Viewing comments posted by Sundownr

I'd never seen a gooseberry, but a friend loves them and talked me into getting a couple. I got enough berries the very first year to know I wanted more! I harvest once they start to blush a little for a sweeter flavor. They make delicious pies! I use them in place of green grapes in recipes, too.

My favorite applesauce tree! I have to fight the squirrels, birds, and deer for the fruit.

I love these lil guys!! They're very hardy, easy to maintain, very slow growing, fairly easy to propagate, and always look so cheerful regardless of weather extremes.

Red-twig dogwood shrub is my go-to plant for quick hedgerow or an accent plant. It propagates and transplants easily and cuttings root very quickly. Will even work for foundation planting with dedicated pruning. Very hardy in my zone 6 shady yard, but the shrubs do well with just a few hours of sunlight per day.

I have two large patches of chocolate chip ajuga around a small pond and at the base of a group of trees where my mini garden resides.
PROS: beautiful, very winter-hardy in my zone 6, and helps to keep down the weeds.
CONS: slightly aggressive and needs pruning to keep out of the pond; displaced the moss in the mini garden when I wasn't looking.

Ruth's Perfect has been my favorite tomato for nearly a decade. The plant is a very hardy and productive variety. It needs a long/tall trellis! Here in SW Virginia, the plant is a bit cold tolerant. A light shade for extended heat periods is helpful.