The Insect That Has Affected Our Summer, the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug!

We Over Protected Our Favorite!

Cuts in the Stems Killed New Growth!

My Hands Turned Orange from Catching Them!

We Have Captured A Lot of Stink Bugs on These Fragrant Hosta Flowers

If You Look Up Just Passed This Fig Leaf, The Praying Mantis Has a Stink Bug in Its Grasp!

The Herbal Husband Killed a Stink Bug Eating This Fig!

White Markings Beneath the Skin of the Yellow Pepper.  It was Still Edible.

Several years ago it was the Japanese beetles we were most concerned about in the garden, but mostly for ornamental plants.  Now we are concerned about the brown marmorated stink bug and we have more concerns about damage to fruits and vegetables than ornamental plants.  My bug juice jar has gone from being called beetle juice to stink bug juice.  I have been catching them in my bare hands and dropping them in the jar.  Gloves are tougher to use for me.  I don't squish them, but The Herbal Husband gets pleasure in doing so.  So I have orange stains on my hands at the moment.  I think our numbers are under 50 a day, but that's a lot considering some people haven't seen one.

The top photo is one of an over protected lemon verbena.  The Herbal Husband decided that bringing it in at night would protect it from the stink bug's bites.  Little did he know that the stink bugs were hiding under the rim of the container and coming in with the plant at night.  The browning of the leaves is a cause of temperatures changes and overwatering.  He loved it a bit too much.  The second photo is the death of young lemon verbena leaves from a cut made by the stink bug.  I wrote about the stink bug and other lemon verbena thoughts in The Lemon Verbena Tales:  New Pests and Harvesting Tips for The Herb Companion now Mother Earth Living.  You will see one of my older lemon verbena with very distinct stink bug damage.  It forces new growth, the good news, but if there are enough cuts it can weaken the plant.

The third photo is the orange tattoo-like marks that the stink bug leaves on your hands.  The Herbal Husband said that he had a burning sensation when he squished one and the juices got into a cut on his hand.  Well, I think you have some food for thought.  No pun intended, but the southeast Asian populations eat stink bugs!  They do have a slight coriander smell.  Just added the fourth photo today (Monday 9/2), because we are finding that stink bugs love the fragrant flowers of the hosta.  We have killed about 20-25 since Friday when I first posted this.  The last photo is from today.  The Herbal Husband found our praying mantis chowing down on a stink bug!  Yippee!  Now if we could only get multiples!  Our numbers of stink bugs have declined.  We've been having cool nights.  We are going to heat up briefly.  So the numbers may come back up.  A constant battle.  This fifth photo was added Wednesday, 9/11 and shows the stink bug (did not live to be on camera) and the damage it did to this ripening fig!  I said to The Herbal Husband, please next time, take a photo and then kill the bug!

I have been in contact with Dr. Art Tucker at Delaware State University who told me that there is just not enough information about what attracts the stink bug to the lemon verbena.  He did say that they are a huge problem with citrus trees in Asian countries!  If you are in a state west of the Mississippi, they may not be on your radar, but if you are in the eastern half of the US, you may or may not have seen them yet.  Like I said some people in the 'Burgh are having problems and others not.  It is still hit or miss.  Will pass more information along as I compile it.

Here is a brief list of plants that are being affected in our garden.  I will add to this list as necessary:

Raspberries (I have caught them on the fruit and the leaves!  They have damaged the fruit as well.)
Apples  (We don't spray our apples, so we have many problems with apples besides the stink bug!)
Figs     (They have been biting the stems, forcing new growth, but potentially killing the plant!)
Beans  (We have caught them eating the flowers!  Some discoloration on the beans.  I'm not sure if that's stink bugs or something else.)
Peppers (We have caught them on the plant and damaging the peppers.)
Hostas (The Herbal Husband caught eight on the flowers!  It's Monday and we have killed almost 20!)
Teasels (They are tough to grab when they are on these plants!)
Sunflowers (They like to sun themselves on the leaves!)

Besides the lemon verbena, no other herbs are bothered (Thank goodness!) by the stink bug.  If this continues, I may have to change my name!

I just want to give you this additional post from a fellow blogger, Mrs. Patty in Oregon who has battled the stink bug for the last three years.  This post called Every Year a Different Bug has a bug load of information on the stink bug.   Especially great are her photo of the eggs and nymphs of the stink bug on her figs!  I will put her blog link in my favorites for you and me.  You also need to read her comment to me and you under this post.  Thanks Mrs. Patty for sharing your knowledge.  If we all share, we will defeat this nasty bug!

Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend if you are in the US.  We have the ickies and stickies here.  Talk to you later.  

A Favorite Lunch on My Birthday!

Yes, another year has passed and I'm a year older!  The Herbal Husband has made Causa for me for lunch on my birthday for the past several years!  It is one of my favorite Peruvian dishes.  He takes out the heat for me because I can't have it any more.  It is just as good without it.  We even had frozen peas from our garden in the mix.  Very special.

It is a humid soggy day here in the garden.  Can just relax on my birthday!  Hopefully, you are having a great day as well.  In addition to my special lunch, we are going out to The Pines Tavern for my birthday dinner.  I'll share photos later.  Talk to you later.

Lavender Lemonade

Mixed Seafood Grill with Lemon Risotto and Green Beans

My All Time Favorite, Coconut Cream Pie!

Well, as you can see I oinked out for dinner.  I'm going to have to quit eating for a few days to get back on track!  Oh, the mixed seafood grill was 8 shrimp, a small lobster tail and a crab cake.  Delish!  I was even thinking of calling ahead and asking or demanding that the cream pie of the day be coconut and guess what?  I didn't have to beg, call or demand.  The cream pie of the day because it was my birthday was coconut cream.  They make the best and I did kindly share some with The Herbal Husband.  I had a very good time.  The restaurant was busy.  Having a cup of chai to neutralize the calories!  Well, that's all I have.  I'll talk to you Friday.

I'm Just Always Excited When The Hummingbirds Are in the Garden and Other Gardening Thoughts!

The Hummingbird is just slightly right of center in the photo!

You might have to click on the photo to find our smallest visitor.  The Herbal Husband spotted him and I took the camera outside and just focused on the bee balms.  I was hoping to get him to come a bit further into the herb garden to try out the tangerine sage that is in full bloom!  Maybe next time.  This has been such a wild year in the garden.  Now I think we have a mole or vole beneath the small rectangular garden in my herb garden.  I had a tri-color, a golden and a variegated berggarten sage.  Now the golden sage in the middle is dying.  Gardening is getting so much harder for some reason.  I will let you know if I come up with a solution. 

The Golden Sage in the Middle is Dying!

Well, not a day I usually blog, but lots of activity going on, including a toad on the patio that lives in our retaining wall!  Will try to get a photo of it next time!  Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

A Mountain of Flowers!

Sometimes I don't get around to talking about every photo I take during a season.  This is just one of those photos that will not go quietly.  Everyone thinks this is autumn blooming clematis.  I'm here to tell that it is the native clematis 'Clematis virginiana'.

It is very aggressive.  Hence, it devoured my viburnum underneath.  The viburnum somehow survives, but I'll let you know once it quits blooming.  It may not have survived this blooming.  We can't get in the front gate at the moment because it is blooming and blocking the entrance.  The neighborhood thinks we're a bit crazy!  Maybe you will get some suggestions for controlling this vine.  Made my second batch of raspberry jam this morning.  We have the ickies and stickies back again, but rain is coming later tonight or tomorrow.  A break in the action if only temporarily.  BTW, the new Woody Allen movie "Blue Jasmine" is fabulous with Cate Blanchett and other great performances.  Really a wonderful movie in an otherwise boring summer of movies.  Hope you had a great day.  Talk to you later.

Even in A Shot Glass, It Blooms!

One of us (He who shall remain The Herbal Husband.) cut a sunflower bud by mistake last week and it bloomed in a shot glass full of water.  We don't use our shot glasses for cocktails any more sadly!  Sorry I don't have much more today.  Getting ready to go to see Woody Allen's new movie "Blue Jasmine" and then to Red Robin for dinner.   Hope you are having a great day.  Talk to you later.

Getting the Herb Garden Chores Done!

Weeding the Herb Garden!

Finished Thyme on the Patio!

This Garlic Chive Wanted to Survive!

Found a Lonely Plant of Perilla!

Maybe Making Tangerine Sage Jelly This Year!

I can't believe that the summer season has about five weeks until it ends.  We generally have a great fall season though including enough rainfall and warm, sunny days.  We have had a weird summer this year almost too much rain at times and not too hot.

That first photo doesn't look like much but I will say it again.  Don't make your first herb garden too big.  I like the size of mine because, it has never become too much to take care of.  I try to spend at least an hour walking around and pulling weeds as I see them.  Spend as much time as you have.  It always lifts my spirits when I do. The second photo reminds me that I love herbs for not just their flavor but their ornamental value as well.  Several years ago, I had a plant of perilla and it still survives.  Not quite where I want it, but there is always next year.  Finally, I have started to make jelly and I'll be making that until frost hits the raspberries and herbs.  So hopefully, you are harvesting and getting your herbs preserved for winter.  We'll talk about that in the next posts.  Talk to you later.

Garden in the Park Day with the Master Gardeners!

The Demonstration Gardens Were Amazingly Full!

There Are A Ton of Pollinators in These Gardens!

The Herb Garden Was Very Full!

Ready for Harvesting!

Some of My Favorite Nasturtiums!

The Lemon Verbena Was Either New or Not Doing So Well!

My Buddies, Susan and Shelley Were Fielding Gardenline Questions!

Lyn, The Garlic Guru!

Digging Potatoes with the Kids!

Used with His Permission, The Herbal Husband and an Extraordinary Pineapple Sage 'Golden Delicious'!

The Entrance Garden Has a Bit of Irrigation Help!

Since it was the perfect day on Saturday, we managed to go over to attend the festivities at Garden in the Park in one of our country parks, North Park.  We were there later so we missed the ice cream from the Creamery at Penn State, but we did get to see some of my buddies from the extension office and master gardening days.  Lots of people with kids and dogs asking about and trying various tasks in the garden and tasting tomatoes, basil and garlic.  The lemon verbena in the herb garden not doing so well or it did so well that it was replaced by a smaller version.  The 'Golden Delicious' pineapple sage was amazing.  I could do a boat load of jelly from those plants.  Great job to all of the master gardeners and local organizations who participated.  Everyone got a lot of good information and some tasty treats!

It rained early here.  I hear there is good news and bad news in the garden.  The good news is that we are going to have a great crop of raspberries, the bad news is is the stink bugs are eating them as well.  So I'm going to put on my gloves and get a jar of soapy water and we'll get them!  This stink bug is quite a problem.  It has been attacking my lemon verbenas in the herb garden.  They make cuts in the stems and suck out the liquid.  That produces two things a weakened stem, but new leaves.  So it's good and bad.  If it continues to make cuts it can kill the plants.  Grr!  The Herbal Husband brought one of my lemon verbenas that is in a container in overnight last night to protect and brought the stink bug in with it!  Clever insects!  Not such clever gardeners!  Well, I hope you have had a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Guest Blogging for Mother Earth Living!

In connection with yesterday's post about our NYC trip, here is my latest post for Mother Earth Living called Visiting the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens in 2013.  You see in 2009 I was visiting NYC and went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and ran into a chain link fence instead of the herb garden.  Well, hope you enjoy this visit.  If you are in the NYC, you have to get to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.  Lots to see and do.

We are off to the Garden in the Park at North Park.  The master gardeners are have a special day for the public to come and ask questions, see the pollinator and demonstration gardens and taste various varieties of garlic and tomatoes.  The Herbal Husband hasn't been for awhile and since I'm not an active master gardener, I can be under the radar!  I'll post photos next time.  Hope you are having a great day.

Afternoon Tea at Bosie Tea Parlor, NYC!

Bosie Tea Parlor, 10 Morton Street, West Village, NYC

Bosie's Special Blend Tea for Me

The Tea Tray was Gone in a Second!

I have always loved afternoon tea since I first went to England at age 12.  So when The Herbal Husband and I took the train to NYC a couple of weeks ago, I said we have to find a place of afternoon tea.  We went to Alice's Tea Cup last time which was very good.  This time since we were going to the 9/11 Memorial and then the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, we decided to try Bosie Tea Parlor in the West Village.  Well, after a mistake in Subway stops (which The Herbal Husband was not happy about) we made it across the TRAFFIC on Seventh Avenue to Bosie.  Yes, we walked several blocks to get there!  They are known for their selection of teas, pastries and macarons and they didn't disappoint. The tea service included choice of three different tea sandwiches, three different macarons and tea cakes and, of course, scones.  Our tea sandwiches were:

Farmer’s Egg Salad with thyme blossoms on whole wheat

Chicken Breast with golden raisins and curried mayonnaise on multi-grain

Cheddar Cheese and Branston pickle on whole wheat

 

The Herbal Husband chose lavender, rose and jasmine macarons and we had vanilla, lemon and macha tea tea cakes.  Sadly I can't have chocolate anymore so The Herbal Husband didn't have any chocolate either!   I topped mine off with a Bosie Special Blend tea (I didn't write down what it was called!)  It was good though.  We were famished and chowed right down as only we can.  So if you are in NYC, looking for a place for afternoon tea, try Bosie.  I think you will enjoy it. 

It is another beautiful day in the garden.  I'll get you caught up in the next post.  Have a great weekend.