Cold December - But Bright Spots in the Garden

We all think that after a good killing frost (or in our case, a half dozen), that's it. Garden's done, no more fun, no more color.

I snapped a few pictures of our garden here at the office just a minute ago and I beg to differ about there being no color -- these photos will prove it!

Red twig dogwood!


American Beautyberry!


Garlic! (among the chickweed)


Ornamental cabbages!


Kale! 'Redbor' and 'Winterbor'


And just for kicks, I found this very large, very weird fungus a-growin' out of one of our crossties. It's obviously done some 'sporulating' as can be seen by the hole in it.


Happy Holidays!

Just a Little Late for Halloween

Here's a tomato that would've scared anyone...with or without a costume!





Seeds have sprouted while still inside this tomato. The word botanists use to describe this is vivipary. It isn't that rare, really. However, this is the first time I've actually seen this where the sprouts make their way through the skin.

There are little 'bumps' on the tomato (you can see them in the picture) -- this is where the seeds have sprouted and are trying to find a way out.

Thanks to Sandy for bringing this oddity to my attention!

Plants are so cool.

Greens & clover

Several weeks back, I planted some crimson clover and kale. They're looking good as you can tell by the photo.




Look what else is looking good: Callicarpa americana -- Beautyberry -- wow, this is the best it's looked since it's been here.


And the pineapple sage is looking great as well.



And just earlier this week, garlic cloves were planted. These are from the cultivar 'Music'. I've also planted 'Red Russian', 'Belarus', and 'Killarney Red'. More to come on those in the spring.

Garden Party & Art Show

The Lake Cumberland Master Gardeners teamed up with the Escape Artists, a local artist group in Pulaski County, to sponsor a Garden Party & Art Show. The event was held on September 27. It was a great day, weather was just perfect. Here's a link to some photos of the event.

August Stuff

I have been horribly embarrassed by the state of my garden bed outside the office. The weeds got away from me, I'll be the first to admit.

But now it's cleaned out, not well, but clean enough until I can get in there with a hoe or a small tiller and seed some fall crops.

I'm thinking of kale, just a few radishes, some crimson clover to demo a colorful cover crop, and some spinach. Gardening ain't over quiiiiiiiite yet.

Already Summer

Boy, does time fly. We all say that, but it has flown past me this growing season.

The gardens at the Extension House look very good this year. I'm including some images just snapped today:

This is 'Bright Lights' swiss chard that overwintered from last year. It is now producing seedheads. Pretty cool. Think I'll harvest and plant some of the seed next year -- we might find some really interesting colors!

This is American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). It's big show is when these berries (now green) turn fuschia pink in the fall. Can't wait!

'Nikko Blue' hydrangea. Wow! We didn't get any blooms last year due to the April freeze, but look at it now. Covered in blue blooms.

This is a Master Gardener creation -- the herb garden. It features 3 different parsleys, 5 different basils, scented geraniums, borage, nasturtiums, thyme -- you name it, it's here at the office.

Well, the kale I planted earlier had a bit of a problem. A Master Gardener and I had a slight miscommunication and most of the seed I had sowed got a good tilling. So, one poor soul did survive, but outside of the raised bed. Kinda funny. But pretty, nevertheless.
Lastly, this is 'Eight Ball' zucchini. You can see -- it forms round zukes instead of the elongated, normal types. They are different, but are a zucchini, nothing fancy.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

It's Been 2 Years!

For those of you unfamiliar with Chionanthus virginicus -- or Fringetree -- you are missing out on one sweet tree/shrub.

Last year, the blooms got burned a bit by the freeze we had around Easter, so this year, these blooms, as well as many others, are a welcome sight!

Here's a picture of it taken today in full bloom & a close-up of the flowers:


The blooms are fairly fragrant. I've been out sniffing them this morning already.

This tree will get no more than about 15-20 feet tall and is a wide tree. I've mostly seen them with multiple trunks but you could prune them to a single trunk.

For those of you in Pulaski County, this tree is at the end of our path, near the entrance drive to our office.