Garden pictures

Two tomato plants...the cherry tomato plant (to the left) is fruiting and finally ripening.

 I finally got around to breaking off some of the stems yesterday, so it's not QUITE so bushy. Did you know you could put the stems into soil and get them to root? Peel off all of the flowers and most of the leaves first, so the energy goes to rooting at first.

Strawberry plant in gray circle at lower right, iris in brown thingy at lower left.

As you can see, I use all kinds of pots and whatnot, because I'm always sticking something in the dirt to get it to grow. The gray circle around the strawberry plant is the top that broke off a planter...it is great for helping keep the fruit off the ground.

Red multi-bloom amaryllis

Nasturtiums

Collard green trees (and bird of paradise flowers)

sweet potato (or yam, I forget which is which)

Swiss chard

ivy geranium

Little Finger carrots

I'm not a big fan of carrots, but my best friend is, so I tried these out. The first time, I harvested a bit too early, so I pulled up nubs, lol. I have learned to gently dig down around the carrot and feel its diameter and depth. Good to plant in relatively loose soil, so they are able to grow easily.

Saturday Seven--The last 7 things I have planted...

Tomatoes...

For some odd reason, our local home improvement store had tomato plants for sale about a month ago. I was a little unsure about the weather, but thus far, our biggest issue was the three juvenile raccoons who came by and turned over most of my flower pots and partially dug up the tomato plant. I had pinched the tops off when I transplanted, so I was a little worried that the plant would go into shock but I saw flower clusters today...so we are on our way...if the weather cooperates. Nothing like fresh tomatoes, that definitely reminds one of why there's a fruit vs. vegetable discussion!

This is from last year's cherry tomato crop...

Gladiolas
I have a flowerpot that has an overabundance of little gladiolus bulbs, so I am not sure how many will grow up to be beautiful like this...especially since I took out about 2/3 and gave them to other folks, and transferred some to the ground in the front.

Amaryllis

I gave the MIL a different color of this plant every Christmas for a while, and she eventually put them in her garden. Another relative wanted one of the Bird of Paradise plants (WOW, it takes a LOT of digging to dig one of those up) so I took advantage and dug up the amaryllis that were there (it's a VERY crowded planter, lol) while I was wallowing in the deep hole.

Iris
I thinned these out and transplanted them to the MIL's house...we'll see if they're as happy with temperate weather as they were in the extremes of the high desert!


Sorry, don't have pictures of the last three...but I have the following started...


Potatoes


Asparagus

and...I am anxiously waiting to see if the seeds sprout...but I am going to try to grow...

Dill

What's in your garden?

And a special thank you to the talented Crystal of Reviews by Crystal who sent me this beautiful banner!

Kudos to  Long and Short Reviews for this fun idea. Their post is here.

Please visit the other participants in the Saturday Seven!

1.	Marianne Arkins	4.	Judy Thomas	7.	M's Favorite Things
2.	Peggy Jaeger	5.	Bookaholic	8.	ELF the Reading Addict
3.	Lydia Schoch	6.	M.T. DeSantis

Bare it All (and gardening adventures)

Bare It All                                


by Lori Foster is part of the ‘Love Undercover’ series and continues where “Run the Risk” leaves off, but changes the focus to the intriguingly eccentric and resourceful neighbor, Alice Appleton. Alice has formed a tentative relationship with Detective Reese Bareden because of the stray dog that he has adopted and named Cash. Reese is fascinated by his reclusive neighbor and his instincts lead him to explore the reasons behind her possession of a surprising number of defense tools. His growing attraction to the skittish woman is complicated by the danger that she seems to attract but fortunately there are plenty of allies to call upon in his quest to keep safe the woman who is becoming increasingly important to him. Of course, he also has to break down some of her defensive walls but he has never shirked a challenge, especially when the stakes have been so high.

This fun romantic suspense tale combined characters from two of this author’s very enjoyable series even as it continued to touch upon a serious underworld which threatens women. It is fun watching the alpha males interact with each other as they struggle to subdue their dominant natures enough to protect the women in their lives. A new perspective of several of the characters, including the intimidating Lieutenant Peterson, gave an entertaining spin and provides fodder for potential stories in the future. I enjoyed the opportunity to get more insight into Rowdy Mullins as he gradually begins to accept that he will have a policeman for a brother-in-law and Alice was a poignant blend of former victim and increasingly secure woman who enchanted the intense detective who constantly demonstrates both his protective instincts and his compassion. It was great to get a brief glimpse of several familiar characters and one can only hope that there will be plenty of additional stories about these deliciously alpha males and the essentially powerful women who capture their hearts. Another delightful read.

© Night Owl Reviews

I received a copy of this title in return for an honest review. 

***************


 Adventures in gardening...


Ok, last year my hubby had the brilliant idea that he wanted to grow tomatoes so we tried our hand at cherry tomato plants.  We bought the plants and raised one in the high desert where we live (think triple digit temps) and took one down to the more moderate climes where the MIL is.  Both plants were very generous at giving us fruit (until the MIL drowned the one at her house) but hubby wasn't thrilled that the skin was a bit tough (don't ask me, I am not a tomato connoisseur--they tasted like tomatoes to me, lol).  So, this year we decided to try to raise full-sized tomatoes.  

It gets pretty cold here so we started seeds indoors (did I mention I am a procrastinator?) but evidently should have started them earlier in the year.  I, of course, wondered what on earth we were going to do with all of the fruit from the 6 plants that survived my less than assiduous attentions so my best friend very kindly accepted one, we took one down to the MIL's house (with instructions that she NOT water it, lol) and kept the others.  We have been anxiously watching and were thrilled when the blooms started appearing.  

The problem...the blooms came and went...but NO FRUIT!  Uh-oh.  Hmm, perhaps not enough water...after all, I tend to hibernate indoors when the temperature exceeds 98 F because I am heat sensitive and believe me, it has been much hotter than that for the past several weeks.  Ok, I have been slinking outside when it is only high 80's at 9:00 p.m. or so and watering more.  Probably not the ideal time to water but hey, at least they are getting water.   I have a liquid fertilizer that indicates that it is specifically for tomatoes (and yes, I tried using it on the cherry tomato plants) so I tried adding that.  Still sadness...blooms come and go, but no fruit.

Sigh.  Ok, when desperate...research.  Oh, this is a common problem amongst novice tomato farmers.  Hmm...calcium...seaweed extract...ok, trip to home improvement store.  Stern warnings about not getting things too close to the main trunk.  A little difficult since we are growing these things in a pot.  (Yes, I know...but if you saw the sand that is considered the soil in our yard, you would understand why I am not anxious to try to put in enough potting soil to change the ground to an arable bed).  So, I have been adding measly amounts of the new 'food' to the outer circumference of the pots...but I am a coward so it has been a very gradual process.  I still anxiously peer nearsightedly (yes, I still hate my bifocals) at the ugly dead blooms and I was frustrated enough yesterday to start removing some of them...only to discover that one in my hand had a microscopic bud...that was no longer attached to the plant that would have nurtured it.  So...elation and sadness...yes it is POSSIBLE for us to get fruit, if Ms Impatient will leave things to take their course.  (Oh yes, the plant at the MIL's house?  It's THRIVING...beautiful leaves, thick sturdy trunk which is quite crooked since I didn't get it into a support system quickly enough...and...fruit...but it had black spots on it so I picked it off.  We will have to research that as well!)

So...I am hopeful...maybe sometime in September, I will get a tomato before the weather starts getting cold, lol.  Now, if only I can figure out how to make the lettuce survive in this heat...
 

Flowers blooming and learning resources

Beautiful weather lately (if you can deal with the pollen that is being distributed by the winds) and we are already getting blooms!  My Mahalo iris plant has lovely reddish-violet blooms and I can't wait for the other iris to display its beautiful bi-colored blooms.. It's funny, I bought both plants from the local iris society through a serendipitous visit to...you guessed it...the library!  I cannot stress how useful one's local library is to anyone who wants to learn about new things and I am delighted that I learned about these new varieties of iris which are fortunately still alive despite the very harsh frosts we had this year.

I am VERY fortunate in that the library in my city belongs to a large county system and the next city down the freeway is only minutes away yet has its own collection that frequently receives and catalogs new books before my local library.  Needless to say, for awhile I had notoriety at both places but I have settled down to a dull roar because I have so many review books to write up and I am starting to receive more edits which keep me very busy.

Nonetheless, I remind you of the other resources that you can often obtain through your library, including but not limited to:  basic educational instruction and/or assistance with homework (particularly helpful when faced with children's homework nowadays), learning new languages through Mango (I was startled to show this aspect to a friend of mine and have her exclaim "Greek"--since I had not even noticed that this was one of the languages being offered), car repair resources such as the manuals for many makes and models of cars and many other things, and, at least at my local county library...access to the wonderful online university 'Ed2Go'.  I knew that there was no way to keep up with classes for this session given the number of titles I was juggling but I have managed to take several very useful classes through this...as long as I enroll through my library site, I can take up to three classes and use the code that I obtained through my library card.  What a great bargain and a wonderful way to keep the brain stimulated (and occasionally frustrated, lol).

And, speaking of flowers blooming...the poppies (Calilfornia's state flower) are well in bloom, just in time for our local Antelope Valley Poppy Festival which celebrates everything related to the California Poppy (except, perhaps, the drug related references, lol).  It will take place over the weekend of April 20 and 21 and usually includes live entertainment, lots of vendors and food, and interesting displays.  Alas, it is the same time as the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books so you can imagine which one I am most interested in...particularly since I have discovered that Robin Hobb and Raymond Feist are having a discussion!  (after all, I have poppies growing in the backyard...and I can always drag the hubby--and his breathing mask, poor guy--to the Poppy reserve, lol)