Mother Earth's Garden

I thought I’d end the year with a quick wrap up of the most popular posts of 2008. I’ve been blogging at Mother Earth’s garden for 14 months now. It’s been a fun ride, and I’ve really enjoyed sharing my garden with all of you. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading what I have to say.
Here are the top 10 highest traffic blog posts I made in 2008:

Martha Stewart Tells You How To Make Chalk Board Pots
Want To Attract Hummingbirds To Your Garden This Summer?
What is Bee Colony Collapse Disorder and How Could It Affect You?
Caring For Shamrock Plants
Anything …read more

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I told you the other day how much I love Echinacea, so when I saw this new Meringue variety of Echinacea from Heronswood, I had to spotlight it.
These beautiful flowers were developed in Holland by Ari Blom. As they bloom they start from a daisy like appearance, and develop into the pom poms you see pictured above.
I love white and cream colored flowers in the garden. They’re a wonderful addition to help blend all the colors and contrasts.
They’re similar to their purple counterparts in growth habits. They’re not fussy, drought-tolerant and easy to grow in full …read more

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Another favorite herb and flower in my garden is Calendula. It’s one of the most versatile plants I grow.
I always tuck a few Calendula plants into my garden, and I also have a patch of them that come up every year in one of my perennial flower beds.
Calendula is also known as “Pot Marigold.” They’re considered an annual, but the plant usually re-seeds itself, and once you get it established will come back every year.
Pot Marigold usually starts blooming mid summer, and will continue blooming until a hard frost. The plants enjoy good soil quality, but they …read more

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How does the old proverb go? Red sky at night, sailor’s delight? The sailors would be thrilled with tonight’s sunset. The skyline looked like a big red ball of fire. I captured a few shots right before the sun went down. I thought I’d share them here, so here are a few photos of my winter sunset.

Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday weekend!
Image (c) L Gerlach

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Along with spotlighting new plants over the next couple weeks here at Mother Earth’s Garden, I plan to go over some old favorites, and explain why you should consider growing them in your garden.
One of my favorite herbs to grow is Echinacea. One of the most common cultivars is Echinacea Purpurea (pictured at the top right here). The common name is Purple Coneflower.
Purple Coneflowers are great for naturalizing and are grown in meadows, side ditches and gardens through out the United States.
Echinacea has been used as a healing herb for many centuries. Native Indians used Echinacea in …read more

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One of the many new selections from Burpee’s for 2009 is a new Sweet Seedless Hybrid Tomato.
They claim the lack of seeds makes them extra sweet. From Burpees:
Because there are no seeds to store the sugars for later use, all the sweetness is immediately available for you to enjoy in every rich slice. This is a totally new tomato on every level – the perfect balance of flavor and sweetness, meat and gel, solid firmness and juiciness. And to top it off, the indeterminate plants have a full package of disease resistance to ensure plenty of healthy yields.

These sound …read more

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Merry Christmas from Mother Earth’s Garden

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas. 
Image via Stock.xpert

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I love Tomatillos for salsas and chutneys, combine them with cilantro and you have what I think is one of natures perfect flavor combinations. The new Pineapple Tomatillo from The Cook’s Garden sounds very interesting.
From The Cooks Garden:

You will not believe the flavor of these little gems. The golden-yellow fruits, about the size of a large blueberry, taste just like pineapple. Low-growing plants produce huge yields of tomatillos surrounded by papery husks that turn from green to brown and split open when they are ready to harvest. Pull back the husks and dip in melted chocolate for a surprising …read more

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Happy first day of winter! It’s sunny, about 10` and windy here. A good day to stay in and get the last of my holiday baking done, and presents wrapped. Then later it’s off to a family Christmas gathering.
My paper whites are looking out at the cold and laughing. You’re probably tired of seeing them by now, but they make me cheery and happy, so I couldn’t resist another photo.

It’s really a very dreary site outside this time of year when there’s no snow. The trees are bare, the garden is brown. I just try to think of everything resting …read more

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I started forcing some Paper Whites about mid October, and I’m super excited that they’re in full bloom just in time for Christmas! They’re so beautiful, white and cheery while the weather outside is so cold and damp.
Their delicate blooms lift my spirits every time I look at them. There are still a couple just getting ready to bloom, so they should be lifting my spirits for another week or two.
I only paid a couple dollars for the bulbs, and I got some Amaryllis bulbs at the same time, that I haven’t started forcing yet. I’m going …read more

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