Viewing comments posted by SCButtercup

Strange to see an earlier comment about fusarium wilt because I have found that this tomato is resistant to soil diseases like fusarium wilt. It is a real workhorse that produces great tasting tomatoes until frost. I have grown it for three or four seasons, so the only possible explanation is that the commenter who had bad luck with it lives in zone 5 and I'm in zone 8. The Park Seed company is also in the south, so perhaps this plant does best in warmer zones.

In SC this tomato is delicious, but it produced only two fruits. Some of my other tomato varieties produced bushels, so it was not my technique. Perhaps this plant is just susceptible to some sort of disease in my soil. There were flowers, but they turned black and did not set fruit. Maybe I'll try again next year. It could be that I have an inferior seed line.

An older woman who loved herbs and plants once told me that folklore says this plant "guards" a home, so it was traditionally planted near the door. When I have seen this plant growing around old homes, it has been by the front porch, so maybe there is something to it.
The dark berries that form after the umbels bloom make a lovely jam.

In hotter zones this plant needs protection from afternoon sun. Another solution is to start them indoors very early, 10-12 weeks before frost, and get them transplanted outdoors as soon as possible after the last frost date. Grow them next to a midsummer-flowering perennial, such as rudbeckia. By midsummer the salps may not be around, but they will provide drama in spring and early summer.

Taller, bigger flowers, and more stately than Rudbeckia fulgida. Looks great paired with Echinacea, especially Magnus, which is a similar height. Seeds need to be cold treated, so this plant is great for winter sowing.

Needs a long fence to grow along. This plant gets BIG, but the leaves look delicate and stay fairly small; there are just so many of them. I love this on my wood privacy fence.

Definitely needs support in my garden. Use two or three 2-foot long sticks from spring tree prunings and set the sticks behind a clump. Then tie green twine loosely around the stems and sticks, The supports will be barely visible in a couple of days, and the plants can flower upright for all to see.

Plumerias are a long-term project. If cost is an issue, try growing them from seed. Fresh seeds can be found inexpensively on co-ops. I'm in year 3 with my plumeria seedlings. They make great gifts for gardener friends, and it is an event when they bloom after years of waiting. If you are less patient, buy sticks, root them, and it still will take a couple of years. In most parts of the United States, bring them indoors in winter, put them in the garage or basement, and only water them monthly. Then repot them in spring, plunge the pot in soil, and let it take off for the summer months.

These beans have a beautiful pattern, golden beige with reddish markings, suggesting a tiger-eye pattern. The beans are large and flavorful, but the markings disappear with cooking. I grow them under a 6 foot tall support. As the plants start to vine, I hang a string from the top of the frame to the dirt and let it drape around the vine, and I twirl the vine around the string to get it started. The plant does the rest and uses the string for support. I display a jar of these proudly in my kitchen and boast: "I grew these." They are pretty enough to be decorations.

Put this plant near walkways so passersby will brush up against it and activate the beautiful sage scent. Also, if it gets floppy mid season, cut it down by half or more and it will bounce back with fresh growth and may even rebloom. Very tough plant. If you see one languishing in the marked-down or free rack, go ahead and buy it, plant it in the ground, cut back the dead foliage, and watch it bounce back.

Take cuttings in fall. This roots easily, just like a coleus. You'll want to overwinter the cuttings because this plant is hard to find in garden centers. If gnats are a problem indoors, water with a weak hydrogen peroxide and water solution. The plant and soil can also be sprayed with this solution. No gnats all winter long!

Put this plant near the front of the garden, with a dark-foliage annual, such as coleus, in front for contrast. The bright apple-green foliage and early blooms make for a lovely early-spring show. By the time the bright apple-green foliage is getting a big old, the coleus will be tall enough to disguise the decline. Also, use a short tomato cage when shoots first emerge in spring to keep them from flopping after blooming. The flowers last a long time, so extra support helps.

Maybe it's the heat or my poor soil, but this does tend to splay out and flop at the height of bloom. To remedy this, I use a small tomato cage set around the plant when it first comes up in the spring. When I've waited too long, I've also used a small tomato cage snipped in half to sort of wrap around the plant. The plant grows quickly in spring, so within a week the support is hidden.

This is a good peony for all climates, and especially for the South, because it blooms early before it gets too hot. By Mother's Day in May, these blooms are finished after giving a great early spring show. When the 95+ temps start, the foliage can get a little crispy, so in my zone 8a garden I plant lantana just behind this peony. By June, when the peony foliage is getting wilted, the lantana blooms and distracts the eye from the peony leaves. By mid to late summer the lantana actually covers the peony to shade it from the heat and the eye. In november, after frost kills the lantana, cut it back, and in spring the cycle will start over. This works even in a prominent front yard display.

It really does smell and taste like cinnamon and basil and it can be used in baking to give an unusual (and delicious) flavor to sweet baked goods. Cinnamon basil pound cake with ginger is a good recipe to Google because it goes well with ginger. Also, try using this basil in place of regular basil in recipes with tomatoes, etc. to give your old recipes a new twist. Like all basils, this one likes a lot of water and does well in large containers with a water reservoir.

Like all mints, this one is invasive. One way to control it is to grow it in a large plastic pot sunk into the garden. Keep it trimmed and make sure it does not get a chance to send out runners. Pinch back the creeping-sideways stems and it won't escape the pot.

Can be grown in large pot. Leave it outdoors with some evergreen branches sheltering it and it will come back in spring. I grow it in zone 8, but years ago I grew it in zone 5. Pick flowers before they are fully open to dry for sachets and wonderful-smelling decorations.

This variety has a low creeping habit and bright red color. The blooms on this one make everyone who sees it say: "I never knew lantana could be so red." I planted mine at the base of a slope and it climbs up, covering part of the slope nicely. Great planted next to Black-Eyed Susans, such as Rudbeckia hirta.

Seems to hold its color best if not allowed to get water stressed. Grow it in containers with a water reservoir. Color is amazing and makes for great bouquets. Really dresses up a gift basket of zucchini when tucked in with a basket of extra produce. Taste is very basil-y.

This is one of my must-grow basils. It is a little slow to get started in the spring, but give it blazing sun and tons of water and it will take off. Seems to do better in containers because of the water requirement. Use it in smoothies and sprinkle over sliced tomatoes for a WOW flavor. Also put sprigs in frozen drinks. You gotta grow this!