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Author Archive for Jo Rae Johnson Jetton
Purple Beautyberry
LAWN—The rainiest and the coldest months of the year are usually January and February. Avoid walking on soggy garden soil, particularly clay found in the Piedmont (Upstate South Carolina). On dry days, mow dormant, warm-season lawns. Mowing will remove fallen leaves and pine needles. Check lawn for winter weeds.
PRUNE—Now is the time to prune hybrid tea roses. They bloom only on new wood. Cut back canes one-third to one-half its height leaving canes at least 18 inches long. Cut above a swelling bud pointing out from the center. Remove all suckers and dead wood. Prune climbing roses to remove twiggy growth and weak shoots. Prune canes that flowered last year to three or four buds.
BIRDS—With gardens bare and bird baths frozen, our feathered friends are without food and water. Make bird treats to hang from tree limbs and put out seed and water. (Bird treat recipes can be found on my website www.itsallabouthome.com)
PREPARE—As long as soil is not wet or frozen, begin turning the soil in beds.
PLAN—Peruse seed catalogs and plan your vegetable and flower gardens.
PLANT―Even during the chill of January, you can plant new shrubs and trees. If you don’t see much color in your landscape during the winter, consider planting shrubs with bright colored berries. One of my additions this month will be Beautyberry. Its bright purple berries will complement my pink and purple themed garden nicely and liven up the gray days of winter.
Download January Gardening Checklist
Categories : Gardening Checklists
LAWNS― July heat is hard on your lawn. Help your lawn out with these few suggestions:
- Raise your mower blade and cut less often. Tall turf shades the soil, slows evaporation, and reduces weeds. Allow lawn clippings to stay in place to help hold in moisture and add nutrients to your soil.
- Water deeply and less often. Try an hour once a week or at most twice per week. Water early in the morning before the sun comes up.
FLOWERS—Flowers can thrive, even in the hottest months of the year. To maintain the beauty blooming in your garden, remember to:
- Continue to pinch the top ½ to 1 inch of new growth from your mums during the first part of July. Mums, left unattended, can become leggy and unattractive..
- “Deadhead” your perennials that have bloomed. Not only will you have a neater looking garden, you’ll encourage repeat blooming.
- Turn, Turn, Turn—Keep your hanging baskets and containers beautiful and full by turning them every few days. By giving your containers an equal amount of sunlight, you’ll keep your plants from being one sided.
- Weeding—Keep the spotlight on your plants by eliminating the unsightly weeds in your beds. Try setting aside a small amount of time for weeding daily. When broken down in small time increments, this chore won’t feel as tedious.
- Share—If you’ve been blessed with a garden blooming in fragrant color or have a bounty of vegetables, share them with others. Your thoughtfulness will brighten someone’s day.
- Plan—Fall will be here before you know it. Take pictures of each area of your yard and keep a “what’s blooming” journal. When fall planting season arrives, you’ll have a head start on knowing what colors and plants will compliment your existing landscape.
Categories : Gardening Checklists
hydrangeasGarden Week – June 5-11
Summer begins June 21st PRUNE:
- To encourage branching and development of compact bushy mums, pinch them back beginning in the spring as soon as the new growth is 4-6″ tall. Use your thumb nail and index finger to remove about 1/2 of the new growth at the top of each and every shoot. Repeat this procedure through the summer on new shoots 3-5” long.
- Prune your climbing roses after they finish their spring bloom. Remove dead or weak wood. These plants will set flower buds for next year during the summer, so pruning later might remove next year’s flowers.
- Deadhead bulbs and annuals. Remove spent blossoms from spring-flowering bulbs and annuals. Let bulb foliage die back without removing it.
- Fertilize warm-season grasses such as Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysi.
- According to the Farmer’s Almanac, June 9-11th are favorable dates for planting flowers and vegetables (peas, beans, tomatoes)
- Flowering shrubs, roses, and annuals to promote flowering.
- Temperatures have been way above average for this time of year with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees. Water containers daily. Set irrigation system to run early in the morning. In the Piedmont area, our clay soil requires more frequent, shorter cycles in order for water to soak in.
- Staycationing? Enjoy your backyard garden room. Bring the fun outside.
- Traveling near Myrtle Beach? You won’t want to miss Brookgreen Gardens. This beautiful oasis offers something for the entire family. Learn a little South Carolina rice history on their water tour, stroll through their formal gardens, and enjoy some cool summer evening musical entertainment. http://www.brookgreen.org/
May is the time to:
PLANT VEGETABLES – beans, cantaloupe, cucumbers, eggplant, honeydew, okra, southern peas, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelon.
PLANT FALL BLOOMING BULBS – Did your garden lack color last fall? Now’s the time to plant autumn crocus, resurrection lily, spider lilies, and yellow danford iris to brighten up your fall this year.
PLANT ANNUALS – Add a pop of color around your mailbox, sidewalk, and perennial beds with annuals. Petunias, geraniums, coleus, dahlia, and zinnias are great choices in sun. For shade choose impatiens, begonias, and caladiums.
PLANT CONTAINERS, WINDOW BOXES & HANGING BASKETS – I incorporate a few perennials with my annuals in containers. Raid your perennial beds for coral bells, lamium, purple heart, and trailing ivies. Make sure your containers have a thrill (adds height, generally in the center of round containers or the back of window boxes), fill (the core plants found in the center) and spill (trailing vines to spill over the edge). Pair complimentary colored flowers e.g., blue and yellow or pink and purple, along with your greenery. Margarita sweet potato vine adds a nice lime pop of color as a trailing option.
PRUNE – Spring-flowering trees and shrubs, such as azalea, dogwood, forsythia and lilac, within four weeks after flowering.
PINCH -Pinch back your mums from the center to prevent them from getting leggy by the time they bloom.
DIVIDE – Divide or transplant hardy perennials, such as chrysanthemum, aster, hosta, and spring blooming bulbs.
DIE BACK – Many spring-blooming bulbs like daffodils utilize foliage to replenish each bulb’s food supply. Allow the foliage to die back without removing it until at least eight weeks after flowering.
PLANT: It’s time to plant! April is a great month to plant. Add trees, shrubs, evergreens and perennials. If you felt your spring display was scant, add blooming, potted bulb plants now. Most will return again next year, and pump up your spring garden. After the threat of frost has past, plant your annuals for instant color in containers and in your garden. I like annuals alongside my sidewalk and around my mailbox to supplement the perennials planted there.
PLANT VEGETABLES: Vegetable gardens have come back in vogue and many are seen in suburban neighborhoods today. Tomato plants are a staple that even a beginner gardener can plant and enjoy. Don’t have a yard? Try growing a tomato plant in a large container on your back deck in a sunny location.You can also plant cantaloupe, honeydew, cucumbers, summer squash and watermelon this month.
TRANSPLANT: Spring is the best time to transplant trees, shrubs, evergreens and perennials in the wrong place or in need of more room. Replant immediately at the same depth and keep watered.
DIVIDE AND MULTIPLY: Divide your bulbs and other perennials, preferably ones that flower after mid-June for optimum performance this year. Early spring blooms are best divided in early fall.
PRUNE: Prune early-spring flowering trees and shrubs right after they’re done blooming. Shear evergreen hedges and prune roses.
WEED, FEED & MULCH: Make up your beds by weeding, adding organic matter into the soil, and fertilizing. Cover with a 2-4″ mulch spread.
IRRIGATE: Check your irrigation system.Turn on irrigation system and let it run through each zone. Walk around each zone and check spray pattern, proper rotation of sprinkler heads, and coverage. Set controller for automatic watering. Replace the controller back-up battery if necessary.
Spring Arrives! March 20th
Last Frost Predicted April 4th
Clean Up: Continue clean-up of beds of dying foliage, sticks and leaves.
Cut Back: Now is the time to cut back ornamental grasses like liriope and mondo grass before new leaves emerge. Cut small plants by hand; for larger ones, use your lawn mower with the blade set at 2 ½ to 3 inches high. Most perennials can also be cut back now, including coreopsis, asters, phlox, black-eyed susans, and bee-balm. Do not cut back perennial salvia or ‘Miss Huff’ lantana (or other perennial lantana) until you see new, green growth sprouting.
Fertilize: This formula has remarkable results for all but your acid loving plants. Use equal parts of the following materials:
10-10-10 fertilizer
Sphagnum Peat Moss
Cottonseed Meal
Mix in a wheelbarrow. Sprinkle mixture around the base of all perennials and watch them grow!
For your acid loving plants (hydrangea, dogwood, rhododendron, azalea, holly, gardenia, etc.) I recommend Holly-Tone. Follow label instructions.
Warmer temps are beckoning us to emerge from our cocoons and clear out the discarded remains of winter. As you contemplate the garden you have, do you long for more color, texture, or variety? Do you want to add plants, but don’t know where to put them? Would you like an organized garden plan, but don’t know where to start?
I can help; I understand. Start by reading “Finding Home” and then download the “It’s All About Home” Gardening Journal pages. You can love where you live and find beauty in your own backyard too! Let’s get started! Read More→
Categories : Uncategorized
Saturday,
February
7th,
2015
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so it’s time to get in the mood for love. Gifts of cards, heart-shaped boxes of candy, and bouquets of flowers will be flying off the shelves faster than Cupid’s arrows in our attempts to attract true love or prove our affection. And while I have nothing against these gifts, I think some of the earlier traditions were a lot more adventuresome.
For example, did you know it was believed that if a woman saw a robin fly over her head on Valentine’s Day she would marry a sailor? Alternatively, if she saw a sparrow she would happily marry a poor man and a goldfinch predicted a millionaire.
Or do you, like me, “wear your heart on your sleeve?” This idiom originated from a tradition from the middle ages. As part of their Valentine’s Day celebration, young men would select a folded paper from a box. On the paper would be the name of an unwed girl from their village. The girl selected would be his Valentine for a week. So others would know which girl each man chose, the men would pin the paper to their shirt sleeve for all to see the name of their Valentine.
All this love talk got you feeling a little sick? Eat chocolate. Considered an elixir for love, chocolate has been believed throughout history to bring smiles to the brokenhearted and to prompt amorous feelings in both men and women. It is believed that Madame Du Barry served it to all her suitors; Casanova consumed chocolate instead of champagne to induce romance; and Montezuma, the king of the ancient Aztecs, believed chocolate would make him virile. In the 1800’s physicians commonly advised their lovelorn patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.
If you are approaching Valentine’s Day as a single in a married world you have a couple of options. You can pine for what isn’t or you can bring back the traditions of old. I love old traditions, don’t you? So throw some Thistle in your bird feeder—a Goldfinch’s favorite food—put a heart on your sleeve and give it away, and buy yourself a very large bar of chocolate to share. At the worst you will have provided treats for your feathered friends, meet someone new, and have a healthier heart from eating all that chocolate. Or you may just find true love. Let me know how it goes.
Categories : Valentines
Camellia
Clean Up: Continue clean-up of beds of dying foliage, sticks and leaves.
Cut Back: Now is the time to cut back ornamental grasses like liriope and mondo grass before new leaves emerge. Cut small plants by hand; for larger ones, use your lawn mower with the blade set at 2 ½ to 3 inches high. Most perennials can also be cut back now, including coreopsis, asters, phlox, black-eyed Susans, and bee-balm. Do not cut back perennial salvia or ‘Miss Huff’ lantana (or other perennial lantana) until you see new, green growth sprouting. Prune hybrid tea roses and shrub roses in February. A good rule of thumb for rose pruning is always to cut back to an outward-facing bud. That means that the bud is on the side of a stem facing away from the center of the plant. When the bud sprouts, it will grow away from the center of the plant. This keeps air moving around and through a rose plant, which decreases the risk of black spot. Most climbing roses flower on old growth from the previous year, so do not prune those until after they flower.
Lawn: Apply a pre-emergence broadleaf herbicide. By being proactive now you’ll prevent weeds from invading come spring.
Vegetable Garden: Begin planting cool season vegetables outside in the garden. In mid to late February, you can plant lettuces, radishes, carrots, peas, and other cool-season vegetables directly into your garden. Plant carrots and radishes together. Carrots can take a while to sprout, and radishes keep the soil from crusting over. Use a lightweight potting soil or seed starting mix to cover lettuce seeds. These plants sprout most easily through this lightweight soil.
Start seeds: Warm-season annual flower and vegetable seeds can be started indoors. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, coleus, marigolds, salvia, zinnias, ageratum, and flowering tobacco need between 4-8 weeks to grow to the point where they can be transplanted outside. Use seed-starting mix to start your seeds. These are specially formulated mixes that are lighter in weight and better for newly emerging seeds. Keep the mix moist while the seeds are sprouting.
Sow: You can sow fragrant sweet peas now. They’ll begin germinating while it’s still cool, and you’ll have lots of flowers in the spring.
Share the Love – Create Your Own Valentines from Jo Rae Johnson on Vimeo.
I enjoy creating my own miniature pieces of art by making valentines. By using items in my stash of recycled ribbons, paper, and heart shaped items I can make a card at little cost. Don’t your one-of-a-kind friends and family deserve a little handmade love?
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7
Categories : Valentines
Southerners know what’s for dinner on New Years Day. Legend has it the eating of this meal guarantees the new year will bring luck and money. While I’m not sure about all that, I do know this dish is tasty and good for you.
My choice of entree is ham (pork-for luck). Side items include collard greens (your greenbacks) and black-eyed peas (as in keep the change). Collards are a “super food” and a good source of vitamin A, C, calcium and fiber. Black-eyed peas (actually a bean) serve up multiple health benefits as well. Just 1/2 cup of dry peas cooked provide 5.6 grams of fiber and 239 mg of potassium. Fiber and potassium help lower your risk of heart disease and help keep your blood pressure levels at healthy numbers. Potassium also supports the health of your muscles and bones.
I admit I haven’t enjoyed these wonderful foods since last New Years day. After enjoying them again today I’ve resolved to include these super foods in our diet more often than just once a year. Here’s my recipe for collards that is a crowd pleaser that even prior haters of greens will love.
16 oz pre-washed collard greens
ham hock or remnants from Christmas ham
32 oz natural chicken broth
1 tbsp Cider vinegar
1/8 tsp hot pepper flakes
2 tsp stevia
salt to taste
Bring ingredients to a boil in large pan. Cover and reduce to medium low heat and cook until greens are tender. We top our greens with a dose of vinegar and some fresh cut onions. Yummy, good for you and low-calorie (25 calories for 2 cups)
Friday,
December
26th,
2014
I love Christmas. The decorating, the edibles, the events at church, I love it all. What I don’t love is the putting away of my home’s festive attire. Decorating year after year has taught me a few tips that might help you.
- PICTURE THIS: Take a picture of every place you decorated. Keep a digital album of your Christmas decorations on your computer or print them out and attach the appropriate picture to each box. Which leads me to my second tip,
- ROOM BY ROOM: Box decorations by room – I enjoy decorating one room at a time, it’s less overwhelming and I feel a sense of accomplishment as each room is decked out. The same principle applies when taking it all down.
- STORE BY COLOR: Items you didn’t use this year but would like to keep, keep by color. For example, in the past I decorated my tree in red and gold, but now prefer blue and silver. Because I keep my red and gold ornaments from the tree in one container, I could easily decorate a tree at our church this year. I also have a box of just silver (garland, beads, etc.) or just gold. You get the idea. Having things by color helps for other events as well. For example, when I decorated for a 50th wedding anniversary–which is traditionally done in gold–I could use some of the items I have stored in my gold box for that event.
- INVENTORY: Now is the time to do an inventory of your Christmas decorations. Note items you need or would like to add and buy now while they are on sale. You’ll be one step ahead for next year. Be sure and add new items you purchase to your inventory list.
- SORT: Sort items you’d like to remove from your inventory. Ask your friends if they’d like to look at your giveaway Christmas stash where they can get a new look for next year FREE. My friend, Mary, did just that and the lovely ornaments you’ve seen in my dining room came from her stash a couple of years ago. You can also ask young friends just moving out if they need any Christmas decor. If none of those options work, you can donate your items to a thrift store or charity and get a receipt for tax purposes.
- LIGHTS: While decorating this year, you may have discovered strands of lights that didn’t work or half worked. Now’s the time to replace those lights! Most stores start out at 50% off all holiday the day after Christmas and the discount increases. I’ve bought some items as high as 90% off! Keep checking your favorite stores every few days. When replacing lights, try to go to more energy efficient versions available on the market now. You might also want to add timers which are also on sale.
- STORE: Storage is so important. I’m a big fan of using colored totes by holiday. It makes it so much easier to identify in an attic what is Christmas (red and green), Easter (a pastel color) or Fall (Orange). Totes and organizing items are on sale now so if you can afford to buy them, now’s the time.
- WREATHS: I don’t buy the wreath boxes. Many of them were too small for the wreaths I owned anyway. I hang my wreaths on nails in my attic. Don’t have an attic? Hang them on a closet or garage wall.
- LABEL: I like large labels on the side’s of my totes. To make it neater, I use either 8 1/2 X 11 inch labels or card stock and type my labels for each container. You can adjust the size of the font and the size of the label based on the size of each container.
- RECYCLE: If you bought a real tree recycle it. Many cities offer a free service where they process trees into mulch. While you’re at the landfill, grab some of that free mulch for your beds! Check your local landfills and municipalities. You can also recycle the fronts of Christmas cards by donating them to worthy organizations like St. Jude’s Ranch for children. They take any occasion cards so recycle all year!
Organizing your Christmas decor as you pack it away will reap benefits next year when it’s time to decorate again.
Happy New Year!
Jo Rae
Today is December 18th, and so far I’ve received, sigh, far more Christmas cards than I’ve sent. I’ll admit that I’m behind in getting my cards out, but I’m afraid that many of my friends and family have abandoned a tradition that has been around since 1843.
That was the year Sir Henry Cole commissioned John Calcott Horsley to paint this card showing the feeding and clothing of the poor. Sir Henry, an inventor, writer, and founder of the two museums from which the Victoria and Albert Museum grew, had so many Christmas greetings to send handwriting each was impossible. Sir Henry’s mass produced card began a tradition that continues today. According to Hallmark, Christmas is the largest card-sending holiday in the United States with approximately 1.5 billion cards sent annually. Many Americans also include a Christmas letter and family photo inside their cards.
In our era of social media, email, and picture messaging, I’m afraid many have replaced the mailed Christmas card with a one dimensional pixel post. It’s only my opinion, but there is no comparison. After all I can’t display an e-card on my mantle and the alert on my email doesn’t compare to the joy of discovering a colorful envelope hand-addressed to me amidst the bills in my mailbox. Can your text offer a holiday scent (I’ve mailed a few needles from my tree), a fun confetti, or a surprise gift? I don’t think so!
Richard Armour, a popular American poet and literary critic wrote, “You cannot reach perfection though you try however hard to there’s always one more friend or so you should have sent a card to.” It’s not too late. Grab a colorful pen and send out a few cards. This is one tradition I plan on keeping.
Merry Christmas,
Jo Rae
(Nothing like my signature, but it’s the best I can do online!)
- CLEAN IT UP – Now’s the time to clean up and store your lawn mower and garden tools. If you’re like me, it might be a good time to organize your garage and tools and hang them up!
- RESEED – With the warm fall we’ve had, many flowers are still blooming. Many annual plants reseed (like Zinnia) if you don’t cut back the dying blooms. Allow the seeds to drop and you may experience a “come back” next year.
- REUSE – If you had a fall display that included bales of hay or pine straw, don’t throw them out, use them! Break the bales up and blanket your beds for the winter or use them in a manger scene.
- DECORATE – Holiday decorating easily extends to the garden. Fill your birdbaths or fountains with greenery and bright colored ornaments, use trimmings from your tree to decorate outdoor light fixtures and mailbox. Add lights to your trellis or gazebo’s, outdoor swings and of course, around your front porch.
- TREES—Rosemary trees (often found at home improvement stores this time of year) are a wonderful addition to your holiday décor. They make a fragrant and practical kitchen tree. Decorate with miniature baking items for fun. Water only when the soil is dry to the touch, brown needles indicate over-watering. In the spring you can plant it outdoors.
- LEAVES – Leaves are still falling at my house. Use your lawn mower to mulch the leaves on your lawn instead of trying to catch and bag them.
- HOUSE PLANTS- Continue to force bloom bulbs for floral displays and color during dreary winter days. Poinsettias are a popular indoor holiday plant that is found in grocery stores in reds, greens, and pinks.
It's All About Home With Jo Rae
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Copyright © 2023 All Rights Reserved