Sporadic Blooming, Christmas in July and Raspberry Jam!

Butterfly Bush Starting to Bloom!

My Favorite is Blooming This Season.  Second Year Plant in the Ground!

Swordleaf Elecampane, a Shorter Version of Elecampane!

Echinacea, a Staple in the Herb Garden

Monarda Blooming in Time for the Fourth!

I Thought This Monarda Was a Lighter Color Last Year!

Really 'Hot Papaya' Echinacea!

'Hall's Pink' at the Mailbox

The Really Big and Tall Elecampane!

After 27 Years in the Stash Box, Three Herbal Bouquets Finished!

An Apple Tree Ornament!

A Christmas Lantern Ornament!

The Start of Jam Season!

Really can't believe that it is July already!  We are still getting rain.  So the weeds are monstrous but there is sporadic blooming going on.  As I sit here typing, the skies are darkening again and we are about to have another rain storm.  Our blooming is spread out through our gardens, but not nearly enough to make a statement.  Will have to work on that for next year.

We do have some butterflies and bees, but they are not as present as in other years.  I think that has to do with all of the rain we are getting.  Hopefully starting tomorrow, we will have a few dry days so that the butterflies and bees will be visiting. 

One of my friends asked on Facebook if Monarda reblooms.  Yes, if you pick the petals off and keep the head intact, the flowers will rebloom.  You can use the petals in salads or dry them to put in your tea blends.  The leaves of the monarda do get mildew in this area and once the blooming has finished you can cut the leaves back and it will generate a new crop of mildew free leaves.  My two different varieties of elecampane are blooming.  The small one is in the herb garden and the large one is back in the flower bed I began last season.  I like the large enough to get more for next year.  I think I will continue to go big in the back beds and let plants take over.  Elecampane doesn't take over, but it does have a large presence.

I have been concentrating on my stitching because of the heat, humidity and rain.  As you can see, I have completed the three herbal bouquets from cross stitch magazines that are from 1990!  They each took about two weeks to finish.  Very excited!  I am also working on some small projects including the Christmas ornaments shown above.  Very happy and fulfilled to be stitching again.

And the raspberries have started to produce and I have already made two batches of jam.  Really raspberries are like clockwork.  I made my first batch of jam around the same time last season.  Christmas presents will include jam this year.   So hope you have had a great season so far in your herb garden.  Let me know what you are up to!  Also as always, I am up for any herbal questions you may have.  Hope you are having a fabulous day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

You Might Have Missed This, Herbally Speaking!

Photo Above is Double White Feverfew!  Borage Flowers, A Bee Favorite!

Clary Sage, Lamb's Ears and White Rose Campion in Bloom!

Apothecary's Rose!

Viburnum nudum 'Winterthur'

Calendula and Golden Feverfew!

One of My Favorites, Golden Feverfew!

The Pink 'Fairy' Rose is Outstanding!

The 'Hot Papaya' Echinacea Has Come Back

The Roadside Day Lilies Have Started Their Display!

Part of the Old Grape Arbor Made Into a New Entrance!

Another Part of the Grape Arbor Into the Front Garden!

Our Deterrents!

Well, June is a week from being history.  I have been struggling mightily to blog.  This post has been a challenge.  I did want you to see what is going on in the garden.  Lots of blooming!  And as I look outside, lots of rain!  Cindy has made its way to the 'Burgh.  We really didn't need her!  It has been raining so much that I mowed in the rain earlier this week.

This is one of my favorite times in the garden.  Lots of herbs are starting to bloom as you can see above.  The bee balm will be in its glory for the fourth of July!  Also wanted to show you the extra items The Herbal Husband made with the old grape arbor.  I think they both add character to our already quirky garden.

We are having a surge in wildlife in the garden, including but not limited to, a groundhog (eating on the driveway), skunk (several sightings at night), possum (having dinner out of our recycling can), raccoon and yesterday a doe brought her two fawns with her for a visit plus the three or four feral cats that roam the gardens.  It's a zoo!

Hope you are having a great day without rain!  I have definitely had enough rain, but the weeds are enjoying the extra rain as always!  Will talk to you later.

Maybe Once A Week Will Work?

I have had a strange summer season.  I think Pittsburgh has had one of the hottest summers on record.  We are still registering close to 90 here!  Towards the end of the summer, I am usually not as interested in what's going on and even more so when it is hot!  I don't know how my friends in Texas do it every day.  I bow to your love of herbs and gardening!

I blogged every day in July and that was a bit too much.  I just don't have the time any more to blog every day and I was getting a bit long in the tooth, herbally speaking.  So I'm going to try doing a once a week overview of what's been going on.  Since I haven't done a post since late August, I will try to catch you up on my activities and the herb garden.  As you can see it is all about raspberries, sunflowers and a birthday thrown in!  Thank goodness for the raspberries because we aren't going to get enough grapes for jelly because of black rot and we don't have any apples because of a late frost!  It is just the way things go.  The weeds are monstrous as usual.  The Herbal Husband has been doing a lot of things to keep the garden going.  He keeps going as I get lost in everything!  It is getting overwhelming.  I hope that if I am here in the garden early next year, things will go a bit better!

So I am going to try to do an overview once a week of what's been going on.  You can always reach me if you have a question about a specific herb or problem that is occurring in your herb garden.  I am always just a click away!  Won't pin down a specific day of the week that I will post.  Will just try to be here once a week!  BTW, we have the ickies and stickies back and almost 90 the next couple of days!  Yikes!  Always love September's arrival because it brings cooler temperatures.  Not this year!  Talk to you soon!

It Has Been A Great Season for Raspberries!

Tiramisu for My Birthday Dinner!

Me and My Sunflower Posse!

Our Volunteer Sunflowers Were Some of My Favorites!

Unknown Variety of Sunflower!

Unknown Variety of Sunflower

Moving Day in the Herb Garden!

A Fourth of July Tradition!  Blueberry Muffins!

Happy 4th of July to my readers in the United States!  Hopefully you will have a safe and happy time today!  We had our traditional blueberry muffins for breakfast!  The Herbal Husband and I had another great cloudy day to move some chives out of my main herb garden.  I think they will thrive along with an extra lovage that we love to cook with.  Have a few more plants to fit in and I will just have to keep everything weeded.

Lovage Right Between Two Chives!

My red bee balm is in full bloom in time for the 4th!  Just love the flowers and leaves.  Maybe will do a longer post soon.

The Bee Balm Has Taken Its Own Path in the Garden!

Rain has started here in the 'Burgh.  Hopefully it won't dampen the fireworks tonight!  Hope you have had a great holiday.  Talk to you tomorrow!

Little Herbal Umbrellas!

Don't They Just Look Like Little Herbal Umbrellas?

I guess I am a little too focused on my herb garden at the moment.  The leaves of the nasturtiums are starting to look like little herbal umbrellas!  I guess the rain gauge with 2.5 inches of rain in one day has send me over the edge.  The Herbal Husband planted these several weeks ago before I went to England and I didn't know that he put some fertilizer in the planting hole.  Step away from the fertilizer when planting nasturtiums!  He just doesn't think I am right on this point.  He likes those little herbal umbrellas!  Nasturtiums like lean soil so they will produce more flowers!  There are flowers under those umbrellas and the flowers fared pretty well in the downpours we had a couple of days ago.  So maybe The Herbal Husband is a little bit correct!  Don't tell him I said so!

Here are Those Peppery Nasturtium Flowers in Hiding!

 I also noticed that I seem to get more flowers that have black aphids with purchased plants than when we grow our own from seed.  Do you notice that as well?  Please let me know.  Well, we had a spectacularly warm and sunny day here in the 'Burgh!  I have been weeding like crazy!  The Herbal Husband is doing his vegetables in containers now and has relinquished some beds in the back gardens.  I have been trying to get things in shape to plant some herbs with different colors and foliage to make the back pop with interest and color.  I found an article in The Herb Companion has a lot of good information on design and I will share that with you in a later post.  So many posts to write, so little time! Hope you had a great day wherever you may be.  I will talk to you again soon!

Still Blooming and Green in the Herb Garden!

This is my second attempt at this post.  Just trying to see if it works with multiple photos.  I maybe a bit greedy.  We will see.   'Walker's Low' catmint is the first photo, the dianthus 'Frosty Fire' is blooming in the second photo and the coconut scented geranium is happily spreading joy in the fall herb garden in the third photo.  It will probably reseed itself for next year.

The weather was gloomy this morning and the sun has come out this afternoon.   Makes it more cheery.  Hopefully you are having a wonderful day wherever you are.  Talk to you later.

'Walker's Low' Catmint

'Frosty Fire' Dianthus

Coconut Scented Geranium at Home!

HMIG, Herbally Speaking!

Just a Little List of Herbs That Died in the Herb Garden!

I have been just lamenting the fact that a bunch of herbs have died in my herb garden this season.  The acronym in the title stands for "Herbs Missing In Garden".

I had two curry plants die, two lavenders, one called 'Mini Blue' and the other one that I should not kill a 'Munstead', my favorite, lemon verbena.  We think it died from too much water and then no water at all.  Finally, there was an yerba buena that I was going to celebrate in talking about the 2015 Herb of the Year, Savory.  Well, a talk for another time!

Didn't have many nasturtiums.  The basils got too much water early on and didn't survive.  Although I have one lemon basil that is making a comeback.  The 'Spicy Globe' basil in one of the combination containers did very well.  The "sweet" basil that I bought last year as a hydroponically grown plant has finally said enough and quit producing.  It said one year is enough!  Don't think you are getting more than that.  If anyone can get more out of a plant of any kind though, it is The Herbal Husband.  I always say to him just compost it and he secretly puts it in a corner and it starts to shoot new leaves!  We will see this time.

The Basil Finally Said Enough!

I will highlight what was great in the herb garden soon.  I would love to blog from something other than my laptop.  Will keep working on that as well.  It is getting warmer after I thought we were headed into fall.  Need to make the tarragon wine jelly and share the recipe with you.  Got sided tracked today with computer issues.  Hope you have had a great day!  Talk to you later.

A Tale of Two Herb Gardens!

I Was Going to Talk About This Herb, Yerba Buena in the savory family!

Not a Good Year for Basil in the Herb Garden, My African Blue Basil Bit the Dust!

This Was One of My Favorites, Curry Plant!

A Square and A Round Patch of Thyme!

My 'Mabel Grey' Made a Baby!

'Empress of India' Nasturtium is Blooming!

I Never Have Luck with Agastaches and This One is Blooming!

A Sunflower Volunteer!

A Swallowtail on the Butterfly Bush!

Not Surprisingly the Lemon Verbenas Are Doing Great with All of the Rain!

I don't know why I'm surprised by all of the plants that have rotted in the herb garden.  We have had a lot of rain concentrated in the last six weeks.  I think we had about four days in those six weeks that were dry.  It has been tough.  I have a particular spot in the herb garden that retains water and I will have to amend the soil in that location to help alleviate the problem.

Along with the plants photographed above, I have lost several lavenders and a hyssop.   I have also made the decision not to plant basils in the ground.  I'm strictly going to plant them in containers.  I didn't plant many basils this year and what I did plant in the ground has rotted or is doing poorly.

On the bright side, the pink flowered thyme has migrated onto the patio of the herb garden and has made for a random pattern of square versus curved.  Everything that has been planted in a container is doing well thanks to the loving care of The Herbal Husband.  Have I mentioned he does a great job? 

So excited my 'Mabel Grey' scented geranium has made a baby.  She (I feel as though I should call it a she!) has been very happy in our  living room window for the winter and she came out just recently for the five days of sun and no rain that we are currently experiencing!

I bought an 'Empress of India' nasturtium from DeBaggio's in early May and that is the only one that is blooming at the moment.  An enthusiastic parsley has covered some of the seeds we planted in their usual spot and I'm hoping that once I cut down the lemon basil that is doing poorly, the nasturtiums will do better.

Continuing with exciting herbal news the orange agastache I bought is blooming.  I can kill these very easily.  So it is exciting when it stays alive!  Most of our sunflowers are volunteers this year and the goldfinches are already eating the seeds.  Also discovered this swallowtail butterfly on what else but a butterfly bush.

Last but certainly not least the lemon verbenas are loving the rain.  They were attacked for the first time by the four lined plant bug, but they have rebounded and it looks like I will be making some jelly and drying the rest of tea blends.

Well, as you can see there is a lot going on and I need to write a bit more often.  Next time we will talk about the herbal containers from my class in May.  I have kept some of them intact and they look beautiful.  Also I need to keep talking about the Herb of the Year, Savory.  Hope you have had a great day in your herb garden.  Talk to you later.