PLANT OF THE WEEK – CANDY APPLE HYDRANGEA

DrDans

Everyone loves a pretty hydrangea bush. Right? We certainly do, and nothing excites us as much as a new variety.  Candy Apple is just that plant. If you’re familiar with Limelight, then you’ll love Candy Apple. It has the same stunning lime green clusters that you see on Limelight, but with a much more compact form.

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COOL AS A CUCUMBER – RECIPES FROM YOUR GARDEN

DrDans

Do you know where the expression “cool as a cucumber comes from? It’s because cucumbers are typically 10 to 20 degrees cooler than the temperature around them. Try inserting a thermometer into one if you need a little proof. Not only do cucumbers have a cool temperature, but cucumbers are also the key ingredient to some of the summer’s best cool down recipes.  There was a time when we only knew two main types of cucumbers – slicing and pickling. But things have changed and there is now a large variety of cucumber types available to gardeners and shoppers. They include Armenian, Diva, English Telegraph, Burpless, Persian, Lemon, Parisian Gherkins, Dasher, Sweet Success and Calypso varieties.

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RIPE AND READY. TOMATOES ARE SUMMER’S GIFT. TOMATO PIE RECIPE

DrDans

Now that July is here, I’m pretty sure (or at least I hope), your tomato plants are now producing those ripe and ready jewels of summer. Hopefully, your crop is handling this heat and lack of rain the past several days, and your crop is looking its best. I’m the first to admit that I love nothing more than a tomato sandwich. Slices of red, ripe and juicy tomatoes, smeared with mayonnaise (has to be Duke’s) and sprinkled with salt and pepper, on some very lightly toasted bread. Nothing beats that first tomato sandwich of the year!

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PLANT OF THE WEEK – DELICIOUS CANDY CONEFLOWER

DrDans

I’ll eagerly admit that I’m a huge fan of coneflowers. I love the color and height they bring to a landscape, especially if you tend to enjoy a cottage style landscape. And they’re an all season flower, too. If you leave them uncut during the winter, you’ll give those birds a nice little snack to discover during those “oh so cold” months. I always try to think about the animals when I’m selecting plants for my gardens, and conflower will definitely bring all the animals to your yard.    

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