic, nourishing Night!
Night of south winds!  Night of the large, few stars! Still, nodding Night!  Mad, naked, Summer Night!"~Walt Whitman 

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most
beautiful words in the English language."~Henry James

 "What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade."~Gertrude Jekyll

 "The summer night is like a perfection of thought."~Wallace Stevens

 "Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." ~John Lubbock

 "So fades a summer cloud away;
So sinks the gale when storms are o'er;
So gently shuts the eye of day;
So dies a wave along the shore."~Mrs. Barbauld

 "It amazes me that most people spend more time planning next summer's vacation than they do planning the rest of their lives."~Patricia Fripp

 "Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains..."~Diane Ackerman 

 "Summer makes a silence after spring." ~Vita Sackville

 "Hot July morning scent of crushed mangrove leaves thickens the air"~OldSchoolBill

"Inebriate of Air am I and Debauchee of Dew Reeling through endless summer days From inns of Molten Blue."~Emily Dickinson

My Trees

I was going to walk over to David's just to see what he was up to as I was done with the windows for the day.  Grabbed my camera as I try to do most of the time and starting walking but for some reason I walked over to one of my trees looked up, then took a picture liked it so this is what I did for the next hour or so.  

Just think of the trees: they let the birds perch and fly, with no intention to call them when they come and no longing for their return when they fly away.  If people's hearts can be like the trees, they will not be off the Way.-  Langya

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.-   Martin Luther

Trees are sanctuaries.  Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them,  can learn the truth.  They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.-   Hermann Hesse

The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more.-  Ralph Waldo Emerson

 If what I say resonates with you, it is merely because we are both branches on the same tree.-  W. B. Yeats

It is good to know the truth, but it is better to speak of palm trees. ~ an Arab Proverb

Rain in Summer

Hope these words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow find you very soon!!

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,

In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

How it clatters along the roofs,

Like the tramp of hoofs

How it gushes and struggles out

From the throat of the overflowing spout!

Across the window-pane

It pours and pours;

And swift and wide,

With a muddy tide,

Like a river down the gutter roars

The rain, the welcome rain!

The sick man from his chamber looks

At the twisted brooks;

He can feel the cool

Breath of each little pool;

His fevered brain

Grows calm again,

And he breathes a blessing on the rain.

From the neighboring school

Come the boys,

With more than their wonted noise

And commotion;

And down the wet streets

Sail their mimic fleets,

Till the treacherous pool

Ingulfs them in its whirling

And turbulent ocean.

In the country, on every side,

Where far and wide,

Like a leopard's tawny and spotted hide,

Stretches the plain,

To the dry grass and the drier grain

How welcome is the rain!

In the furrowed land

The toilsome and patient oxen stand;

Lifting the yoke encumbered head,

With their dilated nostrils spread,

They silently inhale

The clover-scented gale,

And the vapors that arise

From the well-watered and smoking soil.

For this rest in the furrow after toil

Their large and lustrous eyes

Seem to thank the Lord,

More than man's spoken word.

Near at hand,

From under the sheltering trees,

The farmer sees

His pastures, and his fields of grain,

As they bend their tops

To the numberless beating drops

Of the incessant rain.

He counts it as no sin

That he sees therein

Only his own thrift and gain.

These, and far more than these,

The Poet sees!

He can behold

Aquarius old

Walking the fenceless fields of air;

And from each ample fold

Of the clouds about him rolled

Scattering everywhere

The showery rain,

As the farmer scatters his grain.

He can behold

Things manifold

That have not yet been wholly told,--

Have not been wholly sung nor said.

For his thought, that never stops,

Follows the water-drops

Down to the graves of the dead,

Down through chasms and gulfs profound,

To the dreary fountain-head

Of lakes and rivers under ground;

And sees them, when the rain is done,

On the bridge of colors seven
Climbing up once more to heaven,

Opposite the setting sun.

Thus the Seer,

With vision clear,

Sees forms appear and disappear,

In the perpetual round of strange,

Mysterious change

From birth to death, from death to birth,

From earth to heaven, from heaven to earth;

Till glimpses more sublime

Of things, unseen before,

Unto his wondering eyes reveal

The Universe, as an immeasurable wheel

Turning forevermore

In the rapid and rushing river of Time.

Let Your AC Unit Help Water Your Garden

Sure you have noticed that there is a small pipe attached to your air conditioning unit it that has water draining out of it. The pipe is a drain for A/C condensate. A/C Condensate is water vapor that is pulled from the air by your air conditioner as it works to cool the environment inside your home. This water is mineral free, pure water that can & should be recycled. While I would not drink the recovered A/C condensate, your plants will love it. Watering your plants with A/C condensate recycled water is another way to recycle while also saving on your water bill. I pour the A/C condensate water from the catch pan to a 5 gal. bucket to warm up before watering the garden.

My A/C condensate water pipe is a bit different as so many things in the 1919 built Cada Da BillsGarden,there is not one.  I noticed this when I first bought the house, the home inspector said the water was draining down the insulated copper pipe from the condenser coils to the air handler,I have checked the pan & it’s always dry.  

#AsAGardenerYou

Have been seen in your garden in your pajamas & rubber clogs.

Can never ever account for all your trowels or pairs of snippers.


Take pictures of your compost bucket and post the pic to Twitter & Instagram nstagr.am/p/MLyBb1uEEH/  @DirtandMartinis

Know you will be participating in #gardenchat every Monday night 9-10 p.m. ET, right @BG_garden 

Find great satisfaction in crushing Japanese beetles, lily beetles, slugs and snails.

Family knows to check the garden before filing a missing person's report.Tiffany @songbirdtiff 

Can be found at night, roaming your garden with a flashlight and a container of salt, for slugs.


Are delighted in having a Full compost bowl on your kitchen counter.

Regularly check for local nursery and mail order nursery sales.

With each year, your lawn area gets considerably smaller.

Purchase carloads of plants are without particular planting spots in mind.


Know Annie @GreenSoil makes· MooPoo in California.

Plan vacation trips around the locations of botanical gardens, nurseries, arboreta and garden tours.

Always carry a shovel, plastic bags and bottled water in your trunk -as emergency tools.

Appreciate your Master Gardener badge more than your jewelry.

Try to sneak home a 7 foot Japanese Maple and wonder if your spouse will notice.

Would rather shop in a nursery than a clothing store.

Take or send every single person who enters your house on a “garden tour.”

Randomly pull weeds wherever you go.

Look at your child’s sandbox and see a raised bed garden.

Cruise the neighborhood looking for things to use in your garden

Ask for @coronatools for Christmas, Mother/Father’s day, Birthday and any other occasion you can think of.

Brake for tantalizing garden vignettes, hidden garden views, and Plant Sales.

Name garden beds after the people whose plants fill them.

Cannot look at a given plant in your garden without thinking of who gave it to you or told you about it.

Are frequently mistaken for a staff member by other nursery shoppers.

You randomly pull weeds wherever you go.

Go out ‘with the guys’ for some beers and find yourself dead-heading the geraniums in the beer garden while your friends try flirting with the waitress.

Are on a first name basis with staff from at least 6 nurseries.

Can be found reading or writing about Gardening if..

1- it is too hot to garden
2- it is too rainy to garden
3-it is too cold to garden

Easy Healthy #Herbchat Rosemary Cheese Drop Biscuits

Bisquick a Southern staple have switched to HeartSmart

Ingredients
2 TS fresh rosemary
1.5 cups HeartSmart

1/2 cup of fat free milk
1/2 cup reduced fat cheese

 Mix milk & HeartSmart just a little, fork should stand up by itself

 Mix in rosemary & cheese

 Drop on lightly greased cookie sheet

Bake @ 450 till golden brown 8 to 12 minutes

Baking for 5 minutes 

 Done

Ready to go to tonight's family dinner

Total prep & bake time less than 20 minutes

3 Weight Watcher's points per biscuit

Easy Southern Sweet Chili

Pour into crock pot
1-can tomato soup
1-can water
1-can pork & beans
1-can diced  tomatoes
1-can red kidney beans
1/2 onion
1lb. ground beef or turkey
Cook on high for 4 hours

Enjoy!!

United States Department of Agriculture Tips for Watering your Lawn and Garden

Plants use approximately 1 inch of water from the soil each week during the summer growing season.  Therefore, this amount needs to be replenished for plants to continue to grow and thrive. Depending on where we live, nature takes care of this for us by providing rain and we supplement with additional water as needed.
Watering is a delicate balance for gardens.  Too little water causes plants to wilt and die.  Too much water means the plant cannot breathe; this can cause rotting and make the plant susceptible diseases.

Tip #1: Create a weekly watering plan.

Step 1: Decide how often you want to water.  1 or 2 times per week is recommended unless you

have very sandy soil or live in a very hot climate.

Step 2: Decide what method you will use to water (hose, watering can, sprinkler, drip irrigation, etc). 

Methods that apply water similar to a light rainfall are the most efficient because the water is more

easily absorbed by the soil and there will be less runoff, therefore using a hose with no attachment is

not recommended.

Step 3: Before watering according to your schedule, check if rain is scheduled for that day or the

next.  You might consider waiting to see if nature will do your watering for you.  If the rain is not

adequate, fill in the gaps yourself.

Tip #2: Monitor the rainfall in your lawn/garden and subtract that amount of water from your

weekly watering plan.  The best way to get this information is to measure it yourself, but you can

also find this information through the National Weather Service.  You can measure it yourself by

following the instructions below:

Step 1: Place a household pan or cup with straight sides (not sloping) outside near your lawn/garden

where it won’t be knocked over.

Step 2: Within 12 hours after each rainfall ends, take a ruler, stick it vertically into the rain collection

dish and measure the depth of water.  That is the approximate amount of rainfall which occurred.

Watering Suggestions to Provide 1 Inch of Water Each Week:

Watering Can:  Once Per Week:   ½ gallon of water per square foot of garden

 Twice Per Week:  ¼ gallon of water per square foot of garden

Sprinkler System: Once Per Week:   4 hours of water per reach of sprinkler

 Twice Per Week:  2 hour of water per reach of sprinkler

Hose Sprinkler:  Once Per Week:   2 hours of water per reach of sprinkler

Twice Per Week:  1 hour of water per reach of sprinkler

  

Updating Common Gardening Myths

MONICA BRANDIES

Coleus is a wonderful annual for the warm months.

As diligent as you might be about heeding all the gardening tips you've
heard over the years, are there some where you simply question their value?
You wonder if maybe grandma's advice really was the best? Or maybe
|has become outdated?

The National Garden Bureau did. So, the group turned to its members and
asked for their professional expertise on a few commonly cited garden tips
 to find out if they were still applicable in today's gardening world.

Here is the latest update.

Myth: To get sweeter tomatoes, add sugar to the planting hole.

Busted!

Sorry grandma, this is not true. Tomato plants can't absorb sugar in the soil,
 they produce it through photosynthesis. The sugar content of a variety is
 predetermined in the plant's genetics.

Myth: Perennials won't bloom the first year, especially bare root.

Half-busted!

With modern breeding and growing techniques, this is no longer true. In Florida,
we can buy perennials such as pentas, angelonias or periwinkles already in
 bloom, and they just continue. However, if you buy a potted perennial that
requires over wintering, then you will have to wait through the first winter to
|get the desired blooms. It's best to inquire from the seller to find out what to
expect that first season after planting. I have some shasta daisies with wonderful
spreading foliage, but they haven't bloomed yet. I am hoping I don't have to wait
as long as winter.

Myth: Pinch off all blooms of annual bedding plants before planting.

Busted!

In many cases, pinching is no longer an absolute must because today's commonly
 available bedding plants are bred to be more compact with continuous blooms.
So, you don't need the pinch to manage growth or promote another flush of blooms.

Myth: Add chalk or egg shells to the planting hole.

True.

This is a good tip, as both of these items will help prevent blossom end rot in
tomatoes, because they provide calcium to the fruit. Because egg shells take
 a while to decompose, crush or grind the shells to enable them to dissolve f
aster.

Myth: Putting egg shell flakes around the base of plants will prevent slug
amage.

True.

Yes, grandma was right: Slugs do not like to crawl over the jagged surface
|of sharp eggshells, so putting down a barrier of crushed (not ground too finely)
egg shells is a great deterrent.

Founded in 1920, the National Garden Bureau is a nonprofit organization whose
|mission is to disseminate basic instructions for home gardeners. I used to work
for them; another job I loved.

* * * * *

Today's pick: Coleus has always been a wonderful annual for all of the warm
 months in Florida and has been considered a shade plant, but there are some
new varieties that will take full sun if they have enough water. All of them root
easily and stay nice until winter cold. If cuttings are taken before that, they will last
all winter indoors and can be started anew when the cold is past. Most growers cut
off the flowers to put more energy into the foliage, but sometimes the flowers are
decorative as well.

* * * * *

Now's the time to bring up something else new. Planting tomatoes in a trench or
up to the first true leaves promotes a sturdier plant. Planting deeply does help
elongate the rooting area because any point on the stem that comes into contact
 with the soil will root. The exception is when planting grafted tomatoes, because
 if the top work scion takes root it will negate the benefits of the grafted rootstock;
 so never plant a grafted tomato too deeply.

OK. I didn't even know there were grafted tomatoes until this sent me to research.
So far, they are used mostly in commercial greenhouses, but they may soon be
on the market for home growers and are said to have improved vigor, production
and disease resistance.

Be ready. There is always something new to learn about gardening.

By TBO.COM | Staff 
Published: July 04, 2012

Monica Brandies is an experienced gardener, author and freelance writer
who can be reached at monicabrandies@yahoo.com. Her website is
www.gardensflorida .com.