Finally summer has come and have been able to spend some serious time gardening, much to my joy and pleasure; altho’ the back hates it a lot!

We have carrots, Swiss Chard (out of our ears), zuchinis, yellow crooks with a green ends, cherry tomatoes, heritage tomatoes, acorn squash, peppers, melon, lufa squash and lots of flowers, which are all getting ready to bloom.

The spinach did not do well, but had a nice crop of green lettuce and radishes.

Spring has been strange here in the northeast, sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold, and sometimes too rainy. But I think the time for serious gardening is finally here. Today went to my garden plot, one of a community garden, with a friend and planted some flowers, eggplants, more carrot and beet seeds. Harvested some Swiss Chard, it has a beautiful neon stem colors, yellow, red, green. Also did some weeding, a never ending job, as any gardener knows!

In Albany every year, we celebrate the Dutch influence, including having our Tulip Festival. The main large park in Albany, Washington Park, has many beautiful tulip beds around a pool which houses our Moses on the Mountain statue. They have planted thousands of tulips of hundreds of varieties, in many different mass designs. It is so incredible.

Was able to get my community garden plots turned over and raked, peas, lettuce, radishes, and carrots planted, then waited for rain. It came today. My plot is small, but working it, it seemed huge, until I started hilling up raised beds, oh where oh where am i going to plant all those seeds and plants now? Have a friend who is starting seeds at home, we are going to share the plot, and grandson is eager to help, found an interesting variety of corn for him!

I love Spring! Even the rain to start the seeds germinating!

A picture of the Chilhuly glass statue, with blossum stalks on Century cacti in front. Spent three weeks in Phoenix, AZ visiting my mother. It was so beautiful. I went to the Botanical Gardens, including went in to the butterfly garden, what magic! Butterflies everywhere!

The tempuratures got up into the high 80′s, which felt good after leaving cold, drury upstate NY! Seemed like I timed my visit right, lots of blooming cacti. I took a tour of the garden, found out that the Century cactus does not just bloom every hundred years, but when it has reached its maximum age, then sends out the flower stalk, blooms, fertilized by bats, and then dies. I continue to be amazed me by our incredible earth!

While in Arizona, I also went north about an hour to the Arcosanti Community, which secretly wish I could go and live and work there…they make wonderful chimes out of brass at their own foundry. http://www.arcosanti.org/

I went to a workshop sponsored by the Regional Farm and Food Project out of Hudson, NY. It was awesome, the first of six, and better yet, I did not have to buy any books! Altho’ he had some I would love to get. Daniel Kittredge is from the Real Food Campaign, and was very knowledgeable. “Nutrient-Dense is a production system based on Biological Agriculture to create an optimum environment for crops to grow at their maximum potential, and thus yield foods and feeds with reliably superior nutritional content.” He talked about the chemistry involved in plant growth, synthesizing protein and other nutrients and how the soil mineralization needs to be balanced. Also discussed amending soil and potting soils, what to use when making own. We then went to the greenhouse for inoculating seeds, and talked little more about potting soils. Altho’ the day was long, it was full of information, and am looking forward to attending the remaining workshops, since he is a “hands-on” type of instructor.

It is only the first week of January and already the temps are going down, down and too far down for beast or man or woman!!! What is a gardener to do? I like to cut back my indoor plants, let them dry out little longer than usual to let them go into their resting times, yet make sure they get enough natural light as possible. Dormancy is rest time for all plants, and it helps when the cycle is able to complete for healthier plants. If you see new growth, you are probably watering too much! Using a spray bottle to mist them is a good way to keep them from drying out too much with the dry air from indoor heating. Also, be sure to turn plants often to keep them straight.

Now that December is here, those of us who celebrate Christmas will be looking for that perfect tree to shine through out our holiday times. One thing that is troubling to me is the question of with what type of tree do we adorn our homes? Some people like the convenience of artificial trees, to keep and use year after year. Others prefer getting a cut tree for the wonderful smells it brings, along with dropping needles. Then there are those who have the space to plant, and buy a growing, potted tree. Lets look at all options, and you can decide which is best for you!

Artificial trees are easy to reuse, and can last up to 10 years or more with good care. They will not aggravate too many peoples allergies, unless the allergies are to vinyls. But most of these trees are hydrocarbon heavy, from the factory to the store.

Live cut trees are very common, my family has had one from my beginnings! Good things: renewable, use the carbon dioxide in the air, earth cooling, habitat creation while growing, and recyclable. But they grow in mono-cultures which involves high usage of pesticides and water, and also create hydrocarbons when trucked, and some need to be trucked long distances.

Potted live trees are my personal favorite, if I had a place to put it. There is some trucking involved, but most are local, which sustains the local grower. If you live in a place with the room, over the years 30 trees will offset the carbons from your home and car! One thing i found on the internet is the Original Living Christmas Tree Co., in Portland, Oregon; who for $55 will loan you a tree, then pick it up and plant it for $10 in a school or park. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6753079/

Of course I knew that Tiny Choices had posted on this, forgot to credit or mention them, they do excellent and thorough environmental posts, check them out!

pic Flickr Creative Commons by the GraceFamily

Which of course means that probably the worst is yet to come. Here it is the Third of December and we are in our shirt sleeves, so warm, about 60 degrees F.

Yesterday did some envelope stuffing for our local Capital District Community Gardens, happy to be able to do that, raking is out of the question since had surgery on shoulder, some tearing but mainly bone scraping and tendon shortening, now in physical therapy.

But my first love is still available to do: designing gardens, and it is time to look at what you want to change for next year. Read a great book about the American Meadow, hope to institute some ideas in my daughter’s yard in the spring. Also doing some “studying” reading, “Understanding Perennials, A New Look at an Old Favorite,: by William Cullina. He really gets into the basics of botany of plants, almost a refresher for me, but the book goes beyond that with beautiful full color pictures and good descriptions.

A question I was recently asked, and yes, as long as the ground is workable, fall plants, and especially shrubs and trees can be planted! One thing to remember is to water and water and water! Want to get as much water in the soil as possible before the ground freezes. And maybe should wrap if in a western or northern unprotected place to keep the west and north wind from desiccating the plant (sucking the water out of the leaves) It is a little late for the bulbs that need time to start roots, but generally as mild as it has been here in the North East, GO FOR IT!

So many times people can be stuck with schedules, and landscapers are so busy spring through summer and early fall, we sometimes can catch our breath when fall hits hard. But there are so many things to do: putting in more bulbs, raking, mulching, putting burlap or some other wrap around tender plants, wrapping or fencing around young trees for rodent control, and pruning all bushes and trees that do not bloom in the spring (do not want to cut off the future flowers).

Good luck and happy fall, time to get the wood fire stoked up and the hot chocolate started, and don’t forget the marshmallows!

pic from Flickr Creative Commons