Hey, tell me about it! I've only had one year that I was sick of the garden. 4-5 years ago we had what I called "the summer that would never end". We never got our first frost until sometime in Oct. Usually we get it in the very beginning of Sept. I had so many maters that my kitchen counters were piled high! I was praying for frost that year! I'm used to only getting a few cherry tomatoes to ripen and forget about the larger varieties! I did grow a couple of plants in my hoop house a couple of years ago (as well as bell peppers) and got quite a few ripe ones. I'm thinking that's the way to go. I've got Elliot Colemans book too, Four Season Harvest. I'm sure that would work better for you Sue as you are in his climate more so than I am.

Cathy

I am going to try leeks this year. I need to get the seeds started soon, along with onions, but I am going away to Fla. this weekend.

I might try growing an early tomato, a pepper, and an eggplant in my greenhouse this year and see if I get veggies any earlier.

I am going to grow a lot more edamame. I think I might try epimediums too, and I'm looking forward to the garden shows for even more ideas!

In addition to our usual tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, pole beans, and summer squash I am going to greatly expand my planting of ice-box sized watermelons. We are going to discontinue the elephant garlic and bush beans and scale back on onions. I may experiment with edible-seeded pumpkins and muskmelons or cantaloupes if I can find the space. Corn remains out of the question because of the varmints.

MM

I found a source for purple coneflower "Doppelganger" seeds, so I ordered some. The woman I got them from said she was told that they produce about 50% true from seed....we'll see. They don't get their double decker blooms until the second year so it will be a couple of years before I know. But then I also plan on buying some of the plants...Jackson and Perkins has 3 for $13.95...alot better than the $13 for each 2-1/2 pot that they were asking the past few years.

I'm gonna try eggplant in the GH too.

Cathy

I am very excited because last Spring I sowed angelica and hollyhocks, both of which are biennials. So I'll be lookin' for my blooms this year! I also have several cheapo catalog mail-order hostas and daylilies that will be in their 3rd year. They were all still tiny last year so I think this year will be make or break for them.

I love angelica. I heard if it blooms it dies, so the secret is to never let it bloom?! Seems to defeat the purpose to me. lol Do you use the angelica?

MM what is your secret for growing great watermelon. I seem to have bad luck with them. I am determined to grow corn to make my own corn syrup with...at least once in my life time! There are many racoon around and other critters that I will have to control. I may be crying later when it doesnt work, but I got determination to try.lol

I really like echinacea, Ive planted a large patch of the swan white and purpurea purple last year myself, and look forward to seeing it perform this coming season.

Echinacea's beautiful. This will be my first year of blooms for Angelica, so I haven't decided whther to use it or not. I don't doubt that it dies after bloom, I going to keep planting in succession and also hope that it will re-seed. since I am working towards cottage-meadow.

We grow three raised beds about 4 ft wide and twelve ft long surrounded by a fence to keep out deer and other critters. Tomatos,cherry and large, beans, peppers,pumpkins, summer squash, zuchini, cucumbers, brocholi,lettuce,radishes,peas,carrots,beets,leeks,parsely,
spinach,acorn squash,are some of the things we fit in them. We have to fertilize and turn them soon for we plant cold weather stuff around April 17th. We can, pickle, make zuchini bread,and give left over tomatoes and things to people at BIW where my husband works. It helped many during their strike time. We have to water often but never worry about rot and can always reach to weed.

Then there are the perennial beds. One is a maltese cross, four circle sections, four triangles to make it. One L shaped border we must build it up to a raised bed. One four sectioned Side border and a low section to heal in plants in winter for the raised beds are too cold for some to survive in. Fall we throw wire frame work and garden quilt to protect tomatos from frost to extend our season for frost usually comes Sept 1st.

We have a strawberry pyramid and we are trying a big strawberry this year usually we grow sparkles or Ozarks. We grow blueberries and have a fruit orchid. I love fresh herbs so will be growing those too. I am trying historic irises and lots of new daylilies this year for new stuff.

I really like my Mother's garden design for I am not fully able bodied having a knee injury I must not squat so the raised gardens with the paths are designed with cement centers to stand on without hurting the garden soil and to sit on to weed. It means I can still garden and that means alot to me.

can you post a picture of your mothers garden for us? Sounds really nice and a good idea to grow old with.

I will try to find a picture showing the whole maltese cross then I will need help in how to post it to a forum. It changes with the season so a spring time one might show the bare bones of the garden.