I've had the most enormous cucumber harvest from just two plants, have given away and am still giving away gallons and gallons, and have gotten myself addicted to tzatziki. Oh my, it's good.

“…and have gotten myself addicted to tzatziki.”

YES…really good!

As a palate cleanser, this is my favorite cucumber salad to make:

The smallest setting on the paddle mandolin, or the thinnest you can slice, best if the slices are translucent. Let weep using whatever method works for you--samll Persians or Armenians barely weep, but are delicious this way. Enflish seem not to weep, but sprinkle a little vinegar to mak sure.

Dressing, good olive oil to taste (i.e., EVOO but you can thin it with regular or lite olive oil if it's too intense) and sharp red wine vinegar (I use Pompeian--my "good" red wine vinegar is too mellow for this), herbs and seasoning to suit. I tend to just use Fines Herbs or Herbs de Province or a similar blend, but you can put in whatever you think goes well. I don't use garlic just so not everything is soaked in garlic, but it goes very well otherwise.

Use a bowl or container with a tight cover. Mix the cucumbers well with the dressing, but just enough dressing to spread the herbs around--the cucumbers will weep more when they're exposed to the vinegar. Let settle for about 10 minutes (i.e., while you clean the kitchen) then invert the lidded bowl, and refrigerate overnight or at least a couple of hours.

Now that made me laugh, FOAS (foodonastump)

So, the whole brood could be BIDET. Barron, Ivanka, Don, Eric, Tiffany.

Donald

I am a lover of Edith Wharton's work. Everyone my age read Ethan Frome in high school, but it's nothing at all like most of her work which focuses on the old aristocracy of New York. She simply skewers it. I just reread The Age of Innocence.

Yes, I too placed a hold on Kingsolver a few days ago, but even then, was 21st in queue. Not a die hard fan of hers, but like her well enough to read whatever she puts out. Didn't know about Garmus's new book. Will look for it.

I am a sucker for any article about books coming soon.

Also adding if that bit of walk and step is the path to the house it seems to be much too narrow to be inviting or attractive. It should be 4-5 ft wide.

If she does want to plant natives (yay), we have a Digital Atlas of Virginia Flora which can be used to see which plants are native in which counties. Couldn't find the same for Maryland, but the link is a very good resource, I think. It doesn't seem to identify specific counties, but it does break down by region. I clicked on all three regions, so lots of pics, but your daughter would probably want to narrow it to her region. I like the photos.

UMD native plants database with photos

They call it the Native Plant Finder. :-)

ETA: I typed in the zip code of friends in Bethesda and it gave me the Piedmont eco-region for example.

Create a focal point with decor and natural elements. Here are my ideas I prompted to AI so adjust as needed

Too late in the season to be pruning! Wait until late winter.

My word, trees get huge in England.

I'm not convinced that's a big one.

There is an old tulip poplar near me that lost at least half of its height after a bad storm. It is still taller than the oaks and maples nearby. I occassionally run into a baby one weeding my beds. I'd like one, but dont' have a good place for something that gets 200 ft tall.

What a coward that little weasel is, putting his own safety above others.

Redbuds are native here in WV--and when I moved here in the 70s we were a clear zone 5A. The coldest temperature I've ever been in was Christmas Eve 1982, I think, when it was 30 below zero. Not wind chill.

The key to a successful redbud in colder zones is to get one grown from northern seed. One grown from southern seed will not handle the cold. It's the genetic selection.

Update: I finally got one! I brought an eastern redbud home with me yesterday, along with another river birch (I have a deep-seated love of river birch). The redbud is not a named cultivar. Got them planted today.

Beautiful specimens, porkchop! Very nice indeed. Good luck with them. River birches are really quite beautiful.

:)

Dee

Unfortunately, it's not in sight in the weather.

Yep, crispy death all round. The Japanese anemones I have had in my garden for over 35 years have diminished to one smallish clump. Truly, a whole re-think is in order...but doing so at an advanced age is always a bit of a triumph of hope over experience -not that experience has ever really added that much to my overall competence...but hope - I am big on that.

rouge your gardens are looking fabulous!

R. triloba is flowering but A. Robustissima has just buds. If yours is A. R. then you are doing a great job of keeping the glorious thug in check.

Crabgrass is an annual, but it sets a billion seeds.

Thanks for the tip, DM. My creeping phlox is full of grass too.

ditto. thanks!

Try Geranium 'Karmina', a handsome groundcover. Won't need any irrigation. You can purchase a few plants and then as they grow, just pull out rhizomes, cut a slit in a new area, put in the rhizome and cover it. It will fill in easily. The plant is never aggressive, but covers areas very nicely.

The hellebores bloom in the winter and by May they disappear...you can't even see the roots. But, they will return around February.

Did you just plant the hostas? They need a season or two to show their stuff.

Alternative is liriope. Great plant for that spot.

That Liriope photo, hmmm.....doesn't look like a real Liriope.