Troy-Bilt Giveaway WINNER!

          BY SKEETER  

Last week I posted on the new 2012 Troy-Bilt battery operated Cultivator. Troy-Bilt was kind enough to offer a second cultivator to a lucky reader of In the Garden! The Magic Hat was filled with many names and the drum rolled on......

And the Winner is......

Ta-Da..... 

Congratulations Three Cat Manor!        

Please email us here at In the Garden with your address and phone number as soon as possible. Your new cultivator will be on it's way to your Garden soon!  

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Troy-Bilt Cultivator-GIVEAWAY!

BY SKEETER

Troy-Bilt contacted us here at In the Garden. Was I interested in trying out a new product? Well, sure and here you see Sheba kitty giving the box a complete Cat Scan. She just loves it when that big Brown Truck shows up on our door step!

She really loves it when there is a box within a box here in our Georgia Gardens.

Troy-Bilts 2012 Cordless Cultivator! Up to 1500 square feet on a single charge! Click HERE to learn more about this product from Troy-Bilt.

We have purchased many products from Troy-Bilt over the years and have been happy with them.

My favorite of their products is our Riding Mower AKA: my Red Rider. Here you see Aunt Skeeter using Red Rider for a little family fun on a Summer day.

Click HERE to see other products available from Troy-Bilt that will assist you in the garden.

A continued Cat Scan, reveals all was packaged well for the journey to our gardens.

Don't let the size fool you!

The Saint and I read all the paperwork enclosed and easily installed the wheels. The wheel height can be adjusted for tine depth.

The battery was not fully charged so we set up the charging device and easily inserted the battery.

One hour and 1/2 later and the green light came on to let us know the battery was ready to install into the cultivator. A completely drained battery, should take about 2 hours to fully charge.

We like that the battery has a button to push that will let us know if it needs a charge. Nice to know before one starts a project. This battery can be charged at any point without harming the battery life!

A simple squeeze of the lever on the handle and I began to cultivate the border of a garden. A sort of edging process for us.

Click on the Video to see how easily it chopped its way through the dirt, grass and pine needles. It also broke right through some small roots! We were impressed. I hope these videos work. I am having computer and camera issues today. Grrrr...

As I said, don't let the size fool you. This little thing is powerful for its size! In these video demonstrations, we have the tines (disc) set at medium level. We could go deeper into the earth by adjusting the settings of the wheels. Battery life is 1500 square feet so this is not a tiller type tool for large jobs.

My video went out on me at this point so you must take my word for the next part. We took this tool into the gardens and were able to easily weed. With its compact size, we could go right up against the plants and weed without bending over and hurting our backs! An electric Hoe, maybe? Weeding without bending over makes this a great item in my book!

We were a bit concerned about cleaning the tines. Since it is battery powered, one cannot spray it off with a hose. The Saint demonstrated on a video how easy it is to remove the tines, clean and replace them. The video went grainy on us but I want you to see how easy this process was for us. So I am hoping you can see through the grain of the video. (seems my video has died on the camera, sigh) I timed the removal, brush off and replacement at 25 seconds per side! I would not use this unit in the mud but if I did, I could spray off the tines once removed, dry, oil and replace them easily enough.

And look how light weight! No cords and you can get this red beauty into very small spaces. It is an asset with mixing our compost dirt. It would be awesome to go between rows in a Vegetable Garden and preparing for seed tossing next spring. I am also thinking it may assist me in extending pathways in my gardens! The use of this little gem are endless.  

Have I sold you yet? Well, here comes the best part. One of you lucky commenters will be the proud owner of your very own Troy-Bilt Cultivator! No strings (or cords) attached! Just be located within the contiguous United States. The winner: must let me know their address and phone number via email, for shipping this item direct from Troy-Bilt.  Is that simple enough? Leave us a comment and your name will be entered to win. One entry per person. A winner shall be picked from the Magic Hat on August 01, 2012. The winner's name shall be announced here at  In the Garden on Thursday August 02, 2012.

Get your name in the hat for the TROY-BILT CULTIVATOR-GIVEAWAY, In the Garden...  

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

I Love Asheville

BY SKEETER

I have received a wonderful goodie basket here in my GEORGIA GARDENS from Del of Explore Asheville.

This gift came about from the "Meet and Greet" event at The Garden Bloggers Spring Fling in Asheville, NC. Tina, The Saint and I were the first to arrive at the Meet and Greet event. We met Del and chatted with him about a wonderful contest he was having for this event. For every time you Link his site; Explore Asheville, with a blog about the Fling, he would enter your name into the hat for a chance to win this gift. I wrote a post of each of the fabulous gardens we toured while at the Fling and I Won the Contest! I am thrilled because I rarely win anything.

I knew of the prize of a 2 nights stay at the North Lodge Bed & Breakfast. Click HERE to see more. And also 2 tickets to Biltmore House/Gardens/Winery. Click HERE to see more. But had no idea of the other goodies to come.

A wonderful cook book from the Tupelo Honey Cafe. As I flip through this unique book, I see wonderful recipes as well as beautiful photos from old Asheville to the present time! I must attend a meal or two at this cafe! Click HERE to see more.

Flingers are familiar with Sow True seeds. Click HERE to see more. I hope to have lots of South East Wild Flowers blooming in my gardens!

Not sure where this cute little Bird came from a piece of Asheville Art for my Gardens.

Gaelic ale Mustard from the Crooked Condiments collection. Click HERE to see more.

Flingers also know about 12 Bones Smokehouse. We enjoyed a most awesome lunch from these guys during the Fling. Blueberry Chipotle BBQ sauce. YUM! Click HERE to see more.  

The scent of this Lavender Rose Soap is soothing! This will surely take me away  to a happy place after a hard day of working in the garden. Click HERE to see more.

Unfortunately, the jar of Blackberry Jam was broken upon arrival. It smell wonderful and I was tempted to taste it but fear getting glass into my mouth. Sigh, Del has promised me another jar upon my visit to Asheville. Click HERE to see more.

This is a wonderful sampling of some of the Locally Owned business of Asheville, NC. We cannot wait until our next visit which I think shall be next spring because I LOVE ASHEVILLE, In the Garden...Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Gifts from the UK

BY SKEETER

This past April, The Saint and I opened our GEORGIA GARDENS to some guests from the United Kingdom. (Click HERE to read about that fun visit.) Upon their departure, they presented us with a Gift Card to one of our favorite Garden Centers. Here are some of the goodies we added to our gardens from that wonderful gift.

Camelot Lavender Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea)

Guardian Blue Larkspur (Delphinium elatum)

Scotch Broom and Echo Rojo Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia)

Lena Scotch Broom (Cytisus) Love those colors!

Miss Kim Lilac (Syringa patula)

Red Riding Hood Beard Tongue (Penstemon)

Ernest Markham Clematis

Bougainvillea

Harvest of Memories "Yellow" Bearded Iris (Iris Germanica)

Silver Sage (Salvia Argentea)

Tina, this is the plant we thought was a large Lambs Ear in Asheville.

I also could not resist this cute item. Look on the stump.

A closer look reveals a cute little kitty with his field glasses watching birds and butterflies In the Garden. Look behind kitty on the tree!

I just thought this kitty was adorable.

This Kitty caught my fancy as well.

Note to self: Time to paint the barn birdhouse.

I had to laugh when looking out my sun room windows and spotting this! If that kitty were real, this squirrel would not have a chance!

I also came home with other goodies such as Dianthus, Prostrate Yew, Flutterboy petite Butterfly Bush along with a few annuals. These are items I would normally not purchase for myself as they are priced much higher then I would spend on plants. These items are rarely found on the Bargain Bin so not my normal purchases. These are wonderful GIFTS FROM THE UK, In the Garden....

John, Jane, Terry and Claire, Thank You very much for these wonderful additions to my gardens. I am doing my best to keep them happy in our ever soaring temperatures and drought...  Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Another Gift

BY SKEETER
Look at the latest gift for my Georgia Gardens.
I used redwood stain and sealer to give it a bit of color and protection from the weather.
I put it in several different places within my gardens before filling it with dirt and flowers.
I decided the Flag Pole was too bare and needed this little flower garden below. I planted Geraniums and Petunias in this wheelbarrow. I have no idea the color of Geranium as they were bargain purchases with labels saying mix. I wanted to wait until the flowers were in full bloom to share with you but I am ever so anxious to let my parents know what they got me for my Birthday last month. Mom and dad, Thanks for yet ANOTHER GIFT, In the Garden...

**Our latest house guests should be departing today. It has been a fun week and I wish them safe travels back to Tennessee...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden

Gift

BY SKEETER
The best gift in the world for me is to receive a gift card from a Garden Center. I can take that card and turn it into something new for my Georgia Gardens!
The Saints sister sent me such a gift for my birthday last month. As usual during the month of March, I am so busy playing in my gardens that my birthday just seems to creep up on me. I spent the day playing in the garden and even though the Saint wanted to take me out to dinner, I had him run for Sub Sandwiches and we ate them at the patio then back off to the gardens I went. My kind of birthday! I was not expecting much as my gift will be a bit later with a Trip to Ashville in May! So, What a surprise to find a gift card in a birthday card from the Saints sister!
I failed to snap a before picture as I really did not know what I was going to do until I did it. That is how a lot of my project's come about. I had cleared the debris and mess from in front of the planter in the Semi-Formal Garden and then the idea struck. A rock garden to break up the small area! This photo is to the far right going right up against the upper level of gardens. Creeping Phlox has been transferred from another spot in this garden with pulling sprigs. They should take off at some point. You can barely see them just below the Begonia. I had that one odd plant remaining from a 6 pack and it kind of got stuck there. There are also two daffodils in this spot that happily bloomed last month. I shall add more bulbs this fall.
Moving a bit to the left of that picture, we see one of two stepping stones and some creeping plants. I haven't a clue as to the names of these plants. The names were printed on the containers and I recycled them before thinking to write down the names. All are creeping plants and perfect for a Rock Garden.
Moving on to the left a bit more and you see both stepping stones and more creeping plants. I put the stepping stones so as to have a spot to step while tending to the plants in the planter above. I need to add some of these to the large Rock Garden as I am walking on the Lava Rock all the time thus pushing it into the ground more and more with each step into the Rock Garden.
To the very left of this Garden is where the Lavender begins. I stopped the Lava Rock at that point and started to pick up the Cypress Mulch. I have mulched most of the Gardens with Cypress this year. The Saint had this idea instead of Pine Straw to see how differently it would act verses the Pine needles. The theory being, thicker layers of mulch will keep the weeds down and last longer then the pine needles. Only time will tell but I think the Saint may be onto something. I have spread about 100 bags of mulch thus far and I have one more area yet to work on. I will say it is a lot easier to work with verses the Pine Straw.
Here is a view of the little Rock Garden from end to end. I like the way the Lava Rock breaks up the area from the planter to the walkway and adds another type garden in between. Neat and clean looking just the way I want this garden to be.... Sis B, Thank you so much for the wonderful GIFT, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden