Oh Grow Up!

Try Tomaccio Tomatoes The most prolific tomato in my garden is ‘Tomaccio’™. ‘Tomaccio’™ originated at Hishtil Nurseries in Israel as the result of a 12 year breeding program using wild Peruvian tomato species to create the world’s finest, sweetest snack tomato, fresh or dried. Europeans in France and Germany have been growing and enjoying tomato ‘tomaccio’ [...]

IN THE HERB GARDEN Hort Couture is a company that offers “the most sought after new plants and genetics from the world’s best breeders and plants people,” according to their website. One of their more popular plant collections is  Culinary Couture , a line of fashionable heirloom vegetables and herbs. So far, I’ve grown the following plants with  panache this summer:  Salvia officinalis ‘La Crema’, [...]

Jakes lawn mower repair According to legend, older elephants instinctively direct themselves, when they reach a certain age, to the elephant graveyard. They then die there alone, far from the group There is no such thing as an elephant’s graveyard. Metaphorically it’s come to mean a resting place for a collection. And it was the first thing [...]

Ratatouille Time My garden is bursting with the main ingredients for Ratatouille, a chunky French stew. While you may not be thinking of stew in the heat of the summer, this rich vegetable stew will warm your soul this winter. Ratatouille is a delicious way to preserve a lot of produce fast. It is even more [...]

Neon Rose Wave Petunias Wave Petunias are hardy and faithful bloomers all season. They will make a ground-hugging carpet of color, but I grew my Neon Rose petunias in a hanging basket. Bright colorful plants drew butterflies and hummers to my patio all growing season. I could have had this plant photo ready by removing the [...]

Books I’m headed to the Yucatan with author Margot Berwin in her first novel, Hothouse Flower. The book is an ficticious journey for the reader and the writer. Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire is just plain fun. So, grab a cool drink, this paperback and enjoy a fun summer read. Margot Berwin creates [...]

Missouri’s three largest agricultural fairs offer affordable family fun with carnival rides, tractor pulls, concerts and more. By Patsy Bell Hobson A 6-year-old child, sitting astride a sheep, busts out of the gate as the crowd cheers and screams. The junior rodeo rider has to stay on the sheep for a wild and wooly six [...]

Superbena® Royale Chambray verbena Superbena is self-cleaning, no deadheading necessary. Planted alone in pink tea cup containers, these Superbena® Royale Chambray verbena hybrids have bloomed all summer with very little attention or water. Enjoy lavender flowers in full sun with minimum watering all season. These pots have been in the sun on my humid, zone 6 patio [...]

garden art Wind gloves and wind socks will flutter and keep birds from your ripe strawberries.

The fluttering ribbons will keep the birds from my strawberry hanging basket. This is a cute project that kids can make in a single project meeting. What mother wouldn’t love this as a Mother’s day gift ? This [...]

Containers – Alligator Tears and Goldilocks Rocks I like this combo of two Proven Winners annuals. For some reason, I was blessed with five pots of this coleus, aligator green foliage with a creamy-yellow tear drop center; and three Golidilocks Rocks ™ – Bidens Ferulifolia ColorBlaze® Alligator Tears™ Solenostemon scutellarioides Coleus is growing in three different place in the garden. [...]

Containers – Calibrachoa and Coleus Coralberry Punch Calibrachoa a Superbells® Proven Winners Calibrachoa hybrid paired with Coleus Redhead a Ball Exclusive and a Simply Beautiful® selection. These two plants seem to bring out the best of red in each other. Colors do not fade and they are very drought tolerant. Most coleus need regular pinching or [...]

Patsy Bell Hobson is a garden writer and a travel writer. For her, it’s a great day when she can combine the two things she enjoys most: gardening and traveling. Visit her personal blog at http://patsybell.com/ and read her travel writings at http://www.examiner.com/x-1948-Ozarks-Travel-Examiner. Chard is becoming a favorite summer green for home gardeners. It’s beautiful! And, long after the cool [...]

Patsy Bell Hobson is a garden writer and a travel writer. For her, it’s a great day when she can combine the two things she enjoys most: gardening and traveling. Visit her personal blog at http://patsybell.com and read her travel writings at Ozarks Travel Examiner . Best known for pickling, dill (Anethum graveolens) is also a good herb for [...]

First, this is not my idea. I came upon this tidbit watching late night/early morning TV. Frozen Fruit Ingredients 1 quart strawberries, de-stemmed 1 (3 pound) block dry ice Directions Wash strawberries and place in a paper towel-lined colander. Cover with another paper towel and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Break dry ice into small pieces, [...]