Spring at Setters Run

Just walking around the property and decided to share some of the colors of spring here at Setters Run. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Bank of Azaleas~

Apple tree branch~

Orange Trumpet Creeper~

White Tulips and Blue Muscari~

Last of the Camellia~

The chives are in bloom~

Rhododendron

Lollipop Daisy

Spring Odds and Ends- Wash your Tools and Gloves

What if you don’t know what to plant in a certain area. Just bring a photo of the area to your planting center and tell them what kind of light you get in that area. They will be able to point you in the right direction. You may also want to get your soil tested. Go to UGA Cooperative Extension for more information or your local Extension office.

*When is the best time to plant an oak....30 years ago! The second best time is now. :D

Again, make sure your tools are clean and ready for another season and wash your gardening gloves and get them freshened up as well.

The best way to help prevent mosquitoes from taking over your yard is by removing all standing water on your property. That’s true for trash cans, toys that are stored outside, gutters and any other area where you see standing water. You can add mosquito eliminating briquettes to places where you just can’t keep the area dry. We have drains in the lawn that we aren’t able to keep dry so I throw in a briquette every so often to kill the mosquito larva.

Prune any shrubs or trees in order to promote new growth and remember to use Holly Tone.

I have a Mahonia (also called an Oregon Grape) I’d like to share with you. I love this plant and it came up wild. I moved it to a better location for me and it’s done well. The birds love the berries and I love the yellow cap it gets on the top. It’s so pretty and is non-deciduous or an evergreen. Another Holly Tone candidate.

Gazpacho Gift

After watching Carla Hall from "The Chew" present dips (Hummus, Blue Cheese and Goat Cheese dip) with crudités in clean clay pots (just like they were growing out of the containers) it gave me a great idea for the perfect gift.

I love gazpacho and I know many other people do too. What if I filled a pot with some of the major ingredients that you’ll need to make a fresh gazpacho and include the recipe! I found the most awesome pot to put all these yummy fresh plants into and I included my own gazpacho recipe. This will make the perfect birthday gift or housewarming or anniversary present!

Container gardening needs a great soil, (I like Espoma Organic Potting Mix) and moister pellets for when you can’t water. Containers get dryer faster so it’s important to make sure you have something like Soil Moist to insure that they don’t dry out and hurt the plant. Plus a good fertilizer- everyone knows how much I like Espoma Gro-tone™. It’s a fish based product that works like a charm. Just follow the label directions.

I’m planting a tomato, pepper, cucumber and parsley plant. I will include a recipe for my favorite gazpacho soup. Tie a ribbon around the whole thing and you’ve got the perfect summer time gift.

Gazpacho:
Two seeded tomatoes, cucumber and pepper chopped
Chopped celery, carrot, onion and bunch of parsley
2 chopped garlic cloves and a bunch of arugula chopped.
1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper
Splash of olive oil and worcestershire sauce.
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 cups tomato juice
Combine the ingredients together - cover and refrigerate
*You can use any color pepper you’d like
*You don’t have to seed the tomato if you don’t want to
*Use scallions, red onion or sweet onions
*Use balsamic, red or white wine vinegar
*Refrigerate for a couple of hours or overnight
*If you don’t like an ingredient - don’t use it