Coldest night yet!

As much as I love cool weather I still dread the first frost. All the plants that have been thriving outdoors for the summer have to come inside. I end up dragging them in at the last minute, working in the dark to get the last few. This year I was doing well; moving in a few at a time, repotting if necessary and checking for any bugs. Then today the cloudy skies cleared and the almost full moon was beaming down... perfect conditions for frost! The begonias and episcias had to come in promptly. As I was scurrying around, I noticed something odd on the carpet. I couldn't make sense of what I was seeing, but then I realized it was a yellow spotted salamander! He was relocated to the edge of the pond. A few minutes ago, I heard the trill of a tree frog... from inside the house! I haven't been able to track him down yet, but I will! I don't mind having critters in the house but it's hard for them to survive all winter inside.

Back in the U.S. of A.

I love the weather today! It's a blissfully cool 68F. and a slight breeze that gives me the strength to get out there and tackle the weeds. They took advantage of my vacation to sneak in an extra foot of growth. I vowed last year that beggars-ticks (Bidens frondosa) would never be allowed to bloom in my yard... the seeds get stuck in my dogs hair and in my clothes and are awful to try to remove! If you garden, you know the little devils.The Latin name Bidens means two toothed, and they use both of them to cling tenaciously to anything that brushes against them. It's hard to believe that they are related to the sweet Bidens that my local nursery sells for $5 each! Those sunny yellow flowers are so cheerful... imagine my surprise when I found them growing by the roadside in northern Ecuador. They look fabulous entwined with lantana, proving once again that Mother Nature is the best gardener! This picture is of a flower stall in Cuenca, Ecuador. When I was at my condo last week, I was buying 25 roses for $2 total cost. That's a big reason right there to visit Ecuador! If you'd like to see pictures of the condo, visit www.CotacachiLiving.com/rentals and check out PrimaVera II Penthouse.

Trip to Ecuador

This is the little town I'm heading to. Cotacachi has 6,000 residents at 7,000 feet or vice-versa. Sweet town, nice people and best of all....COOL BREEZES!!!!!! There is also an ethno-botanic garden that I will be visiting and I promise lots of pics from this trip.

Dog Days of August

The big flower garden is awash with weeds and I have no energy to deal with them. It is just too hot!! I can go out at night and pick slugs off my plants because at least it is a reasonable temperature at 11:00. Today its 90F and the humidity is in the screaming range. My truck has no A/C... oh, I am dreaming of the cool breezes in the Andes! Luckily, I'm going down to Ecuador again in a few days to give the waether up here a chance to get reasonable. Packing corduroy, socks, sweatshirts... Can't wait to need them!

How Time Flies!

What's been going on in the past three months to keep me from blogging? Whole bunches of travel and fun and of course, since it's summer, I'm gardening. Springtime usually means being up to my eyeballs in new garden beds, container gardens, moving the houseplants outside, etc. This spring was different. First of all, I went to the American Begonia Society convention in West Palm Beach, FL. What a wonderful time! I came home with a suitcase full of begonias as well as a charter for the Rhode Island Chapter of the ABS... now we are official!
Next was a trip to Ecuador. I fell in love with the little town of Cotacachi and bought a condo there. It's high in the Andes and the temperature ranges from 50 degrees up to 75 degrees... year round! Can you say 12 month growing season? Today in RI the humidity was extreme and the temperature in the 80s. I was weeding with sweat running in my eyes and dripping off my nose.
This is when I envy people working in air-conditioned offices (only a little!).
Working with my carnivorous plant buddies a bog was installed in a greenhouse at the University of RI. We had some wonderful plant donations and Michael Szesze of The Carnivorous Plant Nursery helped us with the installation. He and his wife were great fun and I will definitely post pictures of the big event. It was July and very warm but a good time was had by all.
So now everyone is all caught up and pictures will follow soon.
Remember to keep slugging down that water when you're outside in the heat and don't let the weeds get you down!

Spring Flowers

Spring flowers are the most welcome of the year! I always push the envelope, using cold hardy plants, tucking them into a sheltered microclimate and if the temperature threatens to dip into the 20's I put a sheet of bubblewrap over them. Who can resist the ranunculus that look like old fashioned roses? Primroses are the essence of spring along with the bright faces of pansies. The ivies weren't hardened off long enough so they have lost a few leaves but they will survive. One of the pots has been outside for over a month now. Wormwood, chard, diascia and ivy have tolerated some bitter nights as well as strong wind. Such a treat to step outside and see these beauties!

Tea with Marie Part 2/2

And heres the second half - hope you have time to see this one as well!