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Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
       but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.    --Proverbs 13:12

A Princess in the Berry Patch

I love this shot of my niece picking berries in her princess dress.  What is really amazing is that some berries are going in the bowl and not just her mouth!

Then again, the berries in the bowl can always go into your mouth later (and then several at a time).  I guess that is part of being a princess!

Garden All Star: Best Flower for Attracting Hummers

This is a toughy, because hummingbirds feed regularly on a wide variety of garden flowers.   But if I had to pick a winner in this category, it would be Salvia coccinea or  'Lady in Red'.

These plants need no care whatsoever to grow like crazy.  Though they are tender and will die come first frost, they reseed so heavily that you will be inundated in them the next year.  They are the kind of plants that I describe as being able to take over the world.  I always end up pulling a bunch of them and transplanting others.  Consider yourself warned!

If you live where there are deer, salvia have the advantage of being one plant that deer really don't seem to like (and if you garden where there are deer, you probably know that deer eat just about anything, even the plants they aren't supposed to like).

And, of course, they bloom and bloom and bloom, much to the delight of any hummingbirds passing nearby.  It may seem strange to using a picture of a big (and very cute!) bumble bee in a post about hummers, but I like this pic and have been waiting for a chance to use it.

Garden All Star: My Wife!

OK, not really.  Well, she is a Garden All Star, to be sure,  if for no other reason than that she appreciates the garden and that always makes me feel good.  And she does help with weeding!

But this series of posts is about plants, and today is my Beefsteak Garden All Star.  Beefsteaks are  the biggest tomatoes in the garden, with individual tomatoes often weighing more than a pound.  Here, for instance, is a picture of one weighing almost a pound and a half. 

When it comes to beefsteaks, my favorite is the Belgium Giant.   I'm not much of a raw tomato eater, but I actually like these.   Though I've never tried it, I've heard they are so sweet you can  make wine out of them.  I do know that spaghetti sauces made with Belgium Giants taste like you've added sugar to them.   I've also had people think that the sauce was made with meat (their flavor is that rich).

These plants grow HUGE.  I've got one that I espaliered along some deer fencing that  is more than 10 feet wide and 12 feet tall.  It probably has 20 or 30 tomatoes on it (since the fruits are so  big on beefsteaks, they don't bear as many as, say, cherry tomatoes) and they are still averaging close to a pound a piece.

Garden All Star: Best Tomato Overall

This was easy.  Really easy.  The best tomato overall is the Sungold.  Everyone who eats these comments on how delicious they are.  Everyone also agrees this is the sweetest tomato they have ever had.

So, they taste great.  But wait, as they say on shopping commercial, there's more!

These plants grow like crazy the whole season long.  They are incredibly robust, and if you can find a way to support them, they will easily grow 10 feet tall or better (probably growing to more like 15 feet tall.) 

The fruit very, very heavily. Huge trusses of tomatoes will cascade down the plant, with well over one hundred cherry tomatoes on a mature plant at one time (not all ripe, of course).  They are generally the earliest to bloom (end of June, early July) and there will still be ripe fruit and loads of green tomatoes when the first frost come.

It is usually late in the season when my plants develop and disease.  The beautiful thing is that they grow so fast, they keep ahead of it.  So while some branches near the base may turn brown and die, down the vine aways there will still be new lush new growth setting new flowers.  These babies just do not quit.

Finally, the tomatoes themselves are beautiful.  They really do turn a deep, deep gold, that is quite pleasing to the eye as well as the mouth!

Peak Performers

One of the things I've thought of doing for the last couple years is picking some "Garden All Stars".  As the gardening season comes to an end, I've thought that I really should spend some time reflecting on what plants did the best, and then spread the good news so maybe next year you can enjoy them too.   So...  for the next few days, I'll be posting my choices for Garden All Stars.

For me, an All Star is first and foremost a plant that is easy to grow.  That means that other than giving it a good start, it has to thrive without much (or any!) care from me.  It won't take much (or any!) watering.  It will resist disease without being sprayed (I don't spray anything.  Ever.)  And it will grow well under a variety of conditions (sun, shade, sun and shade, hot and dry, wet and cool, whatever). 

Second, it has to do an exceptional job of doing what I want it to do.  Basically,  I grow plant either for their flowers, their edible produce, or their ability to attract animals.  Of course, the best plants will do a combination of the above and perhaps even all three.    I figure most all of us have limits on the garden space available, which makes that space valuable.  If a plant can do double or even triple duty, so much the better.

Third, I'd like the plant to what it does over an extended period of time.

As for categories, I had to think about this one.  I think I settled on best flower overall, best tomato overall, best beefsteak tomato, best flower for attracting hummingbirds, best flower for attracting butterflies, and just for the heck of it, the best weed (that sounds kind of bad, doesn't it?!). 

If you can think of any categories I missed that interest you, let me know.  I'll add it to my list.

A Sure Foot

  My help comes from the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.

     He will not let your foot slip—
       he who watches over you will not slumber;

     indeed, he who watches over Israel
       will neither slumber nor sleep.              --Psalm 121: 2-4

Unchristian

OK, I admit it.  Sometimes I do hate to share.

Like when it's with a big slug found inside a fresh pepper I just sliced...

Notes From the Empty Nest, Part IV

Just a couple final thoughts on this and then I've probably said enough.  More than enough, probably. 

First, for anyone who has been an involved parent, there will be empty spaces when a child goes away.  We've already said that trying to maintain our relationship with our children when that happens as if nothing has really changed is... well, destructive.   A change has occurred.  We need to acknowledge that, be responsible for our own emotional well being, and allow our children to thrive independent of us.

Frankly, one of the best ways to do this is to get involved in serving others.  If you are a person of faith, for instance, go to your local place of worship and ask what you can do to help.   I know my church is ALWAYS in need of people who will help us accomplish our mission and better serve the needs of our community.   

Second, make sure there is some structure to your life that will keep you connecting with your spouse.   When it comes right down to it, a lot of married couples relate to each other primarily through their kids.  I think it is pretty obvious that doesn't make for a very healthy relationship, and that it will mean big trouble when the kids are gone. 

As an example of what I'm talking about here, Linda and I still have "family dinner" together.  Though it is just the two of us, we still prepare a family meal (even if it is just a bowl of oatmeal for me and peanut butter and jelly for her), sit down at the table, pray, eat slow food, and talk about our day.  I'm glad we do.

Well...  maybe one last thought.  Realize that because this is a major life passage. it is a time when people do lose their way.  Alcohol can be a problem (and this happens more frequently than you might think).  Anger (a secondary emotion which can be triggered by a perceived loss of control) can mask what is really going on inside.   People have affairs, sometimes physical, sometimes virtual, sometimes with the internet itself (could a person have an affair with Facebook?).  I could go on, but I think you get the point. 

Guard your heart and soul.  Stay connected in your marriage, in a life-giving community, and with friends.  Give back.  And in so doing, enjoy a stage in life that while difficult, is a great opportunity as well.

Brief Interlude

Old patterns die really hard.  They take a lot of work to change!

Recently we went back up to our younger daughter's college for the Family Weekend.  While there, we visited her room.  It was maybe a little messier than we would have liked.  So you know what Linda and I did?

We started to clean it!

And that meant not only picking some stuff up, but rearranging her stuff where we thought it should be.   "That's not where I want that!" she objected.  And rightly so.

They next day she called, looking for something she needed that we had moved that she couldn't find (follow that?).   She did ultimately find it, but the point is that she had a system that was working well for her.  When we interfered--guess what?--we only messed things up...