Cutting Back Lilies

My lily flowers have now died, and are ready to be deadheaded. Before heading out front with my clippers, I thought I'd do a little research on the topic.

I found out an interesting tip: if you don't cut the stems back (i.e. only clip off the top where the spent flower was), the bulbs will be better nourished and create healthier plants next season, rather than if you had cut the stems all the way back.

This is assuming the stems are still green - once they've died off and turned brown, then you can cut them as well.

Good to know!

My Good Veggie Crops This Year...

...have been tomatoes, beans, peas, zucchini and cucumber. Here's a picture of some tomatoes and beans I picked recently.

My biggest challenge with the tomatoes has been keeping them up off the ground. The plants need to be propped up, or the weight of the growing fruit will pull the branches down. (The beans require less effort to keep up because they're lighter.)

My advice to anyone who has never grown tomatoes or beans before is to plant them along the edge of your garden if it's enclosed with a fence (this is what I do, then simply tie them up against the fence). Either that or have long sticks and twine ready, or purchase plant "cages" from your local gardening store to support the plants.

While I love the Roma tomatoes and the beans from the garden, the cherry tomatoes are fabulous!! Store bought cherry tomatoes simply cannot compare. If you've considered growing them but have never tried, you should - you won't regret it :)