C. L. Fornari's Blog
Outside In Late October
Halloween is within sight but your mind isn't on costumes or trick-or-treat candy. You're savoring one of the last evenings on your deck,...
I Love the At Last Rose
Imagine: You need a small bouquet, something that will lift spirits and prompt smiles all day. Maybe it’s an apology for being cranky with a...
How To Plant Garlic
We planted our garlic today. This is something that is done in the fall and we usually put ours in the ground in October. If you're new to growing...
Garden Design Lessons From Nature
There are lessons in garden design everywhere, but especially in natural areas. Here are a few that I was thinking about as I walked our dog in...
I Love Senorita Blanca Cleome
Name: Cleome hybrid Senorita Blanca Type of Plant: An annual plant from Proven Winners, this is a special version of the garden annual Cleome, which...
Happy Birthday, Mom
It is fitting that I spent the morning repotting houseplants. It is my mother's birthday today. Had she not died recently, she would have been 90...
October Garden Orzo Salad
Even as the gardening season moves toward a killing frost there can be a bounty of vegetables to harvest. Today I went into the garden to ask...
I Love Zephyr Summer Squash
Name: Cucurbita pepo 'Zephyr' aka zephyr summer squash Type of Plant: A vigorous summer squash that produces delicious tasting squash with nutty...
Crispy Sweet Potato Cake
AKA: What to do with leftover sweet potatoes or yams. I had some garnet yams left over last week, so I decided to make them into cakes. These were...
I Love Bloomerang Lilac
Name: Syringa x 'Penda' aka Bloomerang® Purple Lilac Type of Plant: A re-blooming lilac shrub, hardy in Zones 3-7 Why I love this: There are many...
Fall Garden Pizza
It is late September and I'm still harvesting the freshest, most tasty food on earth. But at this time of year there is less of it. A small summer...
Open Garden on Wednesday
Tomorrow, September 28th, my gardens will be open for the benefit of the Barnstable Education Foundation. It's a chance for me to share what we've...
The Garden Tourist in Atlanta – Part 1
When my husband and I travel one of our favorite things is to start the day with a garden destination in mind and then let the rest of the day...
Refurbish Containers for Fall
Yesterday I "fallified" my front porch. I used several types of pumpkins and some ornamental cabbages and kale. Let's start with how the porch...
I Love Cucurbita
Name: Cucurbita Type of Plant: Pumpkins and winter squash. Usually a large growing annual vegetable vine. Why I love this: Cucurbita is a genus of...
Raise Your Glass…to Plants
I just returned from the annual meeting of garden communicators, held in Atlanta this year. It was, as always, a feast of plants and people. Sitting...
Fresh Vegetables…Simple and Flavorful
Freshly picked vegetables have so much flavor that often the simplest preparations are best.
Echinacea ‘Milkshake’ – a love story
Imagine: Her New Year's resolution was to make her perennial garden be easier to care for. Of course some weeding and mulching would always be...