•August 3, 2016•

By Kim Riedel
NP Guest Columnist

July was a beautiful month as we enjoyed the coneflowers, hibiscus, lilies and other seasonal flowers blooming. The roses have continuously bloomed, and the butterfly bushes have been attracting butterflies.

Even through the extreme heat, the beauty of gardening is all around us. Our blackberry harvest was very bountiful…we have enjoyed the berries in smoothies and have collected about seven gallons for the freezer.

Tomatoes and peppers have been maturing, and I have enjoyed taking sliced peppers and cherry tomatoes to work as snacks to help pull me through the long 12 hour shifts.

We have been continuing to work on the garden and thin out some of the varieties. Thorned raspberries are being eliminated to be replaced by the thornless blackberries, and the low strawberry patches are being grassed to make maintenance easier.

Gardening is fun especially when you can test what is working and what isn’t and rearranging and trying out new plants. When I started my garden here in Sullivan, I was providing for a family of five kids and two adults…now that it is 10 years later, it isn’t as important to grow as much produce for just three of us.      Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.