The Year of the Bottles at Summer Celebration UT Jackson-Part I

How about a little fun with bottles today? No! I am not talking bottles full of spirits so please give up that thought! The bottles I will share and have fun with are empty bottles poised in a garden so as to bring lots of delight to all who see-no artificial 'celebratory' spirits required to have fun!

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of traveling all the way to Jackson Tennessee to participate in the University of Tennessee's Summer Celebration in honor of gardening. UT Jackson is a research facility that trials many plants. Some of the plants are displayed in lovely gardens such as the one above. All plants are labeled and displayed in a beautiful way so as to delight onlookers and make us all go running for our cameras, pens, and paper so as to take notes.

What distinguishes UT Jackson gardens from perhaps some other gardens are all of the lovely adornments. Can you say junk? Junk is right up my alley and I happen to think junk in the right situation is a win-win scenario for all. I mean think about it. This old boxspring (I have several on my property thanks to thoughtless people who prefer to dump on others' property) was saved from the landfill and is now used to bring a smile to onlookers faces. Not to mention it is a great trellis for vines to grow upon. Now if I could only secure those boxsprings on my land from the years of weeds growing up through them-but that is another story. Don't you love the bottles attached to the posts holding up this boxspring? I have also seen boxsprings like this displayed horizontally hanging from say a gazebo. Woven into the springs will be miniature lights so as to give a starry effect to wherever the boxspring is hung. It is a delightful sight!

Now these gears are too much fun in the garden. For some reason almost everyone is drawn to circles in life and in nature. The endlessness of them is tempered by the pointed triangle they are displayed upon. What a nice focal point!

This has to be one of my favorite displays. It was quite different than the usual bottle tree. Here we have wine bottles strung upon cables which are then hung between saw blades that were secured to a cental 4"x4". Sweet!

As my dear friend (Irene) and I walked around we kept finding really neat displays. This garden area near the buildings was one you really had to look at in order to see all of the neat bottle art in it. I will show close ups of the 'fireflies' hanging in the tree and dragonflies taking flight on a later post. You will be amazed at them. I know I was and plan to make some very own fireflies and dragonflies of my own.

I'll finish this post with a picture of my friend Irene and I. (I am the white haired lady on the left). This is the second year for Irene and I traveling to Summer Celebration together and we had a great time and bought lots of super good cultivars and hard to find plants. We swap years for driving and I tell you the drive with a friend makes the time pass by so much more quickly. We are standing in front of the grand 'bottle wall' at the gardens. There is a close up of the bottles in the first picture of this post. This display was probably one of the largest in the gardens and certainly the most grand during this 'Year of the Bottles'.....

in the garden....

Look for a part II to this trip later this week.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Bloom Day September 2010

From In the Garden

Bloom Day this month is much welcomed because the weather has cooled and I can work in the garden-finally! The above 'bottle blooms' are part of a HUGE new project in my garden involving TONS of soil. This is just a sneak peek. When it is all done I will post about the new gardens. If you look just past the bottles you'll see some great sedums blooming. These are wonderful butterfly magnets in my garden and are only now coming into bloom.

From In the Garden

Here is another about to bloom flower with a small skipper perched upon it. I wanted to show this red valerian that I started from seed. Catherine of A Gardener In Progress sent me the seeds for this valerian, great blue lobelia, and 'Lilac Fantasy' veronica. All seedlings are growing great and are finally being set out in the garden. I am ever so excited to see these bloom in a nursery bed in my vegetable garden as there are tons of these flowers all in this state in one bed.

From In the Garden

Lantana 'Miss Huff' is a REAL winner in my garden. I winter over cuttings of this lantana. I have about 10 started already but noticing how special these plants are in spite of the drought makes me want to start about a dozen more. They are easy to winter over and root from cuttings. These cuttings from last year are now about 3'x'3 and a big draw for the butterflies.

From In the Garden

Indigofera amblyantha or Chinese Indigo is a winner. It has been blooming non-stop since May. I just noticed a few seedlings underneath the mother plant and am excited about these. A few garden friends have voiced that they would like a start of it so I plan to spread them around.

From In the Garden

Here we have zinnias, cosmos, and Verbena bonarienis growing in the vegetable garden among a foundation of bricks. I don't know what it is about bricks but these self seeders love the brick and have done well all summer growing through the bricks.

From In the Garden

Phlox 'Flame White' and impatiens growing in the Sunny Perennial Border. 'Flame White' is a dwarf phlox (only about 12"-24" tall) and is a rebloomer. It is stunning!

From In the Garden

Lastly we have 'Sunny Border Blue' veronica. I love the veronicas and have made a big effort at spreading them around my garden. This veronica blooms all season long. And just look at the bumble bee. See all that pollen on its legs? It is a happy bee!

Also blooming not pictured: buddleia, 'Tangerine Beauty' crossvine, hyacinth bean vine, sweet autumn clematis, milkweed, 'Chocolate' eupatorium, melampodium, catmint, bouncing bets, woodland phlox, perennial ageratum, 'Limelight' hydrangeas, ornamental grasses, 'Knockout' roses, mums, cleome, some unknown 'wildflowers', pot begonias, and turtlehead....

in the garden....

On a sad note, Joe Allen, a fellow nature lover, who was a longtime writer here locally and had a book published by APSU passed away recently. I did a post very early in my blogging days (nearly three years ago) about Joe and wanted to let these original commenters and a few other bloggers know about his passing. If you'd like to read the post about Joe you can find it here. He was a very kind and gentle person who truly loved all things nature.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

What Type of Flower Are You?

Two days ago I stated what type of flowers I thought some of my commenters were (at least to me). It was fun. I thought about both the flower and its representations and characteristics, as well as the person's characteristics and what I thought they would like to be as a flower and also maybe what they saw themselves as. Truthfully, I related memories and associations when coming up with some of my pairings.

There is actually a test on the Internet that tells you what type of flower you are. It is a fun test and I took it awhile back. The test said I was a Canna. I can live with that, though it would have to be a bright yellow canna that never gets attacked by Japanese beetles! I know many readers have done the test and know what flower they are according to this test, but what type of flower do you see yourselves as in your own mind? Is it the same as what the test said as far as associations and attributes?

Just for fun, picture yourself a flower, what would you be? Then visit the website and take the test and see if the two match up. What kind of flower do you think others would see you as? You don't have to state the reasons for your choice, but if you like just let us know if the test came up with what you expected. If you wish to share your flower-please do so!

in the garden....

I need some help with the above flower. What type is it??? I purchased it at a plant sale in Maine last year. It was simply labeled "Camp Flower". Does anyone know what it could be? The foliage is similar to that of delphiniums and it is about 3 feet tall.

The Story of the Commenters

All right, now is the time to talk about my commenters. I spend enough time in the garden and talking about it, time to let my faithful and loyal commenters shine.

A few bloggers have emailed me asking about my little group. Many know Skeeter and Lola. These two comment on a ton of blogs and are great commenters. Some know my mother, Jean. She comments on a few blogs she established a relationship with early on in my blogging 'career'. My mother reads more than she comments on. Dawn, my sister, is a loyal and funny commenter ever since my mother and I let her know how to comment. She now has her own blog and is very busy still talking here and blogging in the craft blog community. Anonymous and Nina, well you will have to read their stories below.

The commenters are not listed in any certain order. I have stuck to the original six NOT to slight anyone else who comments on here. Especially my wonderful oldest daughter (Christine) who comments occasionally. I have stuck with these six simply because they were with me when I blogged through an FTP site and were with me religiously. All kept me going and it was like having a conversation with each daily. I have met all, except Lola. Lola lives in Florida and it would difficult for us to meet. We have all traded emails, addresses and phone numbers. We have become friends through this blog and enjoy talking. Blogging buddies or not, you develop a relationship blogging and I think sometimes it is MUCH easier than developing relationships in person. At least you know the person you are speaking to has the same interest (gardening). I don't know about you all out there in cyberland, but as soon as I start talking gardening to others their eyes are liable to roll back in their heads and they are just not all interested (big surprise to me). Big hurdle when you try to establish something in common with someone else. Not so on here as everyone who visits usually likes to garden.

None of my commenters had their own blogs when we began talking. My sister Dawn started hers much later due to the great amount of fun she had on my blog. Skeeter was a member of another blog and was familiar with blogging, but does not have her own blog. She and I share pretty well on here.

I am not including commenters like Dave, Frances and Gail, who all have their own blogs and were also early commenters in this posting. They would need their own posting. I do appreciate every one who takes the time to comment on here, especially other bloggers. I have also been fortunate to meet a few other bloggers; which was super great! But Dave, Frances and Gail and I all kind of found each other through the blogging community; whereas these original six found my blog through a different community, one published via an FTP.

This FTP was a whole new ballpark for bloggers. I would never recommend blogging through an FTP to anyone who truly WANTS to blog and relate to others, but it did bring into my life some really nice people I might not ever have met except through the FTP. (One can never be sure though) Those are: Skeeter, Nina, and Lola. I already knew Anonymous, and obviously I know my mother and sister.

Now, on to the commenters. Since this is a garden blog, and since you all know how corny I am at times (okay-maybe like all the time!), I chose pictures of flowers to represent my commenters. Also, I want to say I refer to these guys as my commenters, but really they aren't! They can read and comment anywhere! The good thing about the computer and cyberland is that commenters are not limited to a certain blog. There are SO many blogs that readers and commenters can be picky and choosy. At the same time, there is no way commenters can ever possibly comment on all blogs they read and like. It is NEVER personal, and I know all folks understand this. Commenters, bloggers, and even readers who never comment, need to find their niche and they have to have something in common with the blogger in order to return. So, onto my flowers....oops! commenters!
This picture of lilacs represents Anonymous. Lilacs are her favorite flower. She is from Pennsylvania and remembers their sweet fragrance from the north. It is great she can grow them down here. She chooses to remain anonymous and I will always respect her privacy. Anonymous lives locally and she and I have been friends for more than five years, though we had lost contact for a few years. When my new blog (published through an FTP) was to begin, there was some publicity about it in the newspaper. Anonymous's Number #2 son saw my picture and told his mom. She began reading the blog from nearly day one way back in September of 2007. I never knew! Anonymous would never comment. I ran into her one day at the Wal-Mart and we began talking. I was quite shocked she knew all about me, my grandson and the Jimster and so on! I don't know why I would be surprised, I mean duh, the info is out there for anyone to read. I guess the shocking part was not knowing who was reading, and not knowing she was reading. Very shocking indeed in this small community.

Anonymous has contributed many photos to this blog and is an excellent photographer. She took the picture of the lilacs posted above.

After a time, we began talking on here. Slowly and hesitantly at first. Commenting in cyberworld can be a daunting thing. Truly. And I do think you have to be careful about it all. Anonymous did the right thing by moving slowly. Now thanks to the blog, Anonymous and I have a daily relationship that has grown and grown. We all love to hear her talk about Sidekick chasing lizards, or catching snakes, Girl Model decorating her room, Boy #2's baseball antics, and Boy #1's activities as well. Not to mention her 'Red Beauty' and the ritual of cutting the grass (with a weedwhacker?!). I always enjoy her comments and we visit in person as well. This friendship has been going strong for awhile and will continue for life.

The hydrangea has to without a doubt represent my mother, Jean. Whenever I see hydrangeas I think of my grandmother and the hydrangea my grandmother planted in my mother's vegetable garden.

My mother is handicapped and has an awful hard time getting around. She has not gardened in years, but I grew up with a garden everywhere we lived due to her love for gardens. The one thing my mother can do is to use a computer. She doesn't know a single thing about the technical machines but sure does love the Internet. Along came a little blog called, In the Garden authored by her oldest daughter, and now my mother had a new outlet on the Internet that led to two very important things. The first is that she and I can talk not only each and every day, but she can also see what is going on in my life and my garden. She can see pictures of my family real time and we can talk about it all. The second thing is that she has been motivated to begin her own gardening endeavors. Her gardens have helped her to be able to move around a bit more and also have helped to bring our far flung family together in the common goal of working Mother Earth. It has been great fun talking with my mother each day.

My mother visits a few other blogs here in Tennessee. She doesn't always comments but reads and really takes an interest in the people behind the blogs.

My sister Dawn is not even one year younger than me. We never had much in common growing up (think always fighting as it is with close in age siblings who almost always had to share a room!) but we sure do now. The above rose is a beautiful rose growing in Dawn's garden in Maine. It is a purple bluish one and very fragrant. Dawn has many roses and that is why I chose a rose to represent Dawn. Though my mother would say she is a Georgia Peach, I do not have a photograph of a peach blossom.

Dawn is a gardener, a collector and a crafter. I am also all three of these but my first love is gardening. Dawn's first love is crafting. She used to read this blog occasionally, then was schooled on how to comment. She has been on here ever since. Oftentimes my commenters would send me pictures that they wanted to share. I used to do the posts but once I switched to blogger, I chose to invite my commenters to share their own pictures in their own words. Dawn took the plunge and began sharing gardening related posts from Maine. I always enjoy her posts and her comments, especially Oy Vey! A few of my favorite posts from Dawn are: Dwarf Dogwood and Fiddleheads and Sensation.

Dawn and her husband have been building their dream house for about four years now. She has finally completed the house and is getting settled. Once that hurdle was no more she was able to focus on her crafting. Dawn started her own blog called C & G Designs. She posts daily and has made many contacts of her own. She has agreed to continue to post on here occasionally, and we have decided the first Saturday of each month is her posting day. It has worked well and I enjoy being able to share this blog with the commenters and readers. I appreciate the break too!

The iris has to be Nina. Nina is a true meet on the blog gardening friend. I never knew her prior to her talking with me on the blog. She loves to garden and is an experienced gardener too! I have learned quite a bit from her and she enjoys my 'lectures' on gardening as well.

I can't remember what Nina first commented on, but I have a funny story to share about it. She would comment each night on the same post after I had already gone to bed. I would get up in the morning and check the posts and find she had commented. I would always start my reply with "Good morning." Do you know I probably had about 6 or 7 "Good mornings" on that one post to Nina? After a while it probably looked pretty silly to viewers. Sigh. Yes, we were all kind of new to blogging. Now I feel like I am an old experienced blogger but never do I miss those early days. No sirreee! Now I will say good morning just once on each post.

Nina and I continued to talk for some time. We talked of gardening, of her father and of plants. After a while some of the commenters began talking to each other. Nina and my mother had a great deal in common, though all commenters at the time started conversations with one another. There were some days I did not even need to comment because they would talk amongst themselves. Those days when the commenters talk with one another are always my proudest days as a blogger. I loved seeing the community develop among the commenters. A relationship began developing. Plans were made to meet and carried through. Nina, Anonymous, Sidekick and I had a delightful lunch at the Front Page Deli one bleary winter day. The next meeting was an invite to lunch at Nina and Jean's place south of Clarksville. It was delightful! I got to see her gardens and beautiful home, meet her husband, and just hang out and talk gardening. Since then we have met a few more times. Plants and gifts were exchanged (thanks Nina!) and we have gotten to know each other. I am so glad to have met Nina and look forward to exchanging many more gardening stories.

Nina is also the person who introduced me to those famous 'Yucca Tulips'.She even made her own and sent me a picture. I have a feeling it will be an annual tradition here at In the Garden. Nina is also a bottle tree lover and has one of her own as well as many of my friends.

The daylily above can only be my one and only commenter, Lola. It is yellow, (my favorite color in the garden), strong and reliable. It is a mainstay in all of our gardens, as is Lola here at In the Garden. Lola is one of the most faithful and smartest commenters on here. I met Lola through the FTP website. The relationship began with emails then progressed onto talking on the blog. We still do email frequently. Since day one Lola has talked with each and every person on here. I always, always love how she makes a point to respond to each person.

Lola lives in Florida but is originally from close to me here in Tennessee. It is unlikely she will travel much so if we are to meet, I think it will have to be in Florida. One of my sisters lives in Florida, as does my uncle, so we may just meet one day. Even if we don't, my mother has talked of meeting up with Lola in Florida, and I have many pictures of her and her family. I know Lola has a few 'Young Uns', and some very cute great grandkids living near her. She loves to garden and is a brilliant gardener, coming up with some very innovative methods of solving problems.

Lola has collaborated with me on several postings, to include: Poke Me a Salat, Arbors (though some of the pictures were lost in the switchover from the FTP), Tuberroses, Tip Day, Poinsettias, Raised Beds, and most likely a few others as well. It is getting hard for me to remember with nearly 400 posts in 10 months. Please forgive me Lola. And keep up the super conversation and sharing of your vast knowledge.

Lastly, is Skeeter. Skeeter is a rose for sure (though lantana and butterfly weed ran a close second). Skeeter and I met when she was a member of another blog on the FTP website. She is an ardent blogger and super nice person. We first met last fall when she came to town from Georgia for a visit with her family. We met at the library on hot fall day and exchanged a few gifts. It was wonderful to meet her and her husband the Saint. Our next meeting saw Skeeter and the Saint coming out to Tiger Gardens. We had a lovely visit and talked for quite a while. I really appreciated her taking time out of her very busy visits to Clarksville to travel all the way out to my neck of the woods. Anyone who travels to visit family knows how busy these trips can be and to have her make the special effort meant a lot to me.

I wish I could say Skeeter was my very first commenter, but someone else beat her to the punch. No matter, Skeeter has been the longest and most faithful and regular commenter on this blog. Out of 342 posts (not counting this one), only six posts don't have a comment. This is solely due to Skeeter commenting every single day no matter what! Skeeter-what is up with those six??? Just kidding. Some posts would only have two comments, mine and hers, or even just one comment, hers. I was so discouraged those first few months that I considered giving up this blog. She encouraged me and kept the faith and held on. Somehow she just knew the blog would pick up and more people would begin commenting. I have to say, that this was during a time when this blog was published through an FTP website. I had no idea how many readers were reading (if any) and was discouraged about the whole situation. The FTP people were not much help, Skeeter was the biggest help through it all. I only tell you this because most bloggers have the ability to track their stats, I did not. So not getting comments (except from Skeeter) and not knowing my readership was a bit discouraging. Now of course I track my own stats and get comments regularly. Comments are-how did one blogger put it? Annie in Austin put it best when she says, "A comment from you is like chocolate- maybe I could live without it, but life is more fun with it." Skeeter is just one of the many commenters who put the fun in this blog, but she should get an award just for doing this so regularly and so faithfully that I am so impressed! Okay! Enough on the comments.

Skeeter is an avid gardener and pet lover. She will tell you her pets always come first, and they do! But running right alongside the two black-as-night kitties (Sheba and Cheetah?) is her love for gardening. She is an excellent gardener and has shared many, many photos and topics with me over the past ten months. Too many to link or address, but I will mention just a few. The very first post Skeeter helped me out with was Lantana. In fact, she brought me a huge lantana plant from her garden. I am happy to say it is doing well in blooming in yellow in my garden. This post was on October 2, 2007 and was posted within one week of my beginning the blog! Skeeter was there from the start and it has been so great!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was also my 'partner in crime' in taking pictures of some Butchered Crepe Myrtles. I never could've done this post without her help. From the beginning Skeeter has helped me out.

Once I switched my blog to blogger from the FTP site, I realized there was no need of her or any of the commenters helping me out anymore. Now I could easily add them in as contributors to In the Garden and they could post on their own about things they found important in their areas. This plan never would've worked had it not been for the relationship we all developed on this blog over the time it has been in existence. We have a unique blog in that we can do this here at In the Garden, and I can say it has been a painless process and one that I am ever so happy to have put into place! You see, early on in the beginning I was nervous and hesitant to really venture into blogging while posting on the FTP site. Skeeter gave me some great advice that has stuck to this day-even while I was on vacation last week! Skeeter's advice was this: (in a comment no less!)

"Tina, you have to post daily, try and post only once a day, and try to keep the posts short and not so technical."

This has been good advice and I have tried to follow it religiously. I think readers AND commenters like the regularity of the posts (maybe not always the length) and I try to keep them going daily. Subject matter is never an issue for me, time is the issue. That is why adding Skeeter, Dawn, and other occasional guests, (like my daughter Christine) is such a good idea for me and this blog. I get a break, they get to have fun and talk and share, and the blog goes on. Now onto my vacation and the advice. I contemplated not posting while I was out of the net, but Skeeter encouraged me to continue to do so and said she would fill in for me. What a pal! Recently Skeeter agreed to try out posting on Saturday and Sunday (with the exception of the first Saturday of the month which is still Dawn's day to post). I am hoping she enjoys it as much as I do on the other days of the week thanks to all of the commenters and readers. Thanks Skeeter and all of my commenters for being there and being a part of

In the Garden....

P.S. One more thing about In the Garden, the contributors have carried on my little closing on all my posts as a sort of homage to me and I want to say I appreciate this! It was totally their doing with no input from me.

Disclaimer: Most of the commenters knew I was preparing this post-but not all. So if you are one of them I hope you don't mind.:)

In closing FINALLY! I do want to say thanks to anyone and everyone who has ever commented on here or on ANY blog. Most bloggers love comments and they do mean alot to the blogger-so keep them coming! Even one single comment is important-so get your typing fingers warmed up!

What is Wrong With This Picture?

Can you see what is missing in the above two pictures? Back in December we had a sleepy driver take out the right side of our driveway, narrowing missing the wagon wheel (which was great), but decimating the split rail fence and the plants (all of them).

The split rail fence was fairly easy to fix. The man did take responsibility and helped Mr. Fix-it put it all back together. The plants took a bit more work and were not as easy to fix. The yuccas; which are doing fantastically on the left side of the driveway, look quite a bit different from the yuccas on the right side of the driveway. Yuccas? You can't see them? That is because they were ripped out and have not yet recovered. Some might not ever recover, but a few are coming back slowly. You might just be able to see one to the right of the wagon wheel. There will be no blooms from these yuccas this year. Time will tell what next year will bring.

You can't see the prickly pears growing behind the wheel on the left side, but they are there, and growing fabulously. Not so on the right side. The prickly pears were out in the middle of the road when I found them that morning. The damage from the errant car is just now really becoming evident. But at least there is a good excuse for the off balance plantings; a sleepy driver and 2000 pound hunk of metal. These two plants will happily grow back and no one was injured so all in all it is okay.

The last picture is also of the driveway and the 'Driveway Garden'. I just love coming home and seeing my little garden here, lopsided or not, so I had to post this view. The garden is coming along nicely. The shastas are blooming now, and it won't be long before the annuals and daylillies come into their own as well. Have a great day and I hope no mishaps happen to your plants!

in the garden....

Quite a Pair!

The Beachaven Garden Club had the pleasure of the company of two very passionate and fun people, Pat and Frank Arendt. Pat and Frank love purple martins. I don't think it would bother them a bit if I said they LIVE for purple martins. Purple martins make them happy, and that is what living is all about.

Frank and Pat explained all about the purple martins; how Frank grows the gourds (lots of Miracle Gro), then prepares the gourds to receive his 100 plus purple martins in March, right about now. The purple martins stay until July, then leave on their annual migration to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

These two very gregarious and sharing people invited all of us to come visit them and the purple martins at their beautiful home on Oak Plains Road. Friday was an outstanding day to visit not only with the Arendt's and the purple martins, but also a beautiful garden.

Daffodils. Lots and lots of daffodils. Frank loves them because they are 'a harbinger of spring'. He has literally dug thousands from a nearby homestead (with permission) and replanted them onto parts of many acres. They are just lovely. All are planted in random clumps throughout the very large property and around the house, woods, and near the purple martin gourds.

The gourds themselves were works of art. It was clear a great deal of love and care has gone into creating the perfect home for the purple martins. I did not take pictures of the birds themselves, but they were present. Were they ever! They are beautiful and magnificent birds which reward people with their company. I tell you, as much as I love all birds, I totally fell in love with these purple martins.

I have always liked them and would love them in my yard. But purple martins in my yard will never happen. Even though there is a nearby pond (purple martins like the water nearby), I have WAY too many trees. Martins need a flyway and lots of space clear of trees. If you are trying to attract martins and are not having luck-this could be your problem.

I asked Frank to describe their song. He could not. Immediately after garden club I checked for a clip of the martins song on the Internet. Here is the link:

http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=purple%5Fmartin&link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.birdwatchersdigest.com%2Fsite%2Fsounds%2Fbird%5Fid%2Fpurple%5Fmartin.ram

It is a well worth listening to this unique song. Enjoy. And thanks Pat and Frank for a lovely program and visit! We will all be back in June when it is pande-martinum at the Arendt's home.

in the garden....

Nature About Us....

This post is about a person who has spent two of my lifetimes loving nature. Not only has he loved nature, but he has written and shared his love of nature with countless fans. His name is Joe D. Allen.

On my initial meeting with the editors of the Leaf Chronicle, Mr. Stevens spoke of Joe Allen. He said he used to write nature articles for the paper, but that his health had deteriorated and he was no longer able to write. What a sad loss for us all. It made me think of other writers who wrote articles for the paper and who no longer write. Jim Monday currently writes an interesting weekly article, as does Rusty Evans. I will miss them both when one day they stop writing. But I won't forget the writers. Just like I haven't forgotten Joe Allen.

I do not know Joe Allen, but I religiously read his articles each week. He taught me much about nature. My friend Ursula, personally knows Joe. She has never forgotten his kindness when he came to her home and shared his knowledge of nature with her. Joe now resides in Grace Nursing Home at 111 Ussery Road (formerly known as General Care Convalescent Center) here in Clarksville. Ursula visits Joe frequently. She prepared the posters of the birds Joe loves so much that now decorate his wall at the nursing home. Ursula and I are hopeful Joe will one day soon get a window bed, where he can look at the birds outside his window eating at the birdfeeder firsthand.

Ursula and I visited with Joe Allen yesterday. He was happy to see us and enjoyed our visit very much. Ursula is a kind friend who shows her care in all she does. She brought him some food; which he loved very much. I told Joe I also write about nature, though my focus is more on gardening than the wildlife, and that I would like to honor him on here and in the Leaf Chronicle as a wonderful writer, fellow nature lover, and a super person who shared so much with so many others. He agreed.

Knowing how much Joe loved birds I asked him which was his favorite. Can you readers of his weekly column and book remember which bird he loved most? Hint: It is the first bird he ever wrote about and the subject of the initial essay Stan Gower, then editor of the Leaf Chronicle in 1956, published. It is the Cardinal!

Joe was an integral figure in the establishment of the local chapter of the National Audubon Society, the Warioto Audubon Society. This chapter is still active today as I often read of it in the newspaper.

Do you know of Alan Jackson's song "Small Town Southern Man"? When I hear this song I always think of Joe. He learned about nature from observing wildlife on his family's farm here in Clarksville. He says in his book, Enjoying Nature About Us, that "birds do not consider a man on a tractor to be such an enemy as a man walking, so I could often pass very close by them." The cover picture of this very same book shows Joe sitting on his John Deere tractor. Joe is truly a good patron of nature and life and we need more like him in this world.

While Joe has always been a protector and lover of nature, his passion for writing is what has enabled the rest of us to truly appreciate nature and to gain an understanding of how everything in life is connected. He says, "From the beginning it was my aim to encourage others to understand, appreciate, enjoy, and conserve the wonderful work of nature around us." Joe, you have truly done this and touched my life, as well as countless others.

For all of you readers and friends out there, and I know there are many, a visit to Joe to talk about the nature we all love would truly lift his spirits. I hope everyone can find the time to visit loved ones (friends and family) members in nursing homes as it does so much to lift their spirits-and yours too! After all, we all may one day be in such a position where we can no longer write or do the things we love to do. It is a sad fact of life.

in the garden....Enjoying Nature About Us.

More Reasons to Love Yucca Tulips and Hellebores

As if blooming for four months and happily (but not thugishly) spreading about wasn't enough, here are some more pictures of hellebores. I wish they were mine! But someday. See why I love them so much? Lola sent me these. She is a great researcher and helps me out alot with plants.

Aren't they lovely?

I was outside painting some pickets in order to extend my privacy fence between the adjacent property owner and our home, when a Jeep pulled very assuredly into the driveway. I don't get an awful lot of company so I was not sure what to think. Surely these two guys must be lost?

No, they both jumped out smiling and laughing and asked me, "Are those real flowers?! That is a yucca isn't it?!" Get it yet?

These two gentlemen are loggers working a job down the road (there is ALOT of logging off from my little state highway). One of them had seen the yucca tulips yesterday and couldn't believe his eyes. So today, on their way home when the passenger saw the yucca tulips as well, they knew they HAD to stop and take a closer look. Turn around they did! Obviously these two gentlemen do not read this blog-gotta rectify that since they both love wildflowers and flowers in general. Right guys?! They really liked my little Tete e Tete daffys as well.

I told them the history and how to make them. They couldn't stop smiling and I am SO glad for that. I love making folks smile and if a little whimsy in my front yard can do that-how great.

They said if I put up a privacy fence no one would be able to see the garden and whimsy. Not entirely true. All my friends are welcomed to stop by anytime, others when invited. My few neighbors are welcomed anytime and they know it, as they are not shy coming over or having us over for a barbeque. There have been many others who have stopped by and unless it is a Survivor night, I am always happy to show the garden. I warn you though, it may take awhile. Right Judie and Phil? Deb and Jim? Electra? Vania and Lizabeth? My neighbors on Mike's Court? And all my friends and neighbors who have visited. Love sharing, as do most of the gardeners I know.

Speaking of neighbors and folks, I will soon be talking about a WONDERFUL gardener who lives out here in Woodlawn. She is one of the good neighbors and is always happy to share her garden with other gardeners. Longtime readers of this blog will recognize some of the plants she has given to me and without giving too much away all I can say is she is a gardener I truly look up to....stay tuned. Could it be you?

Thanks guys for stopping by and making my day by seeing you all smile when you noticed my yucca tulips! Just the reaction I was hoping for!

I also want to thank my friends Lola and Harold. I placed a bowling ball in their garden (unbeknownst to them). Harold had lots of smiles when he saw it. He then added some golf balls to the bowling ball (unbeknownst to me) and made ME smile. What a day!

in the garden....waiting for some paint to dry.

Grandparents, and Gardening With Children

There can be no greater pleasure than to share gardening. Gardening with children is an especially rewarding way to share the joy.

There was an article I read recently which said children are not learning gardening anymore. Families are too spread out and don't have close connections to grandparents, which traditionally (at least in my time) have been the primary trainers of up and coming gardeners. I learned to love gardening from my maternal grandmother and grandfather, and also from my paternal grandfather.

My grandmother was of the WW II generation and back then Victory Gardens were very big. She gardened and loved peonies most, and always wore gardening gloves; my grandfather did the heavy labor, such as chopping firewood, tilling and mowing. It worked.

My paternal grandfather, lost two wives to cancer. The second wife was my father's mother and she passed on when he was only 12. My grandfather, who died when I was only 12, used to take me to my grandmother's grave. He had planted a peony on her grave. He said it was forever and that was what he wanted growing on his grave. The last time I went to northern Maine (it has been awhile), we went to the cemetary. There are no markers on their graves, but the peonies are still growing and I had no trouble finding the graves. The seriousness of my grandfather about the peonies impressed a great love for flowers upon my young mind, especially peonies. Now you all can see why I am so happy they grow well here in Tennessee.

Where does all this lead besides telling you something mighty personal? To grandparents, gardening and children today. Really, not much has changed since I was a kid. Children still have grandparents, though families are often separated by distance, grandparents still garden, and nowadays, I think there are more parents gardening as well. You would never think this considering just how busy parents are with raising their children and working, but I truly believe more and more younger people are gardening because they value their homes and lives even more today.

Lola is a grandparent who loves to garden with her great grandchildren. The first picture is of her in her garden with the boys, the next two are of the boys, Anthony and Nicholas. Lola taught them how to plant the corn they are eating in the photographs. She is a hands on gardener with these two boys and you can see they enjoy the corn. They will also always have the good memories of growing those first ears of corn with their great grandmother.

The adorable baby sitting down with his 'Papa' is my grandson, Joshua. 'Papa' is Joshua's great grandfather, my mother's husband. Papa has had many grandchildren and great grandchildren on his lap over the years. He does a great job with them all and Josh is blessed to be close to a big part of his father's family in Maine. That family includes an aunt (my daughter Christy-she absolutely dotes on this baby and sees him daily), great aunts (Dawn with Peaches and Terri), cousins (Zack, Nikki-pictured below, Sandra and Heather), another set of great grandparents (my father and his wife), and various other uncles, aunts and distant cousins, as well as lots of friends. I am looking forward to teaching Josh all about gardening when he moves back to Tennessee. He will never remember his visits to the garden when he was only one month old, but he will be back someday. For now, I have to leave the teaching to my mother and extended family in Maine, since he and his parents (my son Brian and his wife Sarah) live there.

When I was growing up it was VERY rare to know great grandparents. It seems not to be rare anymore and many, many children are blessed to know not only their grandparents, but great grandparents too.

The sweet little blond boy with the big smile is anonymous's son, Jacob. You will hear her refer to him as "her sidekick" or the "little man". Jacob is the youngest of four; who all keep anonymous and her husband very busy, along with her gardening and new house. They walk around the south Clarksville neighborhood they call home right here in the Sango community on a daily basis and have a great time discovering all the flowers along the walk.

The little girl bravely touching the Prickly Pear, is my niece Nikki. She lives in Maine with her mother (Dawn with Peaches), father (Jack of all Trades), and big brother (Zack). I am not sure, but if she is like her mother and Aunt Tina, she will have the gardening gene and crafty gene as well. Though the crafty part will come from her mother, who is a creative crafter and excellent seamstress.

The next picture is of Nina's granddaughter in Georgia. Her name is Sarah. Her mother (Nina's daughter) got the gardening gene. Both she and Sarah help Nina help in the garden frequently. Nina lives and gardens in Erin, just south of Clarksville. Sarah and her mother will be visiting soon. During the visit Sarah will help 'plant' some yucca tulips on her grandmother's yuccas. I will do a post on the yucca tulips very soon and will feature Sarah again.

The very last picture is of our Skeeter, aka Roxanne. Actually, Skeeter is Roxanne's beloved orange cat in her arms. Most of us realize our pets are part of our families, Roxanne's pets are her 'children', and this post wouldn't be complete without including her along with all the other children and grandchildren of commenters on this blog. Roxanne uses her cat's name as her screen name and is also a Pet People blogger. Now all of you know where the name Skeeter comes from! Isn't he beautiful? That flowering tree next to them as well.

I hope you all have enjoyed my post on grandparents, children and gardening. I especially hope my regular commenters and their families (including all the children pictured) enjoy this post-as it is solely for them and their families!

in the garden....thinking about families.

Garden Club

The third week of the month is a very busy week for me. I call it my Garden week. I not only attend the monthly Perennial Plant Society meetings in Nashville, but also attend my garden club meetings.

I have been a member of the Beachaven Garden Club for 3.5 years. I think in all that time I have missed only two meetings. When I first retired from the military I desperately sought out other gardeners through groups. Starting with the Master Gardener Association. I have attended and completed the course (with honors), but this association was not an option for me in Tennessee. I next tried some garden clubs. I was told garden clubs are social clubs and not really what I was looking for. Next, Karen of The Garden Place on Woodlawn Road directed me to the Perennial Plant Society. Just what I wanted but it meant a trip to Nashville each month. Bummer. I still wanted a local club.

In the summer of 2004 Stacy Smith-Segovia did a feature article on the way I garden, specifically the French Intensive method of gardening. This article was my first public exposure with gardening here in Clarksville. Obviously, I have much more public exposure since I started this blog, but more on that next week. That first article opened alot of doors for me back then in the Clarksville community.

Sandra Watson, the President of the Beachaven Garden Club, saw that article and called me to ask me if I would like to visit her club. I missed the meeting I was supposed to visit. Shame on me! But, made the next one. The ladies asked me to join and here I am still a proud member, and now the President. (I think no one else would do it-lol) This garden club has made me feel so very welcomed in Clarksville and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not only do we socialize, because we are friends, but we also talk gardening, share plants and learn from one another. I often speak of my garden club friends on here; Sandra, Diann, Geri, Esther, and Nancy so far.

This week's meeting saw us treated to a really colorful and interesting program on a subject even I am not too terribly familiar with, Wildflowers. Charles and Vicki Moffitt (pictured) are a great team who pleased all present Thursday evening with the great pictures of the Applachian Mountain wildflowers. They have both personally hiked from Georgia to Maine, documenting the trip all along the way through some really wonderful pictures. Vicki especially loved Maine and had the opportunity to get down from the mountain to the coast where George Bush has a summer home. Anyone know what city that is in Maine? Besides my mother and sister who live in Maine. You can't answer.

Charles and Vicki are known on the trail as Papa Smurf and Flame. Can you guess why? We all had a great time enjoying the show and appreciate them traveling all the way from Springfield in the cold dreary rain last evening. Thanks! I believe they have a website under trail journals listed under their trail names, but I am not sure so I have not included a link. Sorry.

in the garden....

Favorite Names

This crocus is not the first bloom of the year, but it is exciting none the less. The first bloom went to the witch hazel, then hellebores and of course the pansies.

I was wondering what kind of pet names you readers have for plants, gardens or whatever. I call daffodils DD's for either d$%#& daffodils or daffy ducks, depending on how I am feeling. When I have to divide them of course they are not the nice name. I also call nasturtiums nasties and rhododendrons rhodies. I can't think of any others right now but I know I am not the only one who has pet names for plants. I also have names for gardens, but they are boring names like 'Hydrangea Garden' and 'Driveway Garden'. What are some names you all have?

in the garden....

He TOOK Responsibility!

First of all, I seem to spend alot more time talking about gardening lately than actually gardening. Maybe because it is wintertime, hope so. Yesterday was a garden day and boy did it ever feel great! The soil is still warm and it is not too late to still plant. I was actually dividing those "DDs" and moving perennials (garden phlox, Siberian irises and bearded irises).

DD stands for d*&$#d daffodils! I call them DD because EVERY single year I end up dividing and moving mine around. It is a tedious task I don't mind doing occasionally. I usually don't divide until February, but I found ALOT of DDs that are showing their heads already! December is way too early for daffodils to be growing above ground. I like that the DDs multiply so rapidly and I certainly like the free plants-but I want to enjoy them just ONE year without having to divide them.

I also found a bunch of radishes I don't remember planting! I must have though because you can bet it was not Jimmy nor Mr. Fix-it. If you put out some radish seeds a month or two ago, you might check and see if you too have some radishes growing in your garden. These ones are behind Mr. Fix-it's garage in Jimmy's garden where I don't always venture so that is my excuse for overlooking them.


Okay, on to the fence. Deputy Fuson did a great job finding the culprit who took out my fence. Thanks! The sleepy guy's name is John, and while he said I could use his last name, I will not use last names on my blog unless specifically requested to do so by the person. John is a very nice guy and I tell you I was almost ready to give him money for Christmas rather than him pay for the fence! Too funny. The really big thing for me was for him to take responsibility, and he has; so NO money will exchange hands. The damage is not all that bad and John will help to fix it. This is more than enough for us because of his honesty and willingness to accept responsibility. There are still decent people in this world who own up to their actions and John is definitely one of them.

John and his passenger BOTH were too sleepy to keep an eye on the road. The accident began with John drifting off and crossing an opposite traffic lane, entering the adjacent property owner's ditch, hitting their driveway and then waking up. By this time it was too late. John's little car was too far gone. As he corrected right to go back onto the road, the tail end driver's side took out the first fence pole, he literally flew over the ditch while clipping a wagon wheel and taking out the rest of the fence. All this happened in less than 20 seconds. John and his passenger were then VERY awake. They looked back and didn't see anything (it was dark this is true), thought they only hit a ditch, then drove off for some much needed sleep.

The car suffered some damage in the form of a dent on the driver's side rear quarter panel with lots of green fence paint in it, a dented wheel rim from when he hit the adjacent property owner's ditch, some scrapes, dirt, debris and who knows what else happened mechanically. John didn't even realize it until today when he really looked at his car. All in all not too bad considering it could have been much worse. I am SO grateful no one was injured, the fence will be repaired (John-we'll call!), and the plants will grow back. No harm, no foul.

Folks, if you are sleepy then don't drive. After pulling an all nighter you WILL be sleepy so have an alternative plan. Better safe than sorry this holiday season as it only takes a second. John agrees an idiot hit my fence, but accidents happen to all of us. It only takes a blink of an eye and once it is done, it cannot be taken back and you have to accept responsibility for the outcome. Just ask John.

Accidents can be big or small. Kind of like waterfalls. My family had the pleasure of visiting Niagara Falls this past spring and it was an awesome experience. One we'll never forget. The above picture is of the falls. Enjoy and be SAFE this holiday season!

in the garden....

Take Responsibility

Okay everyone. Good morning! I usually post the first thing in the morning and have my post ready well in advance of posting time. This morning was no different as I have a very nice post prepared and was going to use it. But when I woke up, I woke up to the sound of thumps coming from the road. I went out to investigate and what should I find but that some IDIOT had taken out my fence, then drove off and left all the debris in the road for others to hit.

I know accidents happen and there is no doubt this was accidental. But the person driving the small maroon car had to cross a two foot deep ditch and travel quite a ways off from a STRAIGHT road where the speed limit is ONLY 40 miles per hour. Undoubtedly, he was either sleepy, speeding or drunk-maybe a combination of all three or some other reason I cannot think of right now. Or maybe he was just late to work and couldn't stop to make it right. Time will tell as there is no doubt the culprit will be found with all the evidence there is on the incident.

Fortunately there were two witnesses to the accident and the Sheriff Department had already been notified by one of the witnesses of the incident by the time I called in the report. THANK YOU! It is people like the witness who are willing to get involved in matters like this that make ALL the difference in this world.

While I understand accidents happen, the smart and decent thing to do would have been to knock on my door and inform me of what happened and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! It certainly should not be my job, time, and expense to fix something he broke, whether accidentally or not. I am sure he will be caught, hopefully he will come forward before that time. This matter can be resolved quite easily if he does. The culprit need only take responsibility.

I know the car suffered quite a bit of damage. It had to have because there are some serious rocks and castle rock which were thrown into the road. Additionally, the fence posts were cemented into the ground. The callousness of not reporting the accident is one thing, but to leave the debris in the road for others to possibly have an accident themselves is unconscienable. I know there are people like this in the world, but I am hopeful and optimistic this person is one of the decent ones and had a good reason for driving off and leaving behind the damage for others to suffer the consequences. One of the witnesses had to stop to move a fence pole out of his way prior to moving on. If he hadn't, who knows who else would have had damage to their vehicle?

The person who hit the fence did not even get out of the car and check the damage. The second picture was taken after I tried to put the pole back in the hole and righted the second pole. It was also taken after I stacked the rocks back up into the wall where they were prior to the person hitting them.

I'm in the garden....fixing all the damage to the yuccas and prickly pear this poor driver caused when he ran into my yard onto my property.