Gardening & Landscape, Landscaping, Landscaping decor

Walkway Lights

Why would someone want to install walkway lights? When you tripped when young, everyone would point and laugh. Now everyone comes running to ask if you want an ambulance.

I wanted something to light the way to my front door on those dark winter nights. Especially since my pathway is bark mulch and stepping stones I do not want to trip when it is icy. Also lighting an area makes it less appealing to any intruders, people, or cats.

But what I like the most is it gives a finished look to any landscaping or path. In the winter if there is a light next to a dogwood (with its bright red twigs), it promises spring will come even if it is months away.

The easiest light to use is solar lights. They do not use any wires and can be placed anywhere as long as they will get at least 6 hours of sunlight.

After years of using solar lights and was not that impressed because of their lack of brightness, I installed wired LED lights. They are bright lights that are stuck in the ground with ingoing and outgoing wires so you can install more lights in a series. They have water-tight connectors. Bury the wires a couple inches in the ground (the wires can go in plastic conduits if you choose). I have mine buried along the path edging. I started with a few lights and added more with different styles over time.

The last item you need is an outdoor transformer that breaks the current down to 12 volts to run the lights. It can be set to come on at dusk and go off at dawn or set to run certain hours. I bought the cheap ones and after the 5th one burnt out, I purchased a more expensive one ($100) and have had no problem since.

Flowers (annual and perennial), Garden almanac

Success and Failures in the flowerbeds.

Success and Failures in the flowerbeds.

Success: the tulips out bloomed the daffodils. The daffodils seem to be more prone to early heat and late freezes than tulips. The crocus and allium (flowering onion) did great.

The mainstays like four o’clock (I grow the variety with striped and splashed flower blossoms), zinnias (the taller varieties up to 3 foot), and cleome (which got up to 6 feet tall) all did well.

The marigolds have been getting botrytis wilt in them (where the flower and gradually the plant dries up). I will substitute zinnias because nothing kills them.I grew the datura plant with trumpet blooms that open at night. The newer varieties grew tall but skinny. Will go back to the old white, bushy, standby.

Calendulas were the first to bloom (May) and the last to bloom (October) but require constant deadheading to keep them blooming.

Bachelor buttons are early blooming flowers with a fast bloom time which I pull out when they get done blooming.

For a fast-growing plant that will grow over 6-foot-tall and 5-foot-wide, it is the Castor bean.

I tried Ostersporuim (daisy-like flower grown mainly in containers) in the flowerbed. Never again, they got stunted growing in competition with other flowers.

Cosmos make nice filler plants in the bed, however, our winds last year just broke them down. They never recovered.

Mexican sunflower with its bright orange flowers was the outstanding flower this year. They do tend to bend down with the wind. Next year I will stake the main stem.

Real Estate (Farm & Ranch Land)

Successes and Failures in the Garden this Year

Successes and failures in the garden this year. Let us start with the failures.
I grew Romanesco broccoli this year. It grows in a tight spiral pattern and has a mild flavor. The chefs like Gordan Ramsey and others use this in their recipes. The plant grew up to 3 feet tall and never put on a head (floret) until October. Then the cold came in and killed all 20 plants. Will not grow again.


Radishes failed again. It has been several years since I grew decent roots. Will grow the heat resistant variety Parat.


Watermelon did not mature well. I think this is because of the clay soil, better if I mixed in the sand. The yellow variety, Yellow Doll produced some melons.


Head lettuce did better than the leaf lettuce. That was mainly because deer got in and ate the tops of the leaf lettuce before I got the electric fence up. Will grow more head lettuce (Iceberg) started indoors.


Some rodents got into the beets this year and partially ate several larger beets. Did not see this until the damage was done. The little beast never went to anything else. Will grow again but watch better.


Weeds got wild in the melon/squash area where I could not step in and pull them up. Next year I will flop the garden and rotate tomatoes, peppers, and row crops where I can control the weeds better.

Successes were the okra. It always grows and seemly has no pest but a few grasshoppers. The green okra tasted better than the red podded okra and but produced less.


Cucumbers did wonderful this year especially the varieties Sweet Success and Sweet Slice. Both had fruits around a foot long without any bitterness.


Most of the muskmelons did well. The best was the green flesh variety Nutmeg. It produced so many, I lost track of ripening and lost a few.
Winter squash did well. The variety Kabocha (Japanese variety) had the best taste. The flesh is dry, no fibers, and sweet.

Summer squash, all varieties, produced into October. I did spray them with a fungicide to prevent powdery mildew usually harms the plants in August.
Peppers produced wildly. The variety of Cubaneno has a good spicy taste.
Success/failure were heirloom tomatoes vs hybrid tomatoes. The hybrid tomatoes like Celebrity produce more fruit. But I always go back to the heirloom tomatoes like Brandywine for a richer tomato taste that the newer varieties seem to have lost. Heirlooms produce less fruit and tend to be more disease tender.


Best success: use of red plastic mulch for tomatoes and peppers. Where I had this film, the peppers grew twice as big with a lot more fruit.