| 5-24-07 May Flowers |
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In This Issue:
1. April Showers Bring May Flowers And how! We may have had only one day of April showers here in Southern California, but the flowers don't seem to notice at all. The irises are in bloom, the agapanthus are starting to open, and the roses have taken off in a flurry of color and fragrance. The fruit trees are sending forth plums, apples, lemons and more lemons. (How did we end up with four lemon trees?) My newly planted herb garden is settling into what promises to be a thriving cook's garden. (Read more about adventures in herb gardening at the Gardenerd Blog.) With all the activity of spring around us, I've hardly noticed that, outside of tomatoes, I haven't planted a single vegetable yet. I just keep telling myself, "I'm not late; it's the perfect time to sow seeds somewhere in the world". So here's to late bloomers like me who need a little motivation from the flowers to get going. Take a moment, stop and smell the roses, and let them inspire you to create your own patch of paradise this spring. 2. Off the Beaten Path And now a moment of shameless self-promotion. Recently a friend contacted me about a contest that she thought I should enter: The National Public Radio Talent Quest. They were looking for new voices and new concepts for shows on NPR. Naturally, I immediately thought this was something I could never do, but having spoken to this friend precisely on the heels of having spoken to another friend who told me that I need to start thinking bigger, I decided to enter the darn thing. If you feel like taking a gander and placing a vote this week, you can do so after registering at www.publicradioquest.com. Type Christybeth1 into the search box and select "users". It will take you to my profile where you can click on the link to my "audio files". It's a 2-minute blurb - a sample of the kind of show you'd hear if Gardenerd were on NPR. For those of you who have already voted, thank you so much for your support. Now we return to our regularly scheduled program. 3. Gardenerd Tip of the Month: Deadheading Right about now the roses are hitting their stride out in the garden. Blossoms are everywhere! To keep that going through spring and into summer, deadhead - or cut back spent blooms - on a regular basis. Look for a new node, or the beginnings of a node, at the junction of the main stem and a leaf that has 5 leaflets (the leaves up towards the flower have 3 leaflets). Make your cut about half an inch above the node on an angle. To encourage outward growth of your roses, choose nodes located on the outside edge of the stem. A new branch will form, followed by another wave of flowers and fragrance. 4. Gardenerd Product of the Month: Tank Top Leave it to Cafe Press to keep things interesting. They've swapped out their old ladies tank top design - wait a second, that's their ladies old tank top design, not their old lady's tank top design - for a fresh new design with colorful options. Since summer is just around the corner, aren't you yearning for a little sun on your shoulders already? Check out this month's featured product, the Jr. Gardenerd Spaghetti Tank. Also, Cafe Press is planning to replace the Gardenerd Baby doll T-shirt with a Jersey T-shirt in June. If you love that Jr. Baby doll like I do, get yours now while you still can. I'll be buying a new one to replace the one that turned pink in the laundry (curse that renegade red bandana!) Don't forget that if you haven't signed up at www.gardenerd.com, you're missing out on the Tip of the Week, and the latest updates on the website and Blog. We never sell your information or burden your inbox with excessive mail. You'll also receive your very own copy of Christy's Top 5 Organic Gardening Tips for signing up. Stay tuned for more gardening tips and tidbits from the Gardenerd. Happy Spring Gardening! |
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