I’m growing a few flowers that I would not recommend, or at least I don’t want to grow them again. This is Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Double Click.’ I was pretty excited to grow it last spring when I ordered the seeds from Thompson and Morgan. I need to remember that Cosmos get mildewy very easy, even in…

Today, I fertilized my lawn with Vigoro weed and feed. I hope the weed control part of it works, because I have some dandelions and other weeds in some parts of the grass. I injected quite a few tablespoons of iron into the ground around my sick maple, using my old watering “syringe” thing. I…

I checked my gaillardia (Blanket flower) and oenothera (Missouri evening primrose) cuttings today for roots. I planted them in clear plastic cups so it would be easy to see the roots when they develop. One of the gaillardias has already produced extensive roots, starting to wrap around the bottom of the cup! Another has one…

Today, I noticed that two of my fall-blooming plants are just beginning to blossom. One is Japanese Anemone (Honorine Jobert variety), a tall plant with large leaves and large white simple poppy-like flowers. Here’s a photo from a few years back when they were in full bloom.   I also noticed the first blooms a…

This Saturday, I’m going to make nectarine cobbler, and this is the recipe I used last year. I found it with epicurious.com, and it’s originally from Bon Apetit magazine:

I found a useful website from Washington State University describing when to pick nectarines and apples and how to store them. Here’s the link: Fruit Harvest & Storage.

I haven’t had much time to post lately, but my nectarines started coming ripe within the past week. I still have a bunch on the tree, and some are getting a little overdone, because I haven’t had time to pick them. But I’m going to pick them all tonight, unless there are still some green…