Wednesday, February 27

Sunday, February 24

Blessed Virgin Garden Outdoor Statue Restoration


I've been wanting to show you the restoration process of my family's Mary statue and thought today was a good as time as any. Perhaps you'll be inspired to restore one of your own garden statues. If you have any questions about the process just drop me a line. I'd love to see the before and after photos and post them on the blog for others to see.

This is the before shot of our statue. My parents bought it in 1989 after a large hail storm hit the orchard a year earlier. They placed the statue in the middle of the fruit orchard and built a garden around it. The statue has seen a lot of weather since then and it was time for a makeover. My sister Catherine and I took on the restoration project and we began by chipping away at the old paint with a steel brush.

Tuesday, February 19

Online Vegetable and Flower Seed Companies Reviewed


Growing up in a fruit and vegetable farming family, seed catalogs were plentiful. Some of those companies have closed down or have been bought up by other companies that are . . . how should I put this . . . not so reputable. Yet, there are still some great ones out there and through searching and experience I have found more companies to add to my list. I wanted to review some of the online seed companies my family purchases fruit and vegetable seed from; as well as review the companies where I purchase (or obtain) flower seed for my nursery and garden.

Wednesday, February 13

Blooming Amaryllis Time Lapse Video captured by Bushnell Trophy Trail Camera



This beautiful, bright red flower brightens the dreary winter scene from our bay window. In a span of almost two weeks I let our Bushnell Trophy Trail Camera capture a photo of our budding Amaryllis every five minutes during daylight hours. January 27 at 10 o'clock in the morning the first photo was taken; and on February 6 at 5 P.M the last photo was taken.  

Camera Info: 8mp Bushnell Trophy Cam Trail Camera with Night Vision. Model: 119436C

This video sparked my interest to do a little research about this flower. See related post about what I "dug up." :)

Saturday, February 9

Profile of a Plant: Hippeastrum or Amaryllis

 

  • Common Name(s): Amaryllis is actually the common name even though it is the generic name for another plant that looks similar, but is a hardier specimen from South Africa.
  • Scientific Name: Hippeastrum (hip-ee-AS-trum) from the Amaryllidaceae family. Hippeastrum is Greek for knights star. The common name, Amaryllis, is taken from the Greek word amarysso, which means "to sparkle," but there is no concrete story behind the name of this plant. Still, I do enjoy the shepherdess story that is circulating across the Internet. In Greek mythology, Amaryllis was the name of a shepherdess who shed her own blood to prove her true love, and in so doing inspired the naming of this bright red flower.

Friday, February 8

Guess the Photo Revealed


 The cropped photo from last week is actually an Amaryllis bud, just beginning to open! Want to learn more about Amaryllis plants? I'll be posting a plant profile tomorrow so take note of that and stop by sometime tomorrow. Have a great weekend everybody!

Friday, February 1

Guess the Photo Contest and Giveaway


Can you guess what's in the photo below? I cropped it out, but I'll show you the uncropped photo next Friday. The first person to have the closest guess will win a beautiful and original photo that you can use for personal or commercial use. Send your answers to: gardeningwithbernadette@gmail.com
Start guessing today!