The Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park

Below are photos from my visit to Friendship Park. Click on this link to read about my visit: Cincinnati.com.

Photos from Renaissance Garden Ornament

More photos from my trip to Renaissance Garden Ornament in Oakley (3209 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209)

Click here to read the story: Renaissance Garden Ornament: Reliving a childhood memory

same blog, new location

I'm excited to announce that Cincinnati Gardener is now a part of the Cincinnati.com blog network!
You can now find me here: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/gardening/

I'll be adding brand new posts really soon!

the first lady supports a healthy harvest

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Very excited that gardening was in the spotlight at the White House. But where are the official White House gardening gloves?

DEET free bug spray

This is exciting! I met the ladies of Green Cauldron years ago at the Sauerkraut Festival and loved the aromatherapy products I purchased. I decided it was time to try their natural insect repellent, "Bugger Off!".


I'll admit, I was very skeptical about this one. I am a mosquito magnet and didn't want to waste money on something that didn't work.

Over the past week, I put it to the test:

• outside in my garden
  
• outside at dusk playing tennis
  
• outside, walking in a garden, by a river
• outside at dusk, pulling weeds in my yard, before a thunderstorm
  

I'm happy to report that IT WORKS*! I'm so relieved and not itchy! Highly recommended for when you are out working in your garden.

*For it to be most effective make sure you re-apply every hour.

Side note: I will continue to wear an insect repellent with DEET for times when I'll be outside in the wild for an extended period of time (camping, long hikes, etc). Overall, I am trying to reduce the amount of chemicals being absorbed through my skin (DEET & others).

low-maintenance Asiatic lilies

Want a low-maintenance, beautiful flower, that will come back year after year?

Asiatic lilies (sometimes called "Asian lilies") are a very colorful and unique looking plant. If you want to grow these, plan to get some bulbs and plant them in the fall. By next June, you will have some very low-maintenance, beautiful plants!

composting made easy

I don't think composting should be complicated. If you have just a little space you can make it happen.


This is a shot of fresh kitchen waste added to the pile.

What to put into your compost: Put in grass clippings, yard waste and kitchen waste.* The compost pile needs air to break down, so make sure you turn it once a week or so with a shovel. Yes, animals may get into it, but we haven't had any issues, and surprisingly, it doesn't smell (keep rotating it and smell shouldn't be a problem).


*What not to put in your compost: meats, oils, animal waste, dairy, plants treated with pesticides or herbicides. It is OK to put in egg shells!

Why compost?: Compost acts as a soil conditioner, mulch and fertilizer. Composting has helped us to reduce our trash to one trash bag a week.

gardening essentials

By the way, Nitrile gardening gloves are great, here's why:

• Puncture and chemical resistant
• Natural feel and touch; ergonomically shaped
• Machine washable

They might be a few bucks more than the traditional canvas gloves, but the protection they offer your hands is well worth it (and I'm sure they'll last you a long time).

you can grow carrots

If you'd like to grow your own food from seed, try carrots (they are fairly low-maintenance).

Sow the seed now (in June) and you should reap a harvest by September. When you find a place with plenty of sunlight, make sure you loosen up the soil down deep, so they can grow long enough.

Pick up a seed packet (~$1) and get sowing!

progress

Pictures of our garden progress as of today:




Click here to see our progress, the "before" pictures.

First Fruits

Well, more like first veggies! The cucumber plant needs a lot of water, but it produces cucumbers very quickly. I experimented with easy pickling techniques with some of the cucumbers and they are delicious.

gift plant

"Pickle Plant" or "Miniature Cucumber Plant"- call it what you will, this is an amazing plant that makes me really happy! My aunt gave this to me as a gift (a great gift idea!). I set this thirsty plant up against our chain link fence and it began climbing it in a matter of days.

garden, phase 3

before:

after:

grow your own food... the garden update.

Phase 2, taking root:

Click here to see phase 1 of our garden.






Photographic evidence. Working hard on a Saturday afternoon. :)

A big thanks to my grandparents for letting me borrow their garden tools and for sparking my interest in gardening when they let me plant a pumpkin patch in their backyard when I was 8!

using gardening to change lives

A great idea.

Thrive is a charitable organization in England enabling those touched by a disability to transform their lives using gardening.

www.thrive.org.uk

oh the horror!

Gardening tip of the day: Pinch off the early blooms on your planted annuals.
(annual = lives for only one growing cycle, not from year to year).

I hated every moment of it, but I kept pinching those beautiful blooms right off. Pinch off the bloom on the soft tissue part of the stem, where it meets the thin stem.

The deal is, if you suck it up and pinch off those blooms (not buds) for the first 3 weeks after you plant them, you'll have hardier flowers in your garden until the frost in the fall. If I can do it, so can you!

Now, get pinching and enjoy your annuals all summer long!

the urban homestead

the story: My husband and I rent an apartment in a two-family home in a semi-urban area and have a lot of freedom with what we do to the yard.

Over the past six-weeks, I have been caring for various seedlings that I grew from seed (bought at a $1 a pack from Big Lot's) in plastic containers. I tore up two plots that were previously filled with grass and weeds and plan to grow tomatoes, leek and carrots with a border of marigolds to help ward off insects.

Homegrown vegetables, here we come!


upside down water bottles?
A cheap trick I picked up in South Africa. Fill bottle with water, turn bottle over and shove into the ground. Ta da! Irrigation! (fill bottle up and repeat when the bottle is empty).

welcome to my garden

Hi there reader,
Gardening is a beautiful thing. Gardening, for me, is therapeutic, an outlet for creativity and rewarding work. It is also a great vehicle for learning essential truths about life. This is my attempt to capture all of that in one place.

I want to make this a fun and comfortable place for new and seasoned gardeners alike.


Please feel free to leave comments about your own experiences with gardening, gardening questions or any gardening news you may have.

Enjoy!
Stephanie