Beetlemania

File this under “if it’s not one thing, it’s another.”
Which may be, upon further reflection, the most profoundly absurd statement ever when it comes to gardening. It’s nature! Of course there’s always something!
Here in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, we’ve had insect pests come and go, with each summer featuring something different.

Two years ago? Chewing up everything in the vegetable garden plus lots of perennials… Blister beetles!

Last year we had record rainfall, which brought out the gnats in gnumbers we’d never seen before.… Continue reading this article “Beetlemania”

Won’t you help the poinsettias?

Those creative Utah Sate University Extension folks are at it again.  Jerry Goodspeed’s hilarious Gnome Management video was a big hit among the gardening crowd a couple of years ago. 

His current effort is a bit more…film noir. 

"Mission accomplished" if you’ve been shamed into watering that poor poinsettia languishing in the dining room.  A little fertilizer wouldn’t hurt, either.

Pardon If You’ve Seen This Before…

But it still makes me smile.

First published in December 2005, it’s still up at Red Shirt Knitting.  Seattle yarn artist Erika’s story is posted, as is a chronological progression of photos and events since the original “fitting”. 

She actually got some pretty funny tree questions/comments about potential girdling, the possibility of damage from moisture buildup (I like her response “What are YOUR sweaters made from…neoprene?”), etc.

Tortured urban tree examples abound: poorly planted, pitifully pruned, and other horrors. … Continue reading this article “Pardon If You’ve Seen This Before…”