Mlle. Zabzie

I had a volunteer acorn squash this year. It was tasty.

I’m still on the wagon. I will say that my skin has been more or less amazing.

Drink more water! That will help even with some continuing vices

Now I am going to ask my Dad, who grew up in Waterbury, if he knew anyone named “Rit”.

I feel like if I ever fall off the wagon that would be a good way to go. I did a study abroad in France many, many moons ago. Our sponsoring professor was Breton. Our group had A LOT of fun. This explains it.

Has anyone done Fraxel? I am considering it this winter. I have some sun damage (despite being fanatical about sunscreen from and after about 25 and before then being “pretty good”) that I kind of want to eliminate. I’m worried about the “looking like raw meat for 3 weeks” piece of it. Also, anyone who has micro bladed their eyebrows, I want to hear from you! My eyebrows are finally growing in some thanks to cortisone injections, but apparently I didn’t catch the scarring alopecia fast enough, so they are patchy and are likely to remain so. I don’t mind penciling so very much, but would like to have a simpler routine there.

I feel like this is about to devolve into a discussion of Champagne v. Alcoholic Beverage with a Sparkly Persuasion. What is the Breton national drink anyhow? Wasn’t there some kerfluffle about using Breton to desribe a certain kind of preppy (sloane ranger for our uk brethren (am I allowed to use that term?)) boat neck striped shirt? Anyhow, I have successfully moved from a pop star through alcohol to fashion, and sober at that, so will rack that up as my win for today.

Send me some of that rain please! That’s what I have to say. And I am sorry about the Dahlias. They are such temperamental little divas, but so beautiful when they thrive.

We have Lilacs! I brought some back to the city and they smell DIVINE. The redbud is out and gorgeous too. We planted snap peas on Saturday as well as the wildflower patch. Today we planted peppers (my husband over orders from this pepper specialist in Nj, and orders early because he’s petrified they will be out when he orders) but they were dying inside so we are going to give them a shot outside), and the flower garden in front of the house. We planted Gerberas, Angelonia, French marigolds, some petunias, and for seeds, cosmos, zinnias, and sunflowers. I might be early, but meh. If the seeds don’t grow, I’ll buy seedlings from a nursery in early June. Next weekend I will put in carrots and prepare the beds for the great Memorial Weekend plantening. I’m planning on Okra, tomatoes, cukes, melons, squash (hope springs eternal),

My fight is against honeysuckle. We hates it. Also I dug up a lot of burdock today. I will need a winch to get me out of bed tomorrow (but did plant the peas :)).

I’m sorry-that just seems wrong. Mind you I think we get that Thursday, but I expect frosts up here until at least mid-May.

Today I went and spent money for the second time this spring at a garden center (well, the same one - Isk - Pound Ridge Nursery is truly worth the trek for you). Anyhow, bought two hanging baskets and some other assorted flowers for pots on my patio, as well as Brussels sprouts and broccoli. I’ve sprayed the latter two up but good with BT. We shall see..... I also was bedazzled by the Burpee display on the inside. I bought lots of seeds....

Runs in the family then, does it?

Maybe? Grew up in VA outside DC and we always had issues getting year after year return (and was actually discussing it with my mom last night). They do ok in in 7, especially 7a where you are, but won’t necessarily be perfect. 7b is further South, and so may exacerbate the issue. Also, there is a varietal native to Crete that does better in more Southern zones, I believe.

So I am no expert, but I think part of your problem is your zone. I think you are too warm for tulips. My understanding is that tulips CAN perennialize in zone 7, but do best in zone 6 or cooler (in zone 7 the period of cold dormancy isn’t QUITE long enough). If you want good blooms, pull them out, and refrigerate for 3 months in containers, then you can set them out and they bloom like a month later.

What zone are you in? You may need to dig them up every year and stick them in the fridge for them to “set”.

Maybe availability of enough other food (dropped pretzels, goldfish, etc.?). I always enjoy the drifts of tulips coming up Park Ave. as well.

I’m trying. LOL. The squirrels and chipmunks love them, sadly.

I’m not that far from you geographically/plant wise. For powdery mildew you have to make sure you are spacing your plants appropriately. Also, you can spray them prophylactically with a soap and baking soda mixture; if that doesn’t work copper sometimes does the trick but I don’t love doing that. My issues with squash are squash beetle larvae. I have wrapped stems, sprayed with neem oil, slit stems and pulled out larvae, etc. I have like a 50/50 success rate. I saved my cucumbers this year until after that big storm in august they got mosaic. My squash...did so-so.

I was going to suggest exactly that. You might want to edge it first so that it looks its best. If you want a groundcover of some kind, I would suggest a stonecrop if it is sunny and dry there, or maybe moss phlox, creeping phlox, or juniper. Please avoid vinca, English ivy, lantana and pachysandra, which are invasive*. *In the US.

What’s the handle? I would love to follow him! Totally on brand for me. I follow Seaview Gunwallow, Archigardenist, Birds and Blooms magazine, gardenersofig....(and more). I am pressing flowers this year. I have grand plans to arrange seasonal pressings in small frames by season. To that, anyone done that and have good tips for mounting and framing? But for me part of why I love flowers is their very temporality. They a little miracles - there is this little black seed that I put in the ground and hope, and then months later, somehow, I end up with a beautiful flower, that, then, turns into black seeds which either produce more plants or feed birds or feed me!

You saw my pansy haul..... Now I’m wondering if should order some non-dwarf dahlia bulbs and just promise myself that I will for sure dig them up and put them in the garage. I need to pull out the ladder and get my roses back on the trellis program....I might also need another trellis. I wanted to put them on my pool fence, but they kinda look scraggly, so a trellis may be in my future....

Plant wildflower that are basically weeds? Last year I chopped up my barren "lawn" area, did the "scatter" method like I was planting grass seed, covered it up with straw and waited. There were probably some unwanted thistle somewhere in there, but honestly one couldn't tell. Maybe I will try Dahlias again....They definitely can't over-winter here (I'm zones and zones North of you) but mine never get all that big - short growing season I guess? My peonies on the other hand...monstrous, blowsy and beautiful. Can't wait.

A word of warning on Lambs Ear. It gets everywhere. I am constantly removing it from unwanted places. I adore dahlias too. However, they are so high maintenance up by me. Maybe if I pot them and just over winter the pots in my garage? I dunno - by the time I get them in the ground they barely seem to have enough time to achieve any kind of bulk. Maybe I need to fertilize them more? I’m totally doing a wildflower mix on the barren spot by my well again. I have never been able to get grass to grow there, and last year I had the most gorgeous drift of flowers. Alas, that’s a mid-May (at the earliest) thing. Right now I am enjoying my pansies. In mid April I will put in carrots, and maybe cauliflower and peas.

I broke down and bought all the pansies this weekend (and a couple of ranunculus and some bulbs that were hardening outside at the nursery because I think the $*!@# squirrels or chipmunks ate the ones I planted last fall). Yay pansies!