Green Avalon Gardens
Ideas, Info, Tools & Technology to Create Your Dream Garden
Labeling Fruit Trees
May 15th
If you want to mark important trees and shrubs, copper labels last forever, and are easy to make.
How To Make Copper Plant LabelsI’m very excited. Last night I made copper labels for all of our fruit trees. All it took was; some 1” labels, which you can buy, but I won them at a gardening event; metal stamping set; wood scrap; and a hammer.
To do the stamping -
- Pick out the letters needed from the stamping kit.
- Place label on scrap wood.
- Align stamp for placement on the label.
- Hit lightly with the hammer.
My Favorite Time Of Spring
May 8th
First hydrangea blossoms opening right now.
Perfect WeatherThis last week has been fantastic. The weather is warm enough to work outside and the humidity is still low. The gardens are bursting into bloom. I have snapdragons, carnations, dianthus, pansies, and petunias already in bloom. The hydrangeas first blossoms opened yesterday. My lilies have buds all over them.
Cornucopia In The MakingThe trees have leafed out. The berry bushes are making berries. The grapes have buds on them. Best of all one of the peach trees we planted two years ago is covered in little peaches. We even have on plum on one More >
Retiring in Luxury
May 3rd
None of us like to think about it, but at some point in time we may not be able to keep up our house and yard. Maybe you’re at the point that you don’t want the responsibilities of a home and yard. Or it might be a knee or hip replacement that leaves with limited mobility, or unable to push the lawn mower anymore.
Is your perfect retirement being able to sit by the pool every day and enjoy the sun?
Planning ahead for the possibilities is always good. You need to know what is really important to you as you look More >
The Irrigation Maze
May 1st
Sprinklers are fun to play in, but not very efficient for watering your yard.
We’ve all heard that putting in an irrigation system is the way to go, but how do you decide what you need, especially if you’re still putting in your yard and are not quite sure what the final plan will look like? We keep changing our minds about what we want; where and how many of this or that we want to grow.
Not only that, there are new developments every year, or at least that I hear about, so keeping up with options can take a lot More >
Feed Me!
Apr 24th
Knock, knock FEED ME!
Nature Amongst UsOne of the things I like the most about living in the country is all the wildlife. We have an abundance of birds which are my favorite, but also, rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, possums, and although I’ve never seen one I’ve seen the prints for deer.
Wildlife can be a delight and a pain at the same time. Just this morning I had one bold sparrow hanging on the window and pecking it, to let me know it’s time to refill the feeder. Then, while I was meditating, a huge squall happened right outside my window. A More >
The Luscious Smells Of Spring
Apr 19th
The hevenly scent of lemon thyme and oregano as they grow together in my garden.
Today I finally got to cleaning all the weeds out of the herb garden. I was appalled to see how many and how big they had gotten this early in the season. Just goes to show you how early it got warm.
I was surprised to find a little plant called Mexican Mace, I don’t have the botanical name, growing. When I planted it I thought it was an annual. Then last year I thought it was coming up from seed, but this year it is too More >
Nanny
Apr 15th
Thanks for the article from Jermaine Haynes
I am a Nanny for a couple in town that has a 9 month old son. I really enjoy the job because I can basically do whatever I want, and I get paid to do it. I can get my studying done, go to the mall, watch TV, anything. The baby loves riding around in the stroller, so I take him to the mall just about once a week and we window shop together. People always assume he is my child because we are so comfortable together and clearly love each other so much. More >
The Thrill Of Victory, Agony of Defeat
Apr 10th
This weekend I finally got to a task which I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I put up a temporary fence to see how I would like a picket fence across the front of the property. I have some 2’ x 8’ sections of plastic trellis, which I used around my vegetable garden at the last home we lived in, and had decided to put them up delineating where the fence would go, so I could get a feel for how it would look. I did this partially because the front yard has a slope to it and More >
Learning By Doing
Apr 2nd
Is this salvia or sage for you?
Trial By FireA number of years ago I had the privilege of working at a garden center. I ended up being the buyer for all the perennials, herbs, and frequently the annuals. I was so excited. I was going to be able to make my living being surrounded by plants, what could be better. I received my first order and scanned the form. My heart hit bottom, everything on the list looked like it was written in Greek, well actually Latin.
I spent hours with a perennial guide next to me looking up all the More >
Keeping Up With “Frankenseeds”
Mar 29th
On several occasions I’ve talked about GMO or GE crops. Monsanto and Seminis are the two main companies developing these seeds. While developing their “frankenseeds” they’re also keeping their foot in the legitimate seed door. I recently found a listing of many of the varieties that Monsanto and Seminis sell.
What does this mean for the home grower or the conscientious gardener? Anyone who’s concerned about the effects of Monsanto’s work can vote with their pocketbook, by staying away from seeds that are offered by either Monsanto or Seminis.
Safe seeds will ensure the planets food supply.
The best way to do this More >