Siberian iris is wonderful spring bloomer which is deer resistant in my garden. It’s a tough and beautiful plant. There are lots of pretty varieties.
I love when this patch blooms in front of aralia ‘Sun King,’ another cool deer resistant plant grown for its chartreuse foliage.
Of course, it’s just a happy accident, not a planned design!
The aralia will get to the size of a small shrub by the end of the season.
I don’t really have the sun to grow the full sized iris, but love them. There’s a nice stand of light blue flowers at the Wexford Post Office that has a nice fragrance.
Are there other iris lovers out there?
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#iris #gardening #gardeninglife #springblooms
These old-fashioned peonies were here when I moved in. They have a wonderful fragrance.
Mine grow throw a support to keep them standing, one hard rain and they would be on the ground.
I need to plant more this year.
Peonies are tough, but can always use a little balanced organic fertilizer to keep them blooming.
Who else loves peonies?
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#peony #peonies #gardening #gardeninglife
‘Nipmuck’ mountain laurel came to my garden after literally falling off a truck at a nursery. The plants were discounted deeply, I really didn’t know what I was buying.
The next spring, these amazing red buds welcomed me to the landscape.
Soon they will swell, fade to pink and open with pinkish blooms and a darker red edge.
It’s one of the only plants I grow where the buds are more spectacular than the flowers.
Even though mountain laurels are poisonous to deer, the young ones will nibble on the buds, not knowing they’ll be sick and have to sleep it off in the forest.
They won’t eat it again, but losing the buds means losing the spring flowers.
I surround the plant with four tomato stakes, then hang deer netting on the posts for the winter.
‘Nipmuck’ gets about six feet tall, four wide and is evergreen.
It’s a joy to see the luminescent red buds each spring.
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#gardening #gardenlife #mountainlaurel #springflowers🌸
I’m excited for this week’s free online gardening class for @farm2tablepgh on Wednesday at 5 p.m. EST.
I’m going to do a deep dive on creating a fragrant garden.
What are your favorite aromatic plants? I’ll try to include them in the presentation. The class is live and also recorded to watch later.
Register here- https://bit.ly/3Rhj7J7
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#gardening #gardeninglife #learntogarden #farmtotable
I’ve probably paddled past this spot 40 times, never knew it was a waterfall, just caught it on the right day.
It’s a long way from the launch and these old shoulders aren’t what they used to be.
I paddled in to see this little bay on the way back. I would guess the water was 10 degrees colder than the river with the fresh flow coming down the rocks.
All nature lovers know how cool it is to stumble on to something like this.
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#kayaking #kayakadventures #paddleforever #jacksonkayak
As I paddled along the shore of Lake Arthur a sweet, familiar fragrance was carried across by a stiff breeze.
As I got closer to shore the aroma became more intense and then I saw the source. The forest floor was covered with lily of the valley as far as I could see.
This area was once a home, which did not get covered in water when the lake was filled. I stop her in April to see the daffodils, then in summer for Turk’s cap lilies, but had never seen these lily of the valley on the other side of the property.
Quite a remarkable sight (and smell).
It always gets me thinking about who gardened here and if they knew their home didn’t end up under water.
Today the red winged blackbirds accompanied me on my paddle. The males are loud and musical.
I was able to float close to a pileated woodpecker who was busy digging huge holes into a dead tree looking for a meal. The shy bird finally saw me, flew away sharing its trademark maniacal laugh.
At the end of the day a large snapping turtle surfaced, hissed and descended back to the depths.
It was a great spring day to be on the water.
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#kayakadventures #paddleforever #jacksonkayak #lakearthur
These old fashioned peonies have a sweet smell when they open. They were here when I moved in nearly 30 years ago and are a welcome sight (and smell) when blooming.
Don’t worry about the ants, they are after the sweet nectar on the buds. There’s nothing wrong with some ants out in the garden, they won’t bother you.
It’s a common misconception that they plant requires the ants to help them open their buds, but they are just looking for a meal.
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#peony #ants #ants🐜 #gardening #gardeninglife
It can be frustrating talking about growing dandelions to friends and expressing my love for the plant.
Dandelions are highly nutritious, an early source of food for pollinators and every part of the plant is edible, sans the fluffy white seeds.
The war on dandelions began in the 1950’s as suburbia blossomed after WWII and herbicide manufacturers pushed the idea of a weed free yard, rebranding dandelions as a nuisance instead of a useful plant.
Recently I watched a KDKA-TV report on how to deal with dandelions and clover in the lawn. The guest described how to use chemical herbicides like 2,4-D to treat the weeds.
I laughed as the reporter threw it back to the anchor, who innocently said, “I kind of like dandelions.” The response was crickets.
Clover actually has a symbiotic relationship with turf, providing nitrogen to the grass. It’s a good thing, but the continuing message from Madison Ave. created a cultural shift to despise dandelions and clover, which persists today.
Friends and colleagues often scoff when I bring up dandelions, refusing to listen to my explanation about why the plant is a positive.
The wild greens are picked early in the spring, before the flower bud emerges from the center of the plant. Once that happens they become too bitter to eat. After dandelions complete their flowering cycle, they can be cut to the ground. What reappears is similar to the greens picked in April.
I’ve grown cultivated varieties like ‘Imero’ and ‘Italiko Rosso’ from Baker Creek Seeds. They produce leafy greens which are tender and less bitter than the wild plants.
I know I’ll never convince most people that dandelions are a great plant. For me, they are both beautiful and tasty.
The irony is if they were hard to grow, gardeners would probably embrace them, creating garden organizations around the plant.
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#dandelion #edibleweeds #gardening #gardeninglife
My free online gardening classes continue Wednesday at 5 p.m. EST for @farm2tablepgh .
This week it’s all about creating habitat for wildlife and pollinators.
If we help them, they will help us in the garden.
Register at dougoster.com, link in bio.
The classes are live and interactive, they are recorded to watch later too.
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#pollinatorgarden #wildlife #gardening #gardeninglife
The cool wet spring has brought complaints from TV news, “normal” people and my fishing buddies.
But for those of us growing cool weather crops like lettuce, kohlrabi, tatsoi, arugula, peas, onions and other greens, it’s been a banner season.
These plants don’t just survive frost, they thrive in cold weather.
It’s fun to be harvesting now. Most of the greens will be happy into late June, when it gets too hot for them.
I’m planting seeds every few weeks to keep the harvest coming.
What’s growing in your garden?
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#gardening #gardeninglife #arugula #springgarden
This is a paw paw flower and it’s the second year that I’ve shared some blooms with my friend Deidre.
She’s hoping to use this blossom to pollinate her tree.
She has other trees, but they have not bloomed yet.
I found two flowers on my trees in different stages of bloom. I don’t know much about when it’s the best time to harvest flowers for this project or if it will work.
Worth a try this.
Paw paw trees are native and produce a tropical fruit the size of a potato.
They taste sort of like a cross between a banana and mango. The texture is custard like and are ripe in September.
Paw paw are understory trees, enjoying like under the larger trees in the forest, reaching 20-30 feet.
The Lewis and Clark expedition survived on paw paws when game was scarce and provisions were low.
I’ll be having a garden pop up in September to offer a taste to anyone interested in trying this wonderful fruit.
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#pawpaw #gardening #gardeninglife #springflower
Join me today (Wed. 4/29/26) at 5 p.m. for my free online gardening class. This week I’ll cover spring tree planting and showcase some of my favorite unique trees.
The class is interactive, fun and
sponsored by @farm2tablepgh . Each class is recorded and can be watched later.
Register here- https://bit.ly/4cOUhHK
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#gardening #gardeninglife #learntogarden #farmtotable
