Time Out

I have not abandoned the Chrystel's Potager blog. It has been an unusually busy spring with unexpected events that have consumed a major portion of my time. The blog has been put on a back burner to simmer for now, but with plans to resume in the future.

There has not been new or exciting things regarding the potager to post this spring. Basically it is being maintained. However we have had a small harvest of snow peas and some strawberries. I have planted a few tomatoes and basil plants

Due to events of this past spring, I will be focusing on a couple of new projects which will be announced on Facebook at a later date. One of the projects will probably involve a new blog. Also there may be some garden related events with the new projects. Have I roused your curiosity?

Time to Prune!

Last week I was invited to attend the Perennial Garden Club’s monthly meeting. Guest speaker, Richard Montgomery form Montgomery Gardens Nursery shared some advice on growing roses. I wouldn’t describe myself as a rose grower but I do have a few and I appreciated learning the following tips.

Gardening in 2012

 The holidays have come and gone, decorations put away (well almost,) and garden catalogs are arriving daily. Time to think gardening!

Having taken the Master Gardeners class this past fall I need to complete 30 hours of volunteer work to receive my certificate. Since I am spending an extraordinary amount of time with my dad at Superior Care Nursing Home, creating a patio garden with and for the residents seemed to fit the ticket. Alas, Superior Blooms Garden Club was born.

Yes, you can plant those pretty mums in your garden…..

And they might live!

After the blooms die on the chrysanthemums that decorate my porch and/or my patio, I often plant them in a garden bed. Sometimes they live, sometimes they don’t. The ones in this picture were in two large pots on my porch steps a few years ago.

I plant them after the blooms die and before a hard frost, covering them with leave mulch. I read a recent article on Dave’s Garden web site gives information the proper way of planting. I always trimmed the plants back before planting, not realizing I should leave the dead foliage on until spring. Maybe that is why some of mine didn’t make it. I know to “pinch” the plants to about 4-inches until July but usually I am so busy I don’t get it done. I haven’t pinched these red mums but they don’t seem to mind.

These need to be divided, another chore I didn’t get around to doing in the spring. I did divide some in the back garden and shared with friends and co-workers. One person told me hers had hundreds of blooms on it. If you were a recipient of my mum sharing I would like to know how yours are doing.

I took some cuttings of mums in the spring for potted plants this fall. They did reasonably well. I neglected to trim them so they are somewhat leggy. Lesson learned, for well shaped plants I must keep them trimmed.

Mums are relative inexpensive and most folks don’t want the bother of wintering them over, but if you have the space and time it is an easy way to have an abundance of fall color.

How is the Garden

“How is the garden?” A question I often hear this time of year. Actually it is in better shape in August than in previous years even with several weeks of 100° plus heat index. The rainfall in our area, while not as much as the garden would like, has been more frequent than in the past few summers. Having cut my work hours to one day a week and not going out of town during the summer has allowed me to give the garden consistent, daily attention.

Musings From The Potager

It is hot in the potager! Getting out at 5:00 a.m. is a must, as is an afternoon nap.




Some vegetables just don’t warrant real estate in the potager especially if they are readily available at the farmer’s market. I’m thinking squash, potatoes, cabbage and cucumbers. Let someone else deal with the bugs and blights!

Yesterday,  the Perennial Garden Club visited the potager. After a brief talk about the potager style and the transformation of our backyard into a garden, here is a little of what they saw.