Tonia’s Garden

07/08/2025

I think I have a contender for my “Hokie Flower Collection!”

This is a gladiolus that I picked up a few years ago and it finally bloomed.

I think I bought 6, so hope the others finally bloom this year!

I think I’m gonna call it “Hokie Sunset” or “Hokie Sky”

07/06/2025

The Lillie’s are WIDE OPEN! Lol

I got a great deal buying 50 of these dark pink ones last spring for $25 shipped…

I thought I gave away enough, lol. I’m in Lilly overload!

But such pretty bouquets gracing my home right now- and work, I have one at work and I gave a neighbor a small bouquet…

07/05/2025

By the way!!!

It’s time to plant (or seed!) for our fall garden. Today I am seeding (inside) Sunny’s-Zinnias (fall colors) cucumbers and melons.

I’m also planting out some tomato suckers I rooted a few weeks ago…and some tomato plants that I found growing as volunteers back in early June and potted up.

You can also start summer squash & beans. I’m sure there are more but those are my favs…

So get out there and get those seeds in the ground! You will thank me come September…😀.

Throw some basil seeds in a pot or in the ground! I’m starting more Genovese and some Cinnamon Basil…

07/05/2025

So- we had a new family move into the neighborhood this spring…😳. Very destructive- and mom lets the kids run wild destroying not only my garden but others as well! 😡😡

My method of attack has been Liquid Fence Spray. Which works well until it rains!

I honestly thought I was dealing with bunnies ( those are rampant in our neighborhood as well) eating my seedlings (aka Sunny’s and zinnias) but it looks like these guys were the culprits!

So, came home last Friday afternoon and saw the twins- saw the mom eating in the woods behind the house last night…

Yesterday I put out these things- will let you know if it works! Today I’m fertilizing with fish fertilizer, I know they don’t like that scent…

Other than shooting them- illegal in my neck of the woods- anyone have good SOLID, TRIED METHODS?

07/05/2025

First tomatoes and cukes of the season. Cucumbers have been a struggle- I planted 10 plants back in early May and after all the rain, only have 5 left..tomatoes took off with all the rain, but now I’m fighting blight…🙅‍♀️. Peppers grew great, but now the fruit has sun scald from the heat wave. I should have covered it…🙅‍♀️

How’s your garden growing?!
What troubles have you faced? Share your pictures below👇

07/05/2025

Hope everyone is having a beautiful 4th!

Just wanted to share a bit of my garden. It’s been a tough year so far- and just like other tough garden years, I have success and struggles!

So far, almost 100 sunflower seeds seeded- I might have 20! 😩 Between the new job- birds, buckets of rain and a new family in the neighborhood- NO BLOOMS!

Almost as bad for zinnias- but there are a few of each getting buds.

Glads- Lillies & Rudbeckia are starting to bloom! Also, yesterday I picked my first cukes & tomatoes. 😀

06/21/2025

How’s everyone’s garden doing after all this rain??!!

We received a guesstimated 10” in two weeks if not more..
I emptied this one pan I have (like the old time dish pan) 3xs in 2 weeks- that thing is a good 4” deep…

Anyways….blight has arrived in my tomato AND pepper patch! Never have I had blight on my peppers…😲

So, tonight after drying out for two days I’m going to treat with hydrogen peroxide mixture that I’ve used before. If you need the ratios let me know, it’s just HP & water and timorrow they will get the baking soda drench….

It changes the ph on the leaf and kills the spore…

I’ve never had my plant leaves turn black like this…

Hang in there! If you are gardening for the first time this year you’re learning that gardening is all about learning.

Also, if you have any crazy long suckers, pull them off and put in water to root. July is coming up and it’s the perfect time around here to start a second succession of plants..

First the pretty- my daylillies are blooming!

06/15/2025

Just beautiful

06/15/2025

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads! David Layman

06/10/2025

Love Love Love when responsible people take the step to preserve plants of our past. Plants that have no patent. Plants that have a rich history or story behind them.

Luke at MIgardener is taking steps to preserve old apple varieties…Seed Savers Exchange…and closer to home Clemson University and NC State (who brought us the Cherokee Purple Tomato!).

Some seeds and plants were brought back from WWI & WWII…with heartwarming stories…there is a pepper seed im after that was rescued out of Syria when the most recent civil war erupted out of there.
This pepper has a deep rich history steeped in family tradition.

In a world where our government and private industry want to monetize and control everything we do, I feel this is a fight worth fighting…

Here is Erin’s story on heritage roses…

Today, I’m excited to share a new film that tells the story of our journey to preserve heritage roses and the progress we’ve been making. For many years, ros...

06/03/2025

There are over 200,000 barrels filled with radioactive waste lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. This practice, now prohibited, has left many

05/31/2025

Yup!

It’s easy to forget the simple pleasures of youth—like climbing trees, riding bikes, or just daydreaming in the grass—especially once you become an adult with responsibilities pulling at you left and right. Still, I’ve noticed a pattern in folks (myself included) who spent their childhoods r...