Pruning shears for size reference. I dug one hill of sweet potatoes yesterday to see if it is harvest time. And look at this!  All of this from just one plant, and 24 more plants in this one bed. Of the six beds of sweet potatoes -- approximately 250 plants all totaled -- this one bed might be the highest producer. It was one of the first beds planted and the orange sweet potatoes -- Beauregard -- tend to be larger with more sweet potatoes per plant than either of the whited-fleshed or all purple ones. The Beauregards planted a couple of weeks after these also might produ ..read more

 The asters are beginning to bloom among the goldenrod. Here, the purple flowers of a lone New England Aster pops out in the yellow field of goldenrod. A beautiful symbiosis of color, as the goldenrod seems to allow a spotlight on the aster. Why do asters and goldenrod look so beautiful together? That was the question Robin Wall Kimmerer (author of the much loved and acclaimed book "Braiding Sweetgrass") said she wanted to answer, when asked why she wanted to become a botanist during her freshman entrance interview for college.  Of course, the "real" scientist interviewing her scof ..read more

  It's paw paw season here in Northeast Kansas, and some people are out hunting for this precious treat, trying to beat the local wildlife to the ripening fruit. Maybe 15 years or so ago I discovered a couple of paw paw trees growing just beyond the edge of the woods around our house. I noticed the first one because of its deeply colored, bell-shaped flowers that are large enough to be seen from a moderate distance. Even though paw paws are native to the eastern third of Kansas, I had never seen a paw paw tree before. I was delighted to discover the tree's identity. The paw paw is the l ..read more

August brings tomato abundance in my garden.  It starts slowly in July, when each tomato is precious. In August, however, tomatoes pile up on the kitchen counter and must be processed. These little tomatoes are called "Black Plum." I love to roast these little paste tomatoes and puree them into a sauce for immediate use or for canning. I simply slice them in two and place them in a glass baking dish, sort of single layer but crowded, then cook them into a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven for one to two hours. When they are deflated and much of the juice has evaporated, then they are done. Th ..read more

  It's August. The slow slide into Autumn has begun. In the woods and prairies the blues and purples have given way to yellow and gold. The light at sunset becomes slightly more golden each day. A week or so ago, this same spot along my daily walk was filled with the blue of the native American Bell Flower. Now it lights up with the gold of one of the many yellow flowers that run rampant through the countryside. I'm guessing this is a species of Rudbeckia, black-eyed or brown-eyed Susan. Goldenrod scatters yellow flowers throughout the prairie, and soon sunflowers of all kinds will shine ..read more

  My daily morning walk takes me past this stunning scene of woodland flowers. The color in this photo, of course, does not bring out the brilliance of the flowers' blue/purple color. Plus, this section is maybe a quarter of the area with these beautiful native wildflowers. The size of the patch and the bright color of the flowers are what make it truly stunning. American bellflower (Campanula americanum) grows along the edges of Kansas woodlands. Many, many different species exist in the Campanula genus, including non-native and cultivated species. A number of other flowers that you ca ..read more

  The high point of the year, the Summer Solstice is upon us. The sun reaches it's highest mark in the sky and begins its descent toward the south, where it will rest on the Winter Solstice. One might say that the seed of Winter is planted today. However, we are a long way from winter. We are about to experience the hottest part of summer. Next week the highs will near 100 degrees F (37.8 C). Fortunately, today we received nearly 3 inches (7.6 cm) of rain. Elderberry flowers The season passes and the garden progresses through its summer cycle. The wild rose (above, not in the ..read more

  This photo was taken at my home by my good friend Kris Holmes after a special event. This is the time of year when dust bunnies cavort wildly and multiply exponentially in the corners, under the couch, behind the kitchen stools, and anywhere else they can hide.  Crumbs of damp dirt and tiny rocks follow us into the house and drop out of the treads in our shoes, little bits for me to find when I walk barefoot across the floor. I find them with my feet, but rarely find what I've stepped on. After a few days I can barely bring myself to walk barefoot in the house, and the dus ..read more

  Another name is "fairy horns." Take one of the purple flowers and blow into the pointed end for  nature's miniature kazoo. It works; saw a video of a woman doing just that. For years I've considered this plant the bane of my gardening existence. Henbit, Lamium amplexcaule, pops up everywhere. While it's considered a winter annual, germinating in mid- to late winter and growing and growing and growing through the spring, I continue to find little seedlings all over, usually where it was cleared just days earlier. So frustrating.  In April, whole fields cleared of crops ..read more

  This evening's harvest: Purple Passion Asparagus and Cilantro, with a side of spearmint. I love how the green of the cilantro highlights the color of the asparagus. The orange handles of my herb snipper really pops out, as well. Color in the garden doesn't just arrive in blossoms. Vegetables can be just as colorful, plus they're more filling and nutritious. I like to grow red and purple varieties of vegetables that are typically green, such as the red noodle bean Asian long bean, or various colors of snap beans (Although beans of any kind don't figure into my diet very well at the pre ..read more