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Tag Archive for plants

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Renee Spindle

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ~ William Shakespeare

This rose is in my little rose garden next to our back patio. The kids gave me this rose-bush for a Mother’s Day present a few years ago. It has the loveliest colors, and I thought it would be nice to start off your Tuesday with some loveliness.

I have been trying my hand at photography once again. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken pictures like this just for fun. I was shooting with Travel Man’s Canon G12. Lots of fun to be learning again!

Do you have any hobbies you’ve gotten away from? what’s keeping you from getting back to them?

4 comments Posted in Around the House, Blogging, Gardening, Travel Man

The Tomatoes are Growing

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Hello neighbors. Yes I’m still here and no I haven’t gone anywhere. You see Travel Man got home from his second international trip last Saturday, and we’ve been spending some much-needed time together. He’s only been home 8 days in the last 30, and now he’s home all of this week (anxiously keeping my fingers crossed). We’ve been having some great meals together, and working in the garden together. Always a lot to do in the garden.

This year I planted 5 tomatoes plants. The varieties I purchased from Lowe’s and Home Depot were; Roma, Better Boy, Big Boy, and Celebrity. A pretty ambitious effort for me, because at the end of last summer I had proclaimed I would only plant two tomato plants this year. I’m crazy like that, sometimes I just like to go for the gusto! So I had intended to share these pictures with all of you about a month ago, and somehow they got lost in the “Camp Grandma” menagerie of pictures.

This little contraption is what I am using to water the tomatoes this summer. Of course in Southern California we have some extreme heat in the summer. Travel Man found these for me at one of his favorite hardware stores, and I was readily willing to try them. The spike holds a two liter soda bottle. It has little holes down each side of the spike to allow the water to flow through to the roots. With the heat we are having right now I am filling the bottles up twice a day. In the morning and again in the early evening. So far so good as the tomatoes are thriving.

This picture of the Roma tomato plant is from a month ago.

And this is the same plant today. I finally added the cages and staking to all of the tomato plants last weekend. Now it’s just keeping up with the watering and weeding, and waiting for the arrival of the first tomato!! I cannot wait to have my first BLT with a garden tomato!

We (meaning Travel Man and I) are having an ongoing discussion about the best way to let the tomatoes grow. My mindset has always been to just put the cages up and let them go to town. Travel Man’s theory is we should keep them pruned inside of the cages to get a better crop of tomatoes. I am trying it Travel Man’s way this summer, so I can see how the plants to in the raised bed they are growing in. And I have to give his idea a chance too. I like to try to see things from all sides, and not be the “fathead”. So that being said it brings me to my question for all of you who garden or have gardened in the past. “To prune the tomatoes, or not prune the tomatoes?” That is my question to all of you. Looking forward to hearing some great gardening opinions. Happy Wednesday to everyone!

No comments Posted in Around the House, DIY Projects, Gardening

Zucchini Bandit

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Renee Spindle

My 2012 garden is coming along nicely, except for my poor little zucchini plants that I started from seeds. I had two little baby zucchini plants, got them in the ground, and then a couple of days later I went out in the morning to water the garden, and BOOM, there was a plant pulled up out of the ground. I’m thinking this was either the work of a lizard or a fatty black crow.

I put the poor little thing back in the ground, as I will not be defeated by a lizard or a crow. Then I gave it a nice drink of water, and the next morning it perked back up and was staying green. That evening I go back out to water all my little seedlings, and my poor little zucchini had been munched to pieces. Here’s how it looked.

Then a few days later the same thing happened to the other baby zucchini. and I put it back in the ground, watered it hoping it will spring back to life. I will not be defeated.

As of this writing I have given in to the zucchini bandits, and will be heading to Home Depot to buy two new plants. The pesky varmints got a hold of the zucchini’s and they were never to be seen again. Poor little zucchini plants. They were my little babies. I started them from seeds.

But the garden must go on and I want to have a nice crop of zucchini. Grilled zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, zucchini in stir fry. The possibilities are endless.

This is just a small sneak peek of my garden adventures. I have been spending a lot of time tending the garden while Travel Man’s away. Lots of plantings and things going on out back. He hasn’t seen the whole garden yet, so I’m not posting too many pictures of it until after he is home next week. There has to be some surprises!

So for all of you who are gardening this summer, how does your garden grow so far?

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Gardening

Adopt a Plant at Lowe’s

Posted on June 7, 2012 by Renee Spindle

There are so many hobbies for me to be involved with right now that some days it’s hard to choose what I should plan for the day. Except for Thursday and Fridays of course, because those are my “Camp Grandma” days right now. More on that later. I love to garden, and plant flowers, and I especially love container gardening. In order to keep my budget in check I really have to pay attention to what I am spending on plants and flowers.

So to help with my budgeting I like to frequent the 50% off plant racks at my local Lowe’s. They usually have one rack with indoor plants, and one outside with the outdoor varieties. And the plants are almost always 50% off or more. I find that whenever I go to Lowe’s to get something for the house I must check the 50% off racks in case there is some poor plant that needs to be nursed back to greenery health. I adopt them and bring them home with me to take care of them. This is my “Adopt a Plant” program. Coined by myself, and I get great support from Travel Man on this project. That’s probably because I’m not adopting cats or dogs. My plant program is a simple one. Just check those 50% racks and see if there is a plant crying out for your help. Then of course you have to buy it (or as I like to say “adopt it”), and bring it home with you.

This is my find from my shopping trip yesterday. Two beautiful mother-in-law tongue plants, in the pots, and ready to come home with me. Originally twenty dollars for both of them and I paid ten. That price fits my budget.

On your next stop to your favorite home improvement store check out the nursery, see if they have any plants on clearance, and see if there’s anything you want to bring home with you. I’m keeping an eye on the outdoor rack at Lowe’s for hedges and such to add to my front yard landscaping. Happy adopting everyone, and I hope you’re having a great week.