Warm & Cool
In the winter, the sun is at such a low angle all day, the light is always warm and golden. This always is such a difference from the cool blue of the snow and ice that dominates the landscape. When we have freezing rain and ice builds up on everything, it makes for a stunning show.
Days like this always get me to grab my camera and head outside, even despite the cold. This day was really cold, with the wind chill in the negatives. I thought about heading back to the main garden to take photos there, but ended up deciding the ones I got were good enough.
What’s one of your favorite things about how the light changes throughout the year?
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Friday Favorite: Tree Time
I love having a Christmas tree in the house during December. We typically cut a little pine from our property, it’s never a beautifully pruned tree, but it has quirks, big empty spaces, and lots of character.
Our tree is always cut the first weekend of December, after we have arrived home from our yearly trip to Ohio to celebrate the holidays with family.
I’ll drape it with a few strands of white lights and some etched glass bulbs. Simple, and it doesn’t take forever to set up and take down. This year, I’d like to make some pine garland to hang around the front door. There’s no outlet, or I’d decorate it with white lights as well.
One thing I do miss about our Ohio house is the yards of pine garland and white lights adorning the outside of the house during the winter.
Luckily, I can string lights in the old apple tree, those are actually left on all year long. White lights really help brighten up these dark winter nights, they are probably one of my all time favorite things.
When do you set up your Christmas tree? Or do you decorate in other ways?
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Will They Live?
For the past few years I’ve been growing artichokes. Since we live in a cold climate, I grow the varieties that produce in one season. This means I only get one large choke per plants, sometimes the season is long enough for them to produce a few smaller chokes.
This year, I planted 6 plants. Two of them didn’t produce chokes this summer, but the plants are lush and look very healthy. I decided to try to overwinter them to see if they will produce next summer.
After much thought of how to do it, I decided a fiber cement pot turned upside would be the best option. I was going to buy straw to stuff them with, but realized I have a ready supply of oak leaves. I also used this method to protect my acanthus in hopes that it will bloom in a few years.
What frost/freeze protection methods do you utilize in your garden for tender plants?
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Magnesium for Roses
As I mentioned yesterday, I use epsom salts in the garden in a few different places. One of the places I discovered where it is very effective is on roses. I have always read that roses like a foliar spray of magnesium, but I never got around to doing it until this summer.
I mixed 1 Tablespoon of magnesium in gallon of water. I transferred it to a spray bottle and sprayed the leave of my rose bushes every three weeks. The results were amazing. I started spraying in early August and afterwards all of my roses produced a small second flush of blooms. They also put on lots of lush green growth and looked much healthier than they have the past few summers.
For being such an inexpensive thing, epsom salts are really a valuable addition to the garden. I use Ancient Minerals brand because I trust them. This winter I’ll be researching to see if there are any other plants that appreciate a foliar magnesium feed. Next year I’m going to start feeding the roses when I see new growth.
Do you use epsom salts in the garden?
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Using Magnesium in the Garden
My mom always used epsom salts in the garden, she would use them on her tomatoes and peppers. Last year, I started to do the same. It made quite a difference in the amount of fruit and health of the plants. There was zero blossom end rot with a monthly magnesium drink.
I use Ancient Minerals brand, which is the same brand I use for myself when I’m soaking my feet.
I simply add one quarter of a cup to my three gallon watering can, stir to dissolve, then water the leaves and soil of my tomatoes & peppers. Check back tomorrow and I’ll tell you about another way to use magnesium in the garden.
Do you have any gardening tips/tricks to share?
