Never give up! If I can do it, so can you!

The post Summer Fruit appeared first on That Garden Gal.

Olivia is an English Shrub Rose with a delightful light-medium, fruity fragrance that I absolutely adore! I have had her now for over 3 years, and this year, she is really putting on a show; She is an absolute stunner!

I planted Olivia right outside my front door so she is the very first thing I see when I open it! How nice is it to feel happy every time you open your door? Honestly, it is a wonderful feeling! She makes me smile! I hope she makes you smile as well!

The post The Many Faces of Olivia Rose Austin appeared first on That Garden Gal.

It was an amazing day and I took TONS of pics! Here are just a few from the day. I will post more later!

Enjoy!

The post CA Spring Trials 2023 appeared first on That Garden Gal.

I am sooo glad summer is over! There, I said it! Whew! Yes, I know, lots of people live for summer, summer vacations, summer camp, summer this and summer that, but me? I dread it! I spend most of the summer days trying to keep my chickens and roses alive. I mean, that is my whole goal, to keep everything alive until Fall.

Thankfully, I have been winning the battles against summer, but unfortunately, I know the war will never end. At least Fall, Winter and Spring bring a bit of a respite before beginning the battle again! I am so glad it’s Fall!

The post Good Riddance Summer! It’s Fall Y’all! appeared first on That Garden Gal.

I love red roses! I have three beautiful red rose bushes in my garden and am thinking about adding a few more. Right now I have Oklahoma, Firefighter and Fiorentina. I’ve been avoiding Mister Lincoln because, well, because, so many have said “oh you have to have it.” I’m just rebellious like that, but I’ll admit, I think I will finally give in to the pressure and add it to my collection. Sssssh! Don’t tell anyone! Besides, its fragrance is heavenly and I am definitely a sucker for heavenly fragrance

The post Roses are Red appeared first on That Garden Gal.

Summer is here! It’s getting hot and my romaine lettuce is growing flowers! Wait what? Lettuce grows flowers? Who knew?

When this happens it is called “Bolting.” Bolting is when the plant shifts from its leafy growth to flower production. Cute flowers, but now the lettuce tastes bitter, so no bueno for eating! Bolting is good for seed saving though as those cute flowers will eventually produce seeds. Just collect the seeds when they form, and save them to plant next year. How cool is that? Free romaine lettuce next year. I am down!

What causes bolting you may or may not ask. Well, bolting is caused by a number of things including high temperatures, long daylight hours, and less moisture in the air. Sounds like summertime to me! I’m sad to see the lettuce go, but it happens. It’s the cycle of life!

Sooo, I am going to enjoy the cute little flowers, and let the pollinators have fun with them too. Afterwards, I will collect the seeds and save them to plant next season. Gardening is so cool

The post My Romaine Lettuce is Bolting appeared first on That Garden Gal.

Wollerton Old Hall has been a fixture in my garden for three years now, and to say that I love this rose would be an understatement. I really, really LOVE this rose

Introduced in 2011 by famed British rose breeder David Austin, Wollerton Old Hall is a beautiful climbing rose that is one of the most fragrant of all the English Roses. It has a strong, warm myrrh fragrance with hints of citrus. To me though, it actually reminds me of licorice . Go figure The plump buds, with attractive flashes of red, open to form beautifully rounded, chalice-shaped blooms of soft apricot, that eventually soften to a lovely cream. It was Named after Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire, one of the most beautiful, privately owned British gardens.

In my garden, WOH is definitely a beast! It has successfully climbed the trellis I provided for it, as well as the adjoining arbor. It is really, really tall (10 feet maybe?) and kind of messy! It’s my bad though, as I haven’t pruned it yet which MIGHT explain things. For some reason though, I love the messiness of it as it goes with my slightly out of control garden .

So, if you’re in zones 5 – 11 and are looking for a fragrant, climbing rose to spice up a fence, wall or arbor, why not consider planting Wollerton Old Hall. It does well in all soil types, tolerates partial shade and is an all around delightful rose. I’m so glad I added it to my garden

The post Wollerton Old Hall appeared first on That Garden Gal.

The post Welcome Spring appeared first on That Garden Gal.

We say in Permaculture “The problem is the solution!” It sounds kinda abstract and all “deep” and everything, but today, it was very practical and real!

I have a very Ugly side yard that is used to hide the chicken coop and keep random items out of sight The “soil” if you want to call it that, is hard packed from years of neglect (out of sight, out of mind?), and it is used only as a path to the coop.

I wanted to cover the path with some really pretty pea gravel as I like how it looks and LOVE the crunching sound it makes when you walk on it. However, since my chickens “spread” my existing wood chip mulch all over the place, it wouldn’t work. The wood chips would mix in with the gravel and it would be a mess! Soooo…

The Problem: Chickens spread wood chips all over the place and onto the path, potentially mixing with the planned gravel and losing the aesthetic appeal.

The Solution: Don’t use gravel, use wood chips for the path!

Over time the wood chips will help loosen the compacted soil, add organic matter, keep moisture levels up and slowly add nutrients to the soil. Sounds like a win win solution to me!

So, there you have it Thank you chickens! You have turned it around and made my problem, the solution!

The post The Problem is the Solution appeared first on That Garden Gal.

So, back to the apples. WE’VE GOT APPLES! They’re small but look good, so I think it’s just about apple picking time. I can’t wait to try one.

The post We’ve Got Apples! appeared first on That Garden Gal.