Pumpkin On a Stick & Other Garden Goodies

This is a two for one post. Normally I like to post just one subject but since I've cut back on posting and just can't seem to stick to one thing to photograph in the garden you all get a twofer! The main thing I'd like to share is my 'Pumpkin on a Stick'. Ever heard of it before? No, it's not a fair treat in the class of butter on a stick or koolaid on a stick but it is indeed a neat thing-you will not eat this 'pumpkin' though.

This pumpkin is actually an eggplant, Solanum integrifolia to be exact. This is an ornamental eggplant and as you can see the eggplants look just like pumpkins. I must say this has to be one of the neatest if NOT the neatest thing I've grown in my vegetable garden. I received this one little plant from a fellow master gardener when I won a door prize drawing. Thanks David! He was kind enough to supply me with all literature he had on this plant. David told me he purchased the seeds and started several plants for his garden and to give away to us master gardeners and to a select few of his friends. At first I thought my new acquistion was a brugmansia (which I believe is in the same family as eggplants-Solanaceae) but that was not the case.

Like all eggplants this one needs lots of sun, staking, fertilizer, and heat. My pumpkin on a stick has grown from a 4" plant in June to a more than four foot tall plant in August! There are several small fruits growing on it but only a few have begun turning the pumpkin orange as is characteristic of this fruit. I have read where these 'pumpkins' are great for use in dried arrangements. I suspect they'll come in handy for my garden club this fall. This is a very easy and rewarding plant to grow but I must say it has been mercilessly attacked by flea beetles. I do not normally use any pesticides in my gardens but have resorted to Sevin to combat the flea beetles. Overall the flea beetles have not severely damaged the plant but the damage could get to that point if not treated. 

So I ask you all-have you ever heard of 'Pumpkin on a Stick"? And if so what is your experience with growing it?

Now onto some late summer garden pictures. Here in Tennessee it is Surprise Lily time and boy oh boy do these ever make for treats in the garden. I have several clumps that were started when a gardening friend gave me some bulbs (in February of course). These lilies (Lycoris squamigera) have a great fragrance and last forever as cut flowers in the house.

The butterflies and bees have taken over all the self seeded cosmos in my vegetable garden. It is such a joy to watch all of the insects!

Here we are looking into the vegetable garden-jungle. Not a jungle really but quite full of plants and vegetation. The vegetables and orange cosmos have really done quite well this year. I must say this has been the best season for my vegetable garden. We are still picking great tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers. The cantaloupes and squash will be ready soon. The zucchini plants are the largest I've ever ever grown in my life and the funny thing is I haven't done anything special-except water regularly. I've never had cucumbers past the end of July in my garden. Disease and insects usually take out the cucumbers and squash but this year both have stayed away for the most part. 

I purchased an absolutely fabulous native grass a few months ago at the Perennial Plant Society meeting in June. It is 'Northwinds' Panicum virgatum. I call it my punctuation mark amongst all of the other frilly, roundy, and busy perennials. It really sets off the pineapple sage in front of it and Rudbeckia lacinata to the right of it. Asters and lantana round out the perennials in this area of the Sunny Perennial Border looking toward the Vegetable Garden, aka jungle.



Lastly, you know it is nearing fall when the ornamental grasses begin blooming in Tennessee. This one is my absolute favorite (even more than 'Northwinds'). It is 'Adagio' Miscanthus sinensis and does so well here in my garden that I've spread it all around. It is drought and shade tolerant-a total bonus here. I have it paired with a 'Limelight' hydrangea, an arborvitae, several 'Immaculee' peonies and a 'Little Richard' abelia along the northern edge of my Foundation Beds. 


I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and are looking forward to fall. My neighbor (Mr. C. the farmer) tells me it will be an early fall because all of the swallows have left his farm. He says they usually stick around through most of August but have been gone for a while now. I always listen to him because with all of his years of farming the land and loving the critters that live on it I've found he has a great deal of wisdom-and hasn't been wrong yet. 


in the garden....


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

Vegetable Garden Update-May 2010

From In the Garden

It is that time of the month-Veggie Garden Update time and I have to ask where oh where did the time go? It's hard to believe it is the third Wednesday already! Anyone else feel this way? The above chipmunk might be feeling it wishes time would pass quicker. It had the misfortune of getting stuck inside of a cinder block and my trusty best friend in the garden-BJ-sniffed it out. It was a lucky critter to get away but was most scared though you really can't tell it from its picture. I think if it had more time it would've dug its way out but as it was it only made a hole big enough to fit its head into the adjoining hole of the cinder block. The body was on the other side of the partition. Poor thing. Maybe it will move on now. Onto the vegetables...

In this shot you can almost see the entire vegetable garden. There are a total of six beds including the center circle bed (it used to be the banana bed). I do not include an annual/ornamental bed in this bed count, only the beds used for vegetables. Where the bananas used to grow I have planted cantaloupe to hopefully grow on the cedar arbor. You can make out the large cabbage plants also in this bed. They are doing fantastically! Now if I can harvest the heads prior to the cabbage worms taking over I will declare them a success. Some years I can, some I can't. To the left of the above picture are two beds. Let's take a closer look at them.

Lettuce grows the full length of this bed both in and out of the coldframe. The A-frame is in preparation for bushel gourds; which have been sown but which are slow to germinate during the recent cool weather we've been having. Weather in Middle Tennessee has been a bit odd, though I welcome the rain and coolness. Looking through the A-Frame you can barely make out Swiss chard in the far bed. It is about to flower and has probably gone past its prime. I initially thought this was kale. Duh me. My mother pointed out it was chard and then it came to me. Hey, the memory ain't what it used to be. These two beds are on the left of the first vegetable garden picture. This is the south side of the garden but north of mature oak trees.

Here are the same two beds from a different point of view. Note all of the lettuce growing. The lettuce has been absolutely awesome! I purchased a few six packs from my local big box store and also started a bunch of seedlings. We eat the lettuce every single day and it has been the most rewarding vegetable this year (but it's still early). I do think that as the weather warms up more I will be unable to eat the lettuce because the lettuce is already starting to get a bit bitter. Try saying that twice!
There are two beds on the right side of the vegetable garden. The center circle garden is the focal bed but the whole vegetable garden works well for me. It is a bit small and somewhat shady but I still try to grow veggies. Sometimes I'm successful. This first right hand side bed has tons of peas and lettuce seedlings. I grew two kinds of peas. The taller peas I chose to grow are Burpee Super Sugar Snap peas. I used to think I only liked the taller varieties but I'm not so sure now. This variety is delicious! The package said peas will be mature in 64 days. The time is pretty much on schedule and these were easy to germinate though it took a few weeks. The shorter variety I grew is Burpee's Burpeeana Early. The package said the vines grow to 24" and do not need support. I have not found that to be true. Mine are a bit shorter and leaning on the lettuce. They do however produce as many peas as the tall ones. All things considered I think I prefer taller peas in my garden simply for ease of picking (no bending) and the taller variety seems to cling much better to the support.


The bed right next to the pea/lettuce bed contains five tomato plants. Mixed in with the tomatoes are a few holdovers from last year. Can you see them? It is elephant garlic. I will not harvest this garlic until the foliage turns yellow and falls over. I have also sown some marigolds along the outside of this bed for decorative purposes as well as for companion planting benefits. Directly outside of this garden is the Sunny Perennial Border. This border is located on the northern side of the vegetable garden and adds so much to the vegetable gardens without taking away the sun that it is a definite bonus growing the perennials like this.

The two hay bales growing their peppers and eggplant are doing quite well. If the eggplants can survive the flea beetles I should get some good eggplants. Fingers crossed on that.

Other vegetables planted are kuri squash, and zucchini. I planted beans last year but have no plans to do so this year. I never grow corn because I don't have the space and it is just as easy to buy it at the grocery store, though not as good of course.

Some general notes on vegetables. If you desire all season long vegetables you might wish to succession sow cucumbers, beans, corn, and zucchini. I plan to try succession sowing this year. It is not too late to plant hot season crops but it is too late to plant cool season crops. In fact, all cool season crops should be about ready to harvest in a month or so. This includes garlic, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli.

How is your vegetable garden doing this year?

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team,

In the Garden

Seeking Sun: The Sunny Perennial Border

From In the Garden

Searching for full sun in Tiger Gardens is like finding the Holy Grail-it just isn't going to happen. There is not much sun here. Oh there is sun, but it is blocked by mature trees. Sun blocking by trees is a really good thing when you live in the south, but not such a good thing if you like colorful cottage gardens like I tend to do. So, in an effort to find a sunny spot for a special plant (Queen of the Prairie) I decided to build a Sunny Perennial Border this past May. I was overly excited and joyful because I could finally grow sun loving plants and grow them well. Plants such as: cannas, rudbeckias, sedums, roses, veronica, red hots, daylilies, brugmansias, and many more found there way into the new Sunny Perennial Border and guess what happened? That's right, the Sunny Perennial got filled up quickly and it also got a bit shady-by the plants in the garden itself.

May 2009

Not to be dissuaded I pushed on and planted this garden just as full as I could. Many of the plantings came from cuttings from other plants in the gardens, or I split plants. Other than the Queen of the Prairie no new plants were purchased for this garden. I tiered the plants down toward the grass path; which is runs east to west and is on the northern side of the bed. Therefore the tallest plants are on the south side of this garden and the shorter ones on the north side and unfortunately some plants became shaded as the garden grew and the slanted more to the south. But you can see in the sun in some of the pictures and it is a great thing to find here!

July 2009

The summer progressed on and with all the great rain (not so much sun) the garden thrived. And even with the bit of shade from taller plants this garden flourished and gives me such joy I kept planting and planting...

Late September 2009

Until the Sunny Perennial Border Garden couldn't hold one single plant more lest it would burst at the seems due to the sunlight it was receiving....or could it be due to the gardener's over enthusiasm with seeking the sun and over planting this garden?:) Time for a rework....

in the garden....seeking the sun.

Your Garden Style

Rear Center Garden
What is your gardening style? Do you have one? Do you even want one? Aspire to a style? What is it?Heuchera Garden
Oftentimes we speak of and hear about gardening styles. What exactly is a style and how do you choose a style of gardening?
Front Sidewalk Garden
Well for me I think my style of gardening is considered cottage, eclectic, and maybe a bit crowded. Can that be considered a style?

Front Foundation Bed-Right Side
I find I garden in this manner because I am a bit of a plant collector. I not only want every plant I see, I also want A LOT of those plants.

Sunny Perennial Border
I like lots of color and I want color all year long. As such, I must pack in a lot of plants in order to have something blooming all year. These plants must be planted in big enough drifts to make an impact when their neighbors are out of bloom.

Greenhouse Garden-Sunny Side
At the same time they must be close enough together so that they can carry the color when their neighboring perennials are out of bloom. A hard mission for any garden let alone the numerous ones I have here at Tiger Gardens.

Northside Shrub Border and Walled Garden
I want lots of textures, foliage, and blooms too. The whole garden should work together but how do you get the look you want? I really crave a succession of blooms and can anticipate when the next plant will bloom but putting it all together is a challenge. I do not want to see any ground in between the plants and the less grass I have to cut the better.

Crabapple Garden
So I keep packing in the plants wherever they seem to fit and wherever I think they'll do well. Some things work and some things don't. Then of course I have to adjust my style. I dig plants, I throw out plants, I move plants, I simply abuse my plants in my quest to get the perfect garden according to me.

Greenhouse Garden-Shade Side
Did I mention my garden is sun challenged? No where on this one little acre of dirt does the sun shine for more than 6 hours at a time. That one little spot is in my driveway. Ha! What fun!

Spa Garden
So I garden with shade and shade plants. I enjoy the shade yet I yearn for sun loving plants. I adapt. As do the plants and that is a great thing.

Front Center Garden and Part of Forest Pansy Garden
I try to garden to please me and to find my exact specific gardening style. Gardening is an art that is never really complete. It must always be worked on and oh yes, let's throw in the fact that the gardener will change. We are not static. Just because I garden in a cottage type style now does not mean I will always garden this way. So I adapt and still I strive to find my garden style, but really the whole thing with gardening styles is misleading. The type of gardening you do should be called the "Piece of Me" gardening style. Because no matter what your style is it is uniquely yours and you leave a piece of you in your garden each time you tend it, plant it, edit it, prune it, weed it, well you get the idea.Northside Shrub Border
Don't get wrapped up in garden styles, just enjoy your garden for the reasons you do. And don't ever let anyone tell you what type of style you should have in your garden. Strive to be you and leave a piece of you in your garden. This is what makes all gardeners have a special connection to their gardens. A garden is uniquely the gardener's. You can have ten thousand gardeners gardening in a formal style and I guarantee you not one single garden will be the same. Forget about styles and garden the way you wish to garden. Find your own style...

in the garden....whatever it may be.