These are the cutest violas! The 'Four Seasons' Viola series is a mounding/spreading type of viola that has a bit better heat tolerance on average. They don't trail quite to the degree that 'Purple Rain' does, but they really fill out a container or basket nicely. They produces masses of small blooms. This is definitely my favorite new series of viola to come along in a while...and now just happens to be the perfect time to plant them.

Viola 'Four Seasons White & Pink Wing'- stunning. A lovely combination of white and lavender/pink. Tons of blooms.

Viola 'Four Seasons Purple & Bronze' - a very unique color combination, love it. The plants look really full.

Viola 'Four Seasons Blue & Yellow' - a more traditional color combo, but it looks like it's going to bloom gangbusters.

I used to have a kitty cat named Pierre. He was super sweet...and super pretty. A blue Russian type mutt, Pierre never met a stranger. He loved his mommy and would have been happiest if I just carried him around in a papoose all day. But, seeing as he weighed about 22lbs..that was just not going to happen! Anyhoo...I had to put him to sleep last summer. Very sad. Pierre had a special talent...a talent for sniffing out the very moment an orchid flower was about to open...so he could eat it. Yes, eat it. I used keep a bevy of orchids in my house, but due to Pierre's tastes that collection dwindled. I have a penchant for Paphiopedilums (slipper orchids), but those were some of Pierre's favorites. I even resorted growing them in glass cookie jars so I could keep a lid on them until they bloomed, but it never failed that Pierre would chomp the flower off just as I removed the lid to let the bloom emerge. Well, now that Pierre has moved on into the Light, I've started "acquiring" again. Here are a few new lovelies...

Paphiopedulum hybrid (Supersuk 'Eureka' AM/AOS x Raisin Pie 'Hsinying') x Sib

Paphiopedulum hybrid (Supersuk 'Eureka' AM/AOS x Raisin Pie 'Hsinying') x Sib

Now...both of the above are labeled as the same hybrid, so I'm going to have to do some research on those...

Paphiopedulum hybrid (Ninja 'Conquest' HCC/AOS x Oriental Enchantment 'Clarity')

Ok, so chicken pox (that we get) and avian pox (that chickens get) aren't the same things...but my chickens got it...the avian pox that is. Mosquitoes were so bad in September with all the rainfall, that they must have transmitted it to my birds.

I started having a drop in egg production about a month ago. One of my Polish stopped laying completely but I thought it was because she was molting. Then I got 3 eggs with no shell...which I also figured were coming from Einstein because of her molting. Then I started to see scabs showing up on her back where she'd lost feathers. Thought the other gals were just picking at her. But, 3 days ago, the telltale scab spots started showing up on everyone's combs or waddles...What a bummer! Everyone is eating as normal and none of them seem to be having any respiratory problems, so I'm hoping it just manifests itself in the cutaneous form and won't get too bad. I'm still getting about 1-2 eggs a day, I'm assuming from the two biggest girls. I got some xenodine I'm going to apply to the one that's molting and try to get a bit on the rest's combs...but they don't really like being handled too much, so we'll just have to see how that goes!

You can read more about Pox here: Backyard Chickens.com So for those of you in the area with chickens, keep an eye out for it. There is no treatment other than vaccination, so you just have to ride it out and make sure they are eating and drinking normally.

There are worse things to do early on a Sunday morning than chasing butterflies...I spent a good portion of the morning doing just that after I discovered I was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful flutterbys of all shapes and colors. These gals/guys were not easy to get pictures of so I'll apologize for the poor photo quality. I also have not yet taken the time to properly ID the species...so feel free to vote!

This giant beauty has the most beautiful splash of blue that flashes bright in the sunshine. Her she is perched on some Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara'. Below, perched on Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'.

Some beautiful Monarchs and another orange species...the Monarch was huge..couldn't get a good photo of that one...plus another little yellow skipper...

T'was such a lovely day...

Here is a question I received from Carrie.."I'm new to the whole strawberry pot thing - and pretty much gardening in general. I have one terracotta pot with about 12 plants, from which I got 0 (!) strawberries this year. The plants themselves look great. I think I have a lack of sun issue. My question is this: What do I do with it over the winter? Does it need to come inside? Do I just cover it if a frost threatens? Will the plants die back & then grow again in the spring? I am pretty sure they are an ever bearing variety. Thanks, Carrie"

Hi Carrie!
Yes, strawberries need a full sun location, at least 6 hours of direct sunlight to produce well. But often the very first year they won't produce much. They are perennials so you'll get more fruit in following years once the plants are better established. Because they are in a container, they will be more susceptible to freezing temps. I usually just grab my strawberry pots and put them in the garden shed and pull them out when it's nice outside. Or yes, you can cover and wrap them with frost cloth during freezes. Make sure to water the container before a freeze. They will lose about half of their leaves and go semi-dormant during the winter (depending on where you live) so they won't need nearly as much water, but you'll still need to water them now and then. Sometimes terracotta can crack in the winter, if water is trapped in clay, then freezes and melts. So wrapping the pot is a good idea anyway if you leave it outside. Now for those of you in much colder Northern climates, the pots will definitely need to go indoors for the winter.

October in the Tomato Garden

My fall tomatoes are going gangbusters. But for just a tiny bit of late blight on a few of the plants, most are just about as healthy as they can be. The 'Green Zebra' plants are about 7-feet tall right now! Due to cool temps however, fruit is ripening very slowly. Chances are I'll still be picking a lot of green fruit right before our first frost. But that's ok...just means I get to make fried green tomatoes!

'Green Zebra' in the back are dwarfing everyone else...

'Celebrity' plants have a lot of nice fruit on them and some are finally starting to turn a bit yellow..

As usual, 'Golden Mama' plants are absolutely loaded with fruit. They have gotten just a tad bit of late blight, but nothing that's keeping them from producing nicely. I have some Roma's fruiting well also. There is one of my Organic Gardening Test varieties, a saladette type, that is still producing and ripening from the plants I planted in spring. VERY unusual. It's definitely a winner and will be my main pick for the review they publish next year. Can't tell you what it is yet, but it's awesome!

Stock Your Pantry with Homegrown Peppers

Back to those peppers taking over my refrigerator...last night I managed to get the first batch of pepper relish made and canned some up. I still have bowls of peppers in the fridge and plenty yet out in the garden...but it's a start!

Pepper relish has plenty of vinegar in it, so it's not mandatory that you have to process the jars, but, if you want to store them for a long period without refrigeration it's a good idea to go ahead and water-bath process for about 10 min.

There are lots of different ways to make relishes with peppers. My mom makes a highly blended pear/pepper relish that is to die for. So you can be creative about mixing other ingredients. I kept this one pretty straightforward.

Lots of peppers (mild, hot..and one habanero! You can mix whatever peppers you like)
A few cloves garlic (I'm not crazy about onions, but they are what most people use)
1 Tablespoon of sea salt
2 1/2 cups organic apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.
2 cups organic sugar (less if you want a not-so-sweet relish)

• Food process or hand chop (with gloves!!) the peppers. Remove seeds.
• Place peppers, garlic (or onions) and salt in a 6 quart pot. Cover with boiling water and let sit for 10 min.
• Sterilize your canning jars in the canner with water boiling (you don't have to process your jars if you're just going to keep them in the fridge, but you should still sterilize the jars or run through dishwasher first)
• Strain water off peppers and place back in 6 quart pot. Add vinegar and sugar to peppers and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 20 min.
• Pack pepper relish into sterilized jars. Pack down to press air bubbles out. Wipe lip of jar clean with dishtowel. Place lid on jar and secure ring, not tightly, onto jar.
• Place jars into water bath canner and process for about 10 min. Start counting processing time when water comes back to a boil.
• Or, just fill jars and place in the fridge. Again, the relish will last a long time in the fridge even without canning.

So tasty!

So, have I told you guys I'm going to Peru in December? Well, I am! My best friend Kimberly and I are going to trek around in the Amazon jungle near Iquitos, Peru for a couple of weeks. We will be staying and studying with some native shamans. Very exciting.

This is where we will be...

This is where we'll swim...and hope the piranhas don't eat our toes..lol

I (not Kimberly, lol) will be looking for these...and some bigger ones!

And these...awwww

And of course studying all sorts of fabulous plants...

Can't wait to go...but for now I have to be satisfied with the ache in my arms from the 5 shots I got to day...owwwww. Still a couple more to go. My poor, poor guns! At least they gave me cute band aids, lol.

I'll keep you guys posted and hope to have some wonderful photos to share upon my return.