by Blue Gables | Jun 12, 2022
We bought a stirrup hoe (aka Hula Ho Weeder or loop hoe) at a Mt Airy, Maryland, flea market last spring. We had seen them on YouTube but had never used one. It was inexpensive and appeared to be in good condition so we took a chance and purchased it from a guy with...
by Blue Gables | Aug 25, 2021
As you might expect, we have a house full of cut flowers. We put various things in bottles, jars and vases and stick them on the kitchen windowsills, island and table. We often do this to “vase test” new plants to see how they do before we put them in arrangements...
by Blue Gables | Jul 12, 2021
Without bees, butterflies and other bugs, we’d have no flowers. Or food. Zinnias Are Butterfly Magnets I remember the first year we grew zinnias. They started to bloom in late June, and we were impressed by the volume of flowers they put out. Some flowers are known as...
by Blue Gables | Mar 1, 2021
March 1 marks the beginning of seedling season. Each spring we start thousands of tiny plants in multi-cell trays that we put on heat mats and under grow lights. These seedlings will grow for the next month or two until the weather is warm enough for them to be...
by Blue Gables | Feb 20, 2021
As bleak as things may appear in the third week of February at Blue Gables Farm, little plants are happily growing in our flower field. Back in the fall, we planted six varieties of “cool flowers,” which are hearty enough to survive Maryland’s winter. We covered the...
by Blue Gables | Sep 22, 2020
Whitetail Deer Whitetail deer are just as beautiful and cute as they are maddening. We’ve suffered quite a bit of crop damage over the years from deer pressure. I wouldn’t say we hate the critters, but we would prefer they had smaller appetites! And our deer clearly...
