C. L. Fornari's Blog
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...
Veggie Garden Pasta
If you have a vegetable garden, you've got dinner! A group of fresh veggies, some lightly cooked and others raw, are tasty when tossed with olive...
I Love Plectranthus Ciliatas
Name: Plectranthus ciliatas Type of Plant: This is an annual unless you live in a zone 10 and above. It grows to a small bush-size in one growing...
Zucchini Shaming
It’s the dark side of community gardens that people don’t talk about. We focus on how great it is to see so many different methods of growing crops....
A Weed Fondness…
As I walk around my gardens this week a weed catches my eye. It is Phytolacca americana, the pokeweed, and I love it. When we moved to Cape Cod and...
I Love Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’
Name: Crocosmia x Curtonus ‘Lucifer’ aka Crocosmia Lucifer Type of Plant: A perennial plant that loves a full sun, hot location, and is hardy in...
Broccoli Makes Tiny Heads
"My broccoli only produces small heads!" many of my radio callers say. "What's wrong?" New gardeners also ask about their broccoli producing lots...