Organic gardener growing food and flowers, lovin' pollinators and birds.

Looking back on 2015

The front garden in 2015.
A female black swallowtail butterfly.
The Garden
We experienced a very dry summer this year, which caused me to lose an arborvitae because I didn't water it enough. There was some destruction early on from a family of groundhogs, but using Repellex Systemic regularly encouraged them to move along. (It's a granular deterrent that makes the plants taste bad, but applying it at the right time is key. It won't work if you apply today and the groundhog chomps tomorrow.) But despite the lack of rain, the garden's flowers looked the best yet. Now it's New Year's Eve and we've only had our first coating of (slushy) snow here this week after a very seasonable and warm late autumn into early winter.

It was also a good year for butterflies, with a return of monarch butterflies to the garden and several black swallowtail caterpillars raised and released as butterflies here as well.

The Edible Garden
This year I only kept stats on fruit tree totals. There were 3 pounds of Satsuma plums, 27 pounds of Shiro plums and more than 130 pounds of Kieffer pears! This year I also grew about four beds of garlic as well as several grow bags of tomatoes. Even though the grow bags were propped up on bricks in the driveway, I think it was still too hot for the tomato plants, which didn't produce as much fruit as last year. The only herb I managed to dry and save this year was basil after my oregano appeared to have a fungus.

The Blog
Shiro plums after harvest.
Despite hoping to double my coverage of gardening events in 2015, I only managed to log 12 datelines. (In 2014, I had 26 datelines for this site.) This was directly related to my enrollment in graduate school in May, causing me to have less free time. Needless to say, although the quantity decreased, the quality did not. Among my favorites:

Showy lady's slippers in bloom.
In addition, joining the Garden Writers Association this year helped me make some awesome connections! This year I was able to review some great products, include the CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator and the Patio Party Hibiscus. I'm in the process of additional reviews, including two plant varieties from J. Berry Nursery (the final step for my trial is observing how they overwinter in Zone 6b).

I was also able to visit many more public and private gardens than in previous years, as well as protected nature areas, such as Eshqua Bog in Vermont to see the showy lady's slippers. 

Most of my trips have not yet been featured on this site. Instead, they will be part of a larger blog feature, which will be debuting in 2016. (Stay tuned!) 

How did your garden fare in 2015? What are you looking forward to for 2016?
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Product Review: Versatile CobraHead takes chore out of weeding



I really don't like to weed my garden. I am usually ambitious with the start of the spring season, but that usually slides by the time the summer humidity kicks in.

Weeding has always been a chore, one I remember doing in my father's garden with little hand forks to loosen the soil and pull up the weeds. I never knew another way to weed.

But that changed in May when I received a trial CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator to try out in my Northeast garden.

It was immediately put to work in my front and back gardens, which, surprise, were full of weeds. All sorts of weeds. Anyone who follows this blog knows I photograph the garden weekly during the growing season, but I never show you the weedy parts.

I did find weeding to be easier with the CobraHead than when I used a small hand fork. The CobraHead sliced through my soil - even compacted soil areas - with ease. I was able to get the roots out with stubborn weeds, such as crabgrass and dandelions, which really is key so they won't come back.

However, my favorite use of the tool was to remove weeds between cracks in my paved areas. The tool fished out the entire plant - with roots intact as well. Soon I found myself moving around my property, looking for more areas to use my tool: in between stone squares in my patio, along the perimeter of the house where the driveway meets the foundation wall, in a crack caused by frost in the driveway. Everything came out easily without considerable effort on my behalf. Oh, and did I mention that I was no longer dreading going outside to weed?

Another bonus: I've been guilty of leaving my tools out in the garden after I've used them, mainly because I become distracted and forget to put them away. I left the CobraHead tool out during some rainstorms - and you can't even tell.

The tool's blade is referred to as a "Steel Fingernail," and there are many ways to hold it (there are sample videos to watch here). The tool is made in Wisconsin with a forged and tempered steel blade and a handle that is created from recycled polypropylene and organic fibers. The tool can be purchased through the company's website for $24.95, which includes shipping.

CobraHead LLC supplied with me the CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator to trial.
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A true Christmas rose this year

Shared from my Instagram account.

Yesterday I stumbled upon a hellebore in the garden getting ready to bloom. We've had a very mild fall so far, with warmer than normal temperatures. The ground is not frozen yet, and I've been still tucking in a few minor bulbs here and there when I get the chance. In fact, I only dug up my dahlias about a week ago, due to my hectic schedule! (How lucky am I that the weather is cooperating!)

I've never seen any of my hellebores bloom this early, despite reading that they are commonly known as Christmas roses, due to their proximity of blooming so close to the holiday. I'm so glad that I've planted this one so close to the patio, which made spotting it so easy!

Do you have any hellebores blooming in your garden at this time?
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