The Joys of June

THORNLESS BLACKBERRY bushes with names like Navajo, Arapaho Cherokee, Choctaw and others were developed at the University of Arkansas. The canes are erect, heavy bearing, free of thorns and relatively disease free.

Our original plants from Stark Brothers were planted in January 2000. The first year they laid on the weed cloth and did little but since then they have stood tall and pumped out the fruit.

8-years later, the suckers are producing as you can see in the photo.


GARLIC is an irresistible plant: It never lets you down, every head and every clove is valued at the stove and table as it seasons pizza,soup, salad, jars and jars of pickles, eggplant caviar, canned tomatoes etc. Have you ever had baked garlic as a bread spread? Oh, my.

The cloves we put in last October are almost ready to harvest and dry.

The photo is of the scapes that form on the top of the garlic greens. The scapes are usually removed to aid in bulb development and can be eaten in salads or made into a pesto.Waste not want not.


For the first time we are trying KANDY CORN. As you can see, the tassels are forming. Did you know that every kernel of corn on the cob is the result of a flower being individually pollinated? Keep the bees happy in your garden!

The ELDERBERRIES are blooming in the side yard and smell just like honey. We plan to put onion bags on a few flower heads so we can have some of the berries before the birds eat them. Such an easy to grow, beautiful shrub or tree.

The lettuce I planted in the front of the flower beds has mostly gone to seed from the heat. The edible pea pods, too. I'm leaving them in place to see if I can harvest the seeds for a fall planting.