Thank you to all who participate in the Tuesday Garden Party each week! Even though I don’t always have time to leave comments, I do try to get to most of the entries and I really enjoy seeing your gardens and getting inspired by your projects! Here are a few that stood out to me [...]

Isn’t this basket of beans quite the sight for the second week in October? After a few weeks of only handfuls of green beans, the Emerite green beans that I wrote about last year are in the “second wind” stage and are producing lovely, firm beans. Which is something for this time of year. Not [...]

Can you guys believe it’s October already? Seems like we just started the season, harvested a few things, and it’s already coming to an end. Well, for most of us anyway. I know you southern gardeners are getting geared up for the coming garden season, and while some of us do have a few fall [...]

Welcome to another edition of The Tuesday Garden Party! The season is winding down for many TGP-ers and our group is smaller than at the height of the season, but I still enjoy looking at the great variety of links that we have – everything from the beautiful sunflowers pictured above (courtesy of Betty from My [...]

  This week’s TGP highlights include this Black and Blue Salvia from Garden Grumbles that has totally given me plant lust. It wintered over well and is big, but what I love is the bright green leaf contrasted with the blue flower. I will be looking for this plant for sure!     My dahlias [...]

The cucumbers are producing like mad and I was able to put up four quarts of refrigerator pickles this last weekend. Long time readers may remember that I used to can our pickles, but now I only make fridge pickles because we like the texture so much better. But I also really like how quick [...]

I seeded this bed with fall carrots about 6 weeks ago. I thought it would be perfect in the dappled shade to grow through the hot summer. I left one lettuce plant that I’ve gotten three cuttings from so far. What? You’re wondering where the carrots are? Well, here are three. And here are four [...]

What a pleasure to look through last week’s TGP. You guys never cease to amaze me with your resourcefulness and creativity! I guess gardeners are a good lot for that. {smile} If I only had a woods nearby from which I could harvest saplings to make a rustic cage to protect my blueberries like Nancy [...]

Hey garden friends – you know what? Every year I forget how looooong it takes to harvest! Goodness, I think it took me an hour just to pick that bowl of blueberries you see. What was I thinking planting twelve blueberry bushes? Only about five are big enough to get a full harvest from right [...]

Hey there, gardening friends! Do you remember back in May when I shared this photo in a TGP post about Kelly’s garden before and after? She had sweetly emailed me to let me know that she had been inspired to try gardening again, but this time using raised beds and permanent paths for an easy [...]

Zack The Bee Man getting help from my adorable nephew all suited up! Hey there TGP buddies! You may remember a few weeks ago when I posted about my brother-in-law bringing his backyard bees to our property. I’m happy to report that they have settled in and are happily polinating away.  After reading some of [...]

It was another great week at the last Tuesday Garden Party. Here are just a few things that stood out to me (among the many), plus a recipe from an April TGP that I was finally able to make – and it’s so good I have to share it again! Lisa at Happy in Dole [...]

Today I thought I’d share with you some images from around our acre. June is one of my most favorite months here in Oregon with so many things blooming, fruiting, and producing…and nothing dry or brown yet. I’ve been picking strawberries for more than a week, but I was surprised to go out today and [...]

Last week was a great garden party! There were a number of new folks (hello!) and so many wonderful links to flower gardens, vegetable gardens, information, inspiration, and recipes. And did you get a chance to read the comments and see all the rhubarb recipe links that were left? I think I copied off a [...]

Well, gardening friends, did you get some outdoor time this last weekend? We had a break in the rain on Saturday and were able to get some outside painting done, which must’ve been dumb luck, ’cause it’s pouring now and the forecast is more rain. Sigh. Today, though, I want to talk about rhubarb. It’s [...]

Oh my goodness, did I have some fun checking out all the garden link-ups from last week! Not only did I see all the progress on your veggie gardens, I got to ooh and aah over the gorgeous flowers blooming in other parts of the country (that are just budding here…hello, peonys?) and I learned [...]

Happy TGP everyone! If any of you happened to read the Monday update/menu yesterday, you will know that we spent this last weekend working around the acre. We were able to check a lot of things off the to-do list – yeah! Thanks to Shannan’s lesson from the last TGP, the blueberries were given a [...]

One of the first handful of participants here at the Tuesday Garden Party when we started three years ago was Shannan from Traveling Memories. Through the years I have gotten to know her through her Salem, Oregon garden, pictured above, that she has shared with us. I’ve been especially impressed with Shannan because she took [...]

Hello, friends! I’m excited today to share with you a reader’s garden- complete with before and after photos. This is part of the lovely email I received from Kelly: After reading about your garden for a year now, and seeing all the produce and canning……I was finally inspired to try One More Time!  I live [...]

Hi awesome gardening friends! Look at some of the great things I found at last week’s TGP: Emily from The Country Mumkin gardens in France (!) and is fighting a wet spring by planting a lot of starts in her greenhouse while waiting for the ground to dry out. She started peas in toilet paper [...]

One of the things we made progress on this last weekend (the one with the glorious weather!) was our corner-of-the-huge-deck-shed-thing turned gazebo. Yes, I know it’s square, but I don’t know what else to call it- it’s enclosed like a gazebo and separate from the house. Can some gazebos be square? I hope so, ’cause [...]

Well dear garden friends, we had the first nice weekend in awhile here and as a result I sit here typing this with sore leg muscles, and aching back and weak fingers – it’s amazing how pulling weeds can affect your fingers! And here is what I have to show for it outside: I showed [...]

You garden partiers are so creative and inspiring! I love visiting your blogs and reading about what’s going on in your gardens. Thanks for linking each week- you guys rock! Here are a few things that inspired me last week (though it was hard to pick only a few!): 1. Strawberry-Maple Jam made with only [...]

On March 22 we left record snow in our area (winter in spring?), flew a little over two hours to the south and experienced this: The blue skies of Arizona, 80 degrees, and grapevines leafing out! Yes, I was in heaven – nine days of it before returning to our rainy skies – and while [...]

Even though the first full day of spring last week brought us six inches of snow (that was a freaky time, let me tell you- our power went out and we called around until we found a coffee shop with power so we could do some work), I am determined to welcome spring this week! [...]

What an awesome start to the new gardening season and Tuesday Garden Party last week! I did manage to get through all the links (whew!) and thought I’d share some that struck me for some reason or another (though all were great reads!). What I learned: You can make your compost pile right in a [...]

So excited to remind you of the first Tuesday Garden Party of the new gardening season! Get those posts ready and mark your calendars for: Tuesday, March 6th! () Need a bit of inspiration while it may be snowing at your place (like ours as I write this!)? And if you live in the south [...]

The winner of the $40 gift certificate is: Kelly at Creating A Family Home. Congratulations, Kelly! Welcome to the Best of 2011 TGP! Let’s say goodbye to the formal gardening season by linking up your best TGP post (or general gardening post) from 2011- which will automatically enter you in a giveaway for a $40 [...]

Last week I mentioned that this will be our last regular Tuesday Garden Party link up for the season. BUT, stop by next Tuesday, October 18th, for a season-ending extravaganza – a “Best Of 2011″ link up and giveaway for everyone who links!! Be thinking about your best post from the previous gardening season to [...]

For all my Garden Party pals: I’ve decided not to continue the Tuesday Garden Party through the winter like I did last year. Instead, we’ll wrap up the gardening season this week and next and then celebrate the end of another gardening year with a “Best of 2011″ linky party on the 18th, complete with [...]

We’re a smaller group as the season winds down, but I love some of the things I’m seeing! Teri at Plot5E put my pumpkin harvest to shame- my vines have 2 orange and 3 white pumpkins. And lots of withered small ones that never got sufficiently pollinated. The Barnyard linked up with their pear harvest, [...]

Thank you to all who gave me some great recipe ideas for all the peppers that are ripening for me now! My favorite was to make fajitas- we love Mexican and that’s a great way to use a lot of peppers. I’m kinda disappointed in the Sweet Cherry Peppers, though- they are thick with seeds [...]

Oh, the excitement. You probably can’t even handle it. But here it is anyway: My first little ripe sweet peppers. It’s a good thing I grow some of these little peppers- they usually ripen weeks before the big ones so we can get our pepper fix earlier. See those sweet “cherry peppers?” I have one [...]

The tomatoes and corn are finally coming in! I’m roasting my first batch (which is late – I usually get the first batch done in August) of Tomato-Vegetable Sauce and will be able to can the first batch of salsa. I’ve got so many Black Cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes that I’m going to try [...]

I think I’ve mentioned in passing that I started getting some ripe tomatoes the second week of August. They just came on a few at a time for awhile, but last week (which coincided with our first “real” summer warm weather) I harvested quite a few. I think I’ll be able to make a batch [...]

I hope you all know how much I enjoy seeing your gardens and learning from all your experiences each week – this is my most favorite thing about this blog! Even when I’m not able to get to all of the links, I’m always inspired by the ones I do visit. I sure hope you [...]

I’ve been wanting to share with you the front flower beds at our cottage, since they are looking so much nicer than when I shared them with you last April. And now that they are completely covered in newspaper and mulch – both sides at once, which is a big deal around here – I’m [...]

Yep, you read that right- I’ve gotten my first ripe tomatoes and a couple of ripe mini peppers!! And only a couple weeks later than last year, which surprised me after our record-making spring. But before I show you my tomatoes, I want to share with you a harvest picture emailed to me by a [...]

The one thing I’ve learned in almost twenty years of vegetable growing is: There’s always a mystery that is hard to figure out. Always. As in every year. Whether it’s what’s eating the tomatoes or why the broccoli went to seed early. It’s the nature of nature, I guess. So any of you who are [...]

Last April Brian came in from dumping the compost and said he had found a stalk of corn growing in the pile. I said, “Corn doesn’t grow in Oregon in April.” But he insisted it was corn and that it must be able to grow because the compost was so warm. Hmm. I let him [...]

It was another great garden party last week with 53 people participating and lots of great gardens and ideas to look through. You guys are awesome! I visited as many as I could and I’m so impressed with your gardens and their progress. Here are a few of the posts that stood out to me [...]

Isn’t this the most incredible cauliflower? It’s called Romanesco Cauliflower and I found the seeds in the Pintree catalog last winter and thought it would be interesting to grow (Territorial also has the seeds, but they list it as a hybrid broccoli and it’s called Veronica- it seems to be alternately called cauliflower or broccoli, [...]

Things are finally looking like a vegetable garden here at the end of June- it took a while to get going after the second wettest spring in the last 100 years. So for those of you who’ve been basking in summer-like weather for a few months, you’ll have to forgive the tiny corn and beans. [...]

This pitchfork has a story to tell. You see, two weekends ago I was desperately trying to get the corn planted between rain storms. I had one day to prep the beds and then I could plant quickly on Sunday before more rain came (oh by the way…lest you think I complain too much about [...]

I hope everyone got a chance to visit at least some of the fifty-three (!) gardens that linked up last week. There were some fun and inspirational posts- you all are up to incredible things and I’m so glad word is getting out so we can see even more great ideas like these: Debbi from [...]

Really, truly, I don’t mean to just keep throwing sad tales your way, but this is what my four-year-old clematis looks like today after putting out some lush growth, lots of buds, and two blooms: Can you see the leaves and buds? The ones drooping and wilting? The collapsed blooms? No? Well, here’s a closer [...]

Wow- we had the most participants yet for last week’s TGP! It was sure fun to visit all the gardens linked up and see what is happening all over the country (oh, and I did visit all the links, but with 43 blogs linked up, I didn’t have time to comment on all of them…). [...]

I’ve written a lot about growing tomatoes here in the Northwest. We have to start them early from seed, plant them with protection, grow varieties that ripen early, and then pray for warm weather. Even then, we get a year like last year: Cold, wet spring + cool, wet summer = lots of green tomatoes [...]

It was so nice to see all the things that are blooming and growing in your gardens last week- it gives me hope because this is Western Oregon right now: Unseasonably cold. Lots of rain. A day of sun, then back to rain. Night time lows hover around 40 degrees. Gee, just the thing for [...]

I’ve started what I’m calling “The Great Asparagus Experiment of 2011.” It’s an attempt to be able to harvest asparagus more gradually instead of overdosing on it for a few weeks in the spring. Many years ago I read an article in The Oregonian by garden writer Vern Nelson about a way to get a [...]

Almost two years ago to the day, I wrote about my experiences with this plant, warning anyone reading to stay far away from it: Read my initial advice and my experiences with this plant (plus a few more pictures) here. After spending some time during the past few weeks pulling up more of this violet, [...]

Just in case any of you think I’ve got it all together and my yard and gardens look fabulous all the time, I thought I’d share with you a little reality. Welcome to my world: Where the brown, dead hydrangea blossoms from last season hang amidst the new green growth of April. Where visitors see [...]

The rain is pouring down as I type this, so I’m glad I took the opportunity yesterday when it was dry to plant some of the seedlings I had started inside. I had to toss the spinach seedlings, though- I didn’t get them in the ground soon enough and they were already bolting. Spinach is [...]

For this week’s party, I thought I’d share with you what is growing in my garden now- both things I planted in the fall and my first spring plantings, which include: This hardened off container full of early cabbage, spring broccoli, Chinese cabbage, and a few onions I started from seed. I had some really [...]

Today is the last of our winter themes: what are some seasonal recipes you’re eating in March? After today, it’s just a free-for-all about all the cool things happening in our gardens as spring arrives- oh yeah, I’m SO ready for it…how about you? But back to the recipes: March begins our “use up the [...]

Today is all about favorites: perennials, annuals, shrubs, and trees. This is good to talk about now because the beginning of spring (doesn’t that sound wonderful? Never mind the driving rain going on outside…concentrate, concentrate…) is a good time to analyze what is and isn’t working in your garden and to find some great plants [...]

I think the theme for today’s Garden Party was supposed to be “favorite garden views or structures” or some such thing. But since I did take advantage of our snow day last Thursday (school was canceled…) to plant some seeds, the “view” I’m going to share with you all is this: This is good- I [...]

Ah- February is the month we’re in the depths of winter, isn’t it? Cabbage, kale, and cauliflower are seeming kinda old about now for me- how about you? I actually bought sweet peppers a couple times in the last few weeks when the hydroponic ones were on sale. Man, were they sweet! And a few [...]

Ever since reading Steve Solomon’s Growing Vegetables West of The Cascades I’ve had visions of extending the harvest. I even, briefly, flirted with the idea of year-around gardening. But only briefly, as I learned this about myself: I don’t want to be out in the garden when it’s 35 degrees and raining. As much as [...]

OK, I’m going to be honest with you- I spent the first 10 minutes of this post trying to figure out what I meant by the theme “early harvest ideas” that I came up with last fall! In fact, I’ve got half a post written about extending the harvest that I realized is next week’s [...]

Here we are in the deep of the Winter. What are we eating? Come on, ‘fess up- do you buy hothouse tomatoes and peppers? OK, I’ll be the first: yes, I bought a package of grape tomatoes last week. They were only .99 and were organic- how could I pass them up? Oh, and they [...]

In honor of this week’s theme I thought I’d offer up a recap of some of the previous posts I’ve done about starting seeds indoors and what I’m doing different. In my very first post about how I start seeds indoors using inexpensive trays and equipment, I shared all the steps I take when starting [...]

How are you using garden produce in your cooking now? From the winter garden, I roasted some Brussels sprouts last week and have enough kale and chard to add to soups and frittatas, but the bulk of garden produce comes from the freezer and canning jars (and the store, of course!). Of course we eat [...]

Favorite garden tools. Mmmm, I don’t really have too many, and most that I do use all the time are pretty normal. I’m hoping some of you will have some great garden tools to share with me! I have found a lot of use for my traditional English garden dibble. I actually had it for [...]

Today I’m pulling out some old pictures to illustrate how I’ve used garden and yard items to decorate our house for the fall and for Thanksgiving. I grow pumpkins just for decorating. I love the white Lumina pumpkins- they are so versatile and go with any decor. And I have grown the Baby Boo small [...]

What’s cooking in November? That’s the theme of today’s Garden Party. Here are some of the things I’m making (or looking forward to making) that use things I have in storage, frozen, or that I canned from the summer’s bounty as well as some things that are in season now, so are easy to find [...]

EEK! Sorry about the mix up! It’s fixed and should be ready to link up now. Thanks for letting me know (I was wondering where everyone was…) I did learn about some other perennials last week from the garden party participants, and I appreciated seeing some fall harvests, being reminded to plant some garlic (I [...]

While its true that our vegetable harvests are winding down, I want to remind all the lovely Garden Party participants and my readers that the Tuesday Garden Party is not only about vegetables! It’s about all things garden related. Personally, I’ve loved getting some great ideas for decorating, new recipes, and plant names that I’ve [...]

It’s a few weeks earlier than normal, but I knew we had a wet Sunday forecasted and I hadn’t picked tomatoes for a few days because we’ve been working on a big project around here (how’s that for a teaser?), so I picked all I could find on Saturday afternoon. I brought out the big [...]

Whoa- October, and as I wrote yesterday, all my tomatoes decided to ripen at once. I’ve been waiting so long for enough to preserve that I don’t want any to go to waste, so I’m running around like a madwoman going from one thing to another. And, darn it, life just doesn’t stop when it’s [...]

It worked! You might remember the picture of the little hoop house I decided to grow my peppers under this year. That, combined with red plastic mulch, starting them from seed early, and using a heat mat (plus keeping them on the heat mat until it was time to plant) produced this after a two [...]

I’m hoping a tour of all your gardens and recipes will get me out of these doldrums caused by three straight days of rain which followed a week of hit-and-miss rain and the famous “Oregon Mist.” What, you’ve never heard of that? It’s the moisture that comes down so softly that it can’t in all [...]

I can’t believe this is the 20th edition of the Tuesday Garden Party! My how time flies when you’re having fun…and I seriously have a lot of fun visiting you all. I dream about visiting your actual gardens and how fun that would be since you all feel like friends! Thank you for all your [...]

OK, I was surprised last week that we had less participants for the Garden Party. I don’t know about anyone else, but this month and into October are prime time for “putting up” for the winter with lots of things ready for harvest. And I’ve been looking forward to seeing what you’re doing with all [...]

After waiting weeks, telling you all how I was checking practically daily, and even admitting that I had picked and eaten corn that wasn’t really fully ready… the corn was finally ready last week! You’d think I’d remember this next year and get the dumb corn planted a bit earlier, huh? Let’s not hold our [...]

If you grow flowers, vegetables or herbs in pots, you know that even a weekend without water in the summer heat can stunt growth and even kill plants. But asking someone to water plants every time you go away can become burdensome (for both the asker and the askee!). A few years ago I thought [...]

After our rainy, cold spring it took a little longer for the roses to burst into bloom, but they are sure blooming now, and man, I understand why they are often called the “queen of flowers.” They are so beautiful, it’s amazing really. And thanks to my daughter’s cool photography skills, I’ve got some great [...]

I’ve just gotta say that I had a great time visiting everyone’s garden posts last week- you all are rockin’ gardeners! Here’s a look at what I’m harvesting from my garden: This is about our third bowl of beautiful berries (try saying that fast three times). We’ve had strawberry shortcake and I’ve frozen some as well [...]

Here we go with another edition of the Tuesday Garden Party and I’m happy to announce I planted all my beans, cucumbers, pumpkins and one bed of corn today. Between the rainy cold spring and all the graduation activities we’ve had at our house, I’m about two weeks later than I like to be. That’s [...]

Welcome to the sixth edition of the garden party! We’ve had so many wonderful gardens to tour during the past six weeks, and I’ve gotten a lot of great ideas as well as some serious inspiration. I want to draw your attention to the new Tuesday Garden Party button I’ve added to the bar below [...]

Welcome to the party- I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We had a nice few days with decent weather. Wanna know what we did? Camp? Picnic? BBQ with family and friends? Hang out? Nah. We started work on the deer fence. Between the voles and the deer, all our house/yard budget money [...]

I have to say I seriously have been lovin’ stopping by the blogs that have linked up and looking at what is happening in their gardens. I’m so jealous about what plants gardeners in the South have already got well-established (peppers and corn…) and see that I could have a few more things planted in [...]

Wow- thanks to all who linked up to last week’s inaugural Garden Party! I had a great time visiting all the gardens and was inspired to get outside this last weekend. We were blessed with a lot of company over the weekend so my accomplishments were limited to some flower bed weeding and asparagus harvesting, [...]

Welcome! I’m so glad you’re joining me for this first Tuesday Garden Party. As I wrote in the announcement, I envision this as a place to be able to peek into other’s gardens and find inspiration and information each week. So if you’re a blogger please link up and show us what you’re up to, [...]

I just want to take a quick moment to let you all know about a new feature here at An Oregon Cottage. Every Tuesday beginning May 4th I will be hosting a garden party where you can link a post from a blog or leave a comment about your experiences in your gardens. I’m really [...]