Measuring the Snow

Hi Everyone, hope you are enjoying your weekend, even though it has been snowing off and on since yesterday.I believe most gardeners do have a interest in the weather, other then "oh, it's raining can't go out and pull the weeds". And though we may not like it, snow does play an important part in our gardening. It provides nitrogen. Every Winter our local weather station provides information on how to measure the snow in your yard/garden. Take measurements from three areas in your yard/garden, try not to measure drifts or where you have thrown the snow with the blower or shovel. Add the three and divide by three. You will get a fairly accurate snow measurement or should I say as accurate as your local weather weenie.LOL. I took our measurements tonite, we have a total of 3.33 inches. Let me know what your snow fall total was for this storm.

Keeping the birds happy

While, this is only somewhat related to gardening and in the sprit of keep this great little blog alive I thought I would remind us all to keep our feeders full and if you can supply fresh water to all of our feathered friends. Seed scoop: provided by The Old Farmers Almanac; Black-oil sunflower seeds are the best-loved of all the bird feed.
My feeders are sure busy this morning. Snow stopped, sun is trying to come out. We got a total of 2 inches, fine by me. Les and I hope to get out to a auction today. Have a wonderful weekend friends.

Possibly the last garden tip for 2010

In the spirit of giving, spend some time lending a gardening hand to a friend, neighbor or family memeber who may be behind in their outdoor chores. A little raking or stacking firewood will be a warm way to burn off some holiday calories and help give some warmth to those who may need the lift. I follow Winterthur Museum & Country Estate on facebook, this was their tip for today, 12/30/10. I thought it was a nice little diddy for The Herbal Bouquet. Happy New Year garden friends

....A SEASON COMES TO END...

Here in the Northeast the gardens have fallen to the frosty mornings but yesterday when I went out to see if I could "scrounge" some fresh basil (am I crazy or what)!! for my tomato sauce I noticed that a rosemary plant had not been harvested ....so out came the shears and  now I have some fresh rosemary to fill in little Christmas stockings I am making....some days are just filled with surprises.  (no basil though) !!!

Fall Veggies

Here is our bounty from our neighbors garden and ours. The tomatoes and sweet peppers are ours, the rest is from our neighbor. I think this will be it for the garden. Cooler (dare I say COLD) days are coming.

The Dye Garden

Here in Berks County, Pa the autumn days have been beautiful and the last few nights have been stunning with glorious moonlight. We are undergoing a major landscaping project between the house and barn so I am thankful for each sunny day. As I clean up around the gardens my thoughts have been wandering to what plants would be good for dyeing wool. About 7 years ago I spent a weekend dabbling in the dye pot with a variety of plants from the gardens but I've sinced turned to the "little brown packages". Do any of you have a dye garden? I'm curious as to what you enjoy collecting for the dye pot. Earlier this month, at a local historical village I saw a hank of yarn that was dyed to a beautiful shade using orange cosmos. Maybe someday I'll get around to harvesting my orange flowers! Here's a pic of my orange cosmos. You will notice that Miss Paisley wanted to be part of the picture! Since she's been giving such beautiful eggs lately, I thought I would indulge her vanity.

Terri

from high on a hill in Berks County, Pa

LAZY HARVEST...

I have to admit my harvesting was not nearly as productive as it should have been.  No fault to the herbs...they grew beautifully with the TLC I gave them ....but time got away from me (Tony's broken ankle, open houses...etc.) and I really let the gardens go.  I still have some sage and ginger mint I can salvage...but the weather turned so HOT again and it just takes all my energy away!
Andrea your home and pumpkins make the best header for our blog!
Happy Harvesting to everyone.....XO, Judy