Ladies and Gentlemen, May I Present.. Sunny!!

Isn't it amazing that the acquiring of a much desired plant can create not just excitement, but actual giddiness within us? Last year I heard that a new Knockout Rose was due to hit the market. A beauty of soft yellow and I searched for her to no avail. As the planting season was heating up this year I again searched, Home Depot, Walmart, Lowes and came up empty handed. And then, just as I was about to go the internet route, a sea of yellow caught my eye as I passed a local mom and pop nursery. I slammed on the brakes, made an immediate U-turn and 30 minutes later was swimming in giddiness as I carefully transported 4 of the beauties home.

Meet Sunny, the newbie of the Knockout family. While she doesn't look like much right now, just give her a season to show her inner beauty. An added bonus, she has an intoxicating fragrance. A discovery I made when the perfume filled my car on the ride home. I love roses, but as an organic gardener the hybrid teas have proven too needy. The constant spraying of chemicals to eliminate disease was not something I was prepared to do. Not willing to forgo their beauty entirely I have concentrated on growing the hardy antique varieties and lean heavily toward those found on the EarthKind Rose List. The Knockout series of roses have made this list and for very good reason. They are not fussy, are incredibly disease resistant, grow like weeds and bloom pretty much nonstop until frost. You can find them in red, pink, mauve and now Sunny yellow. My fellow gardeners, run don't walk to your nearest nursery and grab yourself a couple of these beauties.

For Me?

This month, May 3rd will mark the first blogaversary for Adventures In My Garden. I was comtemplating my blog to commemorate this event when I logged on and discovered that Lynn over at Best In Bloom Today has given me a most wonderful and unexpected Blogaversary gift. An award, my first award and the timing could not have been better.

The Renee Award

It is one of the most meaningful awards in blog world because it honors someone who is incredibly inspirational in her intelligent and witty writing. And by doing so, this award celebrates women's smart, strong and inspirational spirit! It honors women who spread joy and love like an Acorn......a small package growing into a tall and sturdy oak tree which gives more acorns.

What an honor to receive such an award from my fellow gardener. I must admit that my reaction was much like that of Sally Fields during her Oscar acceptance speech (obviously showing my age..LOL) "You like me, you really like me!" So Lynn, thank you so very much for this amazing honor, I am truly grateful.

I understand that it is tradition to pass such an gift on. This proved a difficult decision as there a so many of you wonderful bloggers that I enjoy visiting. So in keeping with my blogaversary I am passing this award to a blogger who has been with me since the beginning and the blogger that inspired me to begin my own.

Kanak at Terra Farmer--For sharing her corner of our world and always supporting my blog efforts.

Connie at Notes From A Cottage Garden--It was my accidental discovery of this blog that inspired me to begin my own. Much gratitude to Connie for being my inpiration.

The Potager: Tomato Companions

The excitement is building as we move closer to vegie plantin time. The potager sits, ready and waiting. The red clover planted as a cover crop has been turned, a nice layer of compost has been added, the paths have been weeded. Yesterday I sat out the tomato cages and obelisks and attached the netting to the posts for the beans. I plan out each bed on paper, but it is always a general guideline. Knowing where I want to put each plant keeps me focused and gives me a list of what and how many plants to purchase. Because growing your vegetables in a Potager relies heavily on companion planting, it takes a bit more planning than simply setting your plants out in a row. I rotate my crops and keep my vegies in "neighborhods". Each neighborhood has a family, friends, and a mulch type. Below is my "neighborhood" list for the Tomato neighborhood.
Family- Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and greens.
Friends- Basil, parsley, marigolds, cleome, cosmos, dill, chives and alyssum.
Mulch-clover
A 4x8 raised bed of tomatoes would also include eggplants and peppers. Lettuce plants would do well in this bed shaded by the growing tomato plants and harvest would be completed before they grew to large. The "friends" add color, attract beneficial insects and in some cases, repel and/or confuse less desirable pests keeping them from your vegie crops.
Basil-repels aphids, asparagus beetles, mites, mosquitoes, and tomato hornworms. The largest benefit to me is the abundance of basil for summer cooking and winter drying.
Parsley-attracts benefical wasps when allowed to flower.
Chives-are a deterrent to japanese beetles.
Marigolds, cleome, cosmos and alyssum add lovely color while attracting many beneficials such as parasitic wasps, hoverflies, bees, ground beetles, spiders.
Mulch-many folks swear by black or red pastic as a mulch for tomatoes. As the beds are normally full in a potager, I prefer clover which can be allowed to continue growing after the plants have been harvested and turned under as food for the soil. Clover has the added benefit of attracting beneficial insects.
Throw it all together and you got vegies and herbs for cooking and flowers that benefit both while giving your garden color and even filling a vase or two for your dinner table.