dirtdobber's Blog

Frost!!!!!!
Apr 29, 2008 | 4:04 PM PST

Oh my little babies are all coming up in the garden. The squash are all bunched together. The purple hulls are coming up like little soldiers. My butterbeans are being a little sluggish though, but they are gradually peeking out. I even have a few blooms on the tomatoes. I got the corn planted today...don't know a thing about corn, so it really is an experiment. I have a few strawberry plants in, and one watermelon plant to go. AND I JUST HEARD ON THE NEWS THAT WE MAY HAVE FROST TONIGHT!!!!!!!  PLEEEEASE!!!   

Well, I'm going to eat a little dinner and think about what I should do.  I could never be a farmer for a living. The stress would kill me!

Let me go ponder this while I chew on my ham and biscuits.    Trish

The wonderful nursery
Apr 27, 2008 | 3:57 PM PST

Saturday my husband and I decided on the spur of the moment to go take a day trip to see my son and his family 3 hours away. We didn't let them know we were coming b/c we didn't want them to cancel any plans. When we arrived , we called and got no answer. Since they live in this great sleepy island community on the coast, we knew we could find something to do if this happened. On this island is a nursery that I always want to visit. We had a couple of little gifts for them , but I wanted to get my daughter in law a flower.  So we stopped at this place to pick up something. Guess what! They have completely rebuilt the place. It is huge, with so much more than before!!!  All kinds of organic compost, more plants than you can shake a stick at, and tons of garden art. It was fabulous! We picked out a plant for Jess and rode by their house. They, in fact, were not there, so we went on with our day. We did want to check out the beach and the little local shops and we were hungry. It looked like rain was coming in, so we went on to eat at our favorite restaurant where you can sit on the front porch to eat. We then rambled through the shops, but all I could think about was getting back to that nursery so I could really look.  Finally it was time to head out.  I could not wait to spend a little income tax refund money at this place. We drove up....it was CLOSED!!!!!! I wanted to cry! Closed at 4PM. We just missed it.

I will definetly know next time how to time my visit.

BUT......., I got up this morning and hubby says "you have sprouts in your garden". Did ya'll here me squeal from way over here in Ga.??! My purple hulls are peaking through. So are most of the butterbeans. The squash is beginning to show up. And maybe it was the overnight rain, but my peppers and tomato plants have perked up tremendously.  I was a little worried about a few of those...they just seemed a little depressed.  But they are happy today as is their mother.  It turned out to be a drizzly day, so after church I took a nap. I woke up 4 hours later. Man! I must ahve been tired. All that driving maybe?  I've been around the garden to check everything out and now I'm about to eat some pizza.

Guess I'll try to garden a little tomorrow after work.  I potted up some cuttings the other day from my mom's garden and I have a bunch more to do.

Well folks, that was my weekend, and that is my upcoming agenda.  Ya'll have a great rest of the weekend and Get in that dirt!!!   Trish

More pics
Apr 25, 2008 | 7:01 PM PST

I have some new pictures of "my stuff". Honestly, it has taken me so long to upload them and write captions that I'm just too tired to do much blogging. Take a look when you get a chance.  4 AM came a long time ago...getting up for work.  I came home after work and checked out the garden, went to grandson's t-ball game, ate dinner and got on the computer. There have been a few more happenings in the garden that I will try to write about and post pics this weekend. Gotta go to bed...but, tomorrow...ya'll get in that dirt!  Trish

The tree has to go
Apr 23, 2008 | 5:48 AM PST

My veggie garden is beginning to take over my life!  Can't say that I'm not lovin' it though. The latest is that a couple of days after getting everything planted, I noticed my pine tree was shading the entire garden.  How could that be?!!  I thought I had watched this spot for 8 months trying to decide if it was the right spot.  But ,apparently not. From about 11am on, it is all in the shade from this pine tree.  All my hard work!!  Actually up until 11am it is in mostly shade from another pine tree.  Anyway, the tree man is coming this morning hopefully to take it down.  It always hurts my heart to take down a tree, but I think I can deal with removing  a pine, but if it were a hardwood, I'd probably have to move the garden. (but I don't really have another spot).  Anyway, that is what will be going on around here today.

I still haven't gotten my herb garden in.  I can't decide on where to put it.  I want it near the house.  I think I have enough rocks to border it, but I just can't decide!  They say that is what happens in menopause...you just can't make a decision. "They" are right! I have some thyme,2 kinds of basil, marjorim, lavender and rosemary , but I still want to get a few more.  The garden center didn't have everything I wanted. Maybe I can work on it while the tree man does his thing.

I also have not planted my corn.  I have never tried corn, but I have a seperate patch for that.

It looks like my house is going to go to pot!  I just cannot stand being inside long enough to give it a good cleaning. And if I am inside, I want to be looking and learning on garden guides!  I have so much to learn! I am hoping to take some pictures today. Oh! My irises finally bloomed YAAH!!

Gotta go. A lot planned for my one day off! Ya'll get in that dirt! Trish 

Finally planting!
Apr 20, 2008 | 6:58 AM PST

Well, after all my hard work of digging, tilling, chopping roots, hauling topsoil and soil conditioner and sweating like a dog, I finally got to plant!!!  My vegetable garden is in.  Butterbeans, purple hull peas, okra, squash, peppers, and tomatoes. Oh joy!  Hubby finished the fencing around the garden for me ...only has the gate to put on.  Even got some marigolds to add to it.  Isn't that something you are supposed to do?  Ya know it's been 30 years since I have had a garden. I had one at our first home, but since then, no room. When I think of some of the heartbreaking things we have through over the years, I regret that I didn't have a "real" garden to retreat to. But God has blessed me with this one and I am sooooo thankful!

The memory garden also has begun!  I planted all the things that I dug up from my mom's yard. I hope they make it as I dug them up last week and was only able to plant this weekend. It all looks kind of pitiful right now, but you know how pretty a perennial garden is when it fills out. I planted a couple of baby offshoot azaleas and an unknown shrub in the back. I will plant those doggone nandinas that I have grown to love b/c they were hers.  I also planted her daylilies, irises, heirloom pimks, sweet william, amaryllis, russian sage(I think), and 2 other plants that I need to look up to find their names.  I even planted a beautiful bright pink oxalis. I know a lot of you are saying, "that's a weed!", but they were always coming up on our old homeplace and it makes me think of Mama. I have a rose of sharon to put in today. I even discovered a wonderful mulch/compost pile where we dump a lot of grass clippings and chopped up pinestraw in the woods. Apparently the previous owners did the same. Oh, what a goldmine all that black stuff is!  I'll start on my mother in law's plants next.

My mother in law gave me so many plants over the years. They are all still planted at my old house that my son and his wife are renting from us. I'll have no problem getting those.

The memories have already begun. What sweet memories came to mind as I planted. I'm sure I will have lots of meditation moments out there. I can see this bed from my kitchen window. What a great "good morning!" huh?

Hubby took me to Lowes yesterday and bought a ton of plants. Well a ton to me. I've always bought one here , one there and rc'd pass alongs( the best kind).  But this was so fun! These plants will go in an already existing bed that needs serious updating!  Hubby doesn't really share my passion for flowers, but is so sweet to help in any way he can. I guess he understands b/c he has such a passion for restoring old cars. God has really been good to us.

Well, better get going. Off to church...and then the dirt. Some herbs await. Happy gardening! Trish

My fabulous week is over
Apr 16, 2008 | 6:17 PM PST

Well, I had to go back to work yesterday after taking a week off to garden. My friends at work thought I was nuts. They couldn't believe that it could take a week to do a garden. Little do thay know!  EXCEPT.... I didn't get the seeds in. Everything is tilled, the compost has been added. Tilled again, Fence put up, and then the weatherman said it was going to freeze! WHAAAT??? Sooo I'm planning to do that tomorrow after work.

I also dug, tilled etc. a new flower bed that mentioned earlier (my memory bed with plants from my mom and mother in law) Now the fun begins on that one. I also hope to get some of those things transplanted in the next two days.

I also bought a few little things to go in the large flower bed that was already here when we moved last summer but is pretty empty. I put in some phlox, dianthus, creeping phlox and threw in a few impatiens. I have iris buds everywhere. I really did not think I'd get any blooms this year b/c of moving them from the old house, but I was wrong. Yaaay!! I added a bunch of grass clippings and some mulched up pinestraw to my compost pile. I planted a couple of clematis bulbs...I know its late, but they were 1/2 price. We will see how they do. My morning glories are coming on up. I have noticed a few leaves on my blueberry bushes that look like they have been munched on. Any suggestions anyone? Don't know a thing about growing those. These are my 1st.

And I saved the best for last. Being new in the neighborhood, we really don't know many people on the street. Have met most of them, but that is about it. Well, one neighbor and her husband were out working in their yard the other day and I just walked over to speak...ya know..being neighborly ..that southern thing. Well, as it turns out, he is a landscape architect and she works with him! They adore flowers and working in their yard. They took me on a tour of their yard all around to the back. You people would not believe how pretty it all was. Seeing just the front yard from the road does not do it justice! Every kind of flower you can think of is in their garden. And I don't mean they have someone to come "put in the flower beds". They did all this on their hands and knees...the 2 of them. they were so fun to talk with. They have a veggie garden and fruit trees and a greenhouse, but I didn't even get that far back into the yard. Will save that for next trip. She gave me some places to get seeds etc in the mail and from some individuals she knew of. What a nice ending to my week. She even has some kind of flower I had never heard of that she is going to pot up up for me.

It sure was fun to just wake up everyday and go to bed every night thinking and planning my "stuff". And knowing that all I really HAD to do was go out and do it. I could get used to that! Even though I didn't get everything done that I wanted to do, isn't that what gardening is all about? There is ALWAYS something else you want to do!

I know this was long, but I just had to share my wonderful relaxing week in the dirt with my fellow dirt lovers! Now back to the alarm clock and "saving lives" :) Trish

Whew! I'm tired!
Apr 11, 2008 | 5:56 AM PST

Well, it is 830 am and I'm tired and sore from yesterday. I've been off this week and I'm trying to do everything I can squeeze into a week. I am not really a morning person so it's hard for me to get going early enough to accomplish all that I want. Maybe b/c I have to get up at 4am for work...so when I'm home I kind of need to languish over my coffee and watch the birds and read a little.

Yesterday, though, I accomplished a lot. I tilled and retilled my veggie garden. I was working in some compost. That dirt now looks like gold to me! We have the fence posts around it and will get fencing up today. I decided to till up a whole seperate section for my corn. Don't really know why, but I did. I also have 2 flower beds that I want to till up and get started. My biggest problem there is deciding where to put one of them. It nearly killed me going to Lowes to get veggie things and not get "flower things"! But I must stay focused! Although I did plant my 2 clematis bulbs that I got for 1/2 price. One looked pitiful. I don't think he will make it. The other looked better. I also hung up a new bird feeder. I don't have another birdbath, so I turned a pot upside down and filled the saucer with water and put on top. ALSO, yesterday, I worked like crazy at the entrance to our subdivision. We have a sign coming into the street that has a built in flower bed. When we moved here last summer, it was a nightmare. Weeds, paint chipping on the sign, no flowers. Awful. You should see it now. I workd a little on it last fall getting it cleaned up and planted a couple of things, but it is gorgeous now! I planted yesterday...iris, snapdragons, petunias and there are already some chrysanthymums. I'll try to get a picture on here. I had several people stop to tell me how pretty it all was. Makes me feel proud...and I just think it is nice when coming home, to turn into the street and see something beautiful. Isn't that why God gave us these lovely flowers?

At the very end of the day, I decided to cut the grass. All set to cut my 3 little acres and I had a flat tire after a couple of rows of cutting. Hubby worked on the tire last nite, so I'll get going on that today. I'm also going to try to surprise him and get the fence up by myself! We'll see!

Well, it's friday..not much week left.  I'd better get to work(or is that play in the gardening world?).  Everyone have a GREAT day!  Get in that dirt! Trisha

clouds, clematis,and a camellia
Apr 7, 2008 | 12:32 PM PST

Another cloudy, cool day. I was really looking forward to some sun and warmth. But the good news is, my morning glory seeds are coming up!!! I am so excited. Don't know why I love them so much. They just seem to say good morning, have a nice day! I tried to make the best of the day with a trip to Lowe's. I picked out the fencing to go around the garden. Hubby will go back to get it. I also got some clematis bulbs at 1/2 price. Don't know how they will do at this point but i'm going to try. Just didn't want to pay full price for the plants until I at least tried this. I will probably go back and get the plants though b/c I love these vines! I so miss the beautiful clematis I had at my old house.

With the ever increasing concrete jungle growth around here, they are wiping out all kinds of old homesites. They have built a new mall and lot's more in the works. I stopped and dug a bunch of plants that were going to be bulldozed. I got Iris, daffodils, snowdrops, and desperately tried to get a beautiful camellia bush, but the roots were just too deep! There are about 5 over there and they are huge and gorgeous!  I just don't think I have what it would take to get them up. I hope hubby and i didn't kill the little thing we were trying to save. It's kind of sad to think that someone lovingly planted all that and had it for so many years and now it will be gone in a flash. Well, happy gardening and pray for sun!! T.

Sunday in the sun
Apr 6, 2008 | 6:53 AM PST

Sunday and it is not raining! I really have more that I want to do than there are hours in the day. I know it is supposed to be a day of rest, but gardening IS rest for me. I suspect many of you agree with me. I am so excited about getting my vegetable garden going this week. My biggest concern is the deer. How high does a fence around it have to be to keep them out? I think we can keep the rabbits at bay, but I just don't know about the deer. My hubby thinks a 4 foot fence is high enough, but I don't think so. He also says that b/c we have dogs in a fenced area aboiut 40 feet from the garden , that they will frighten the deer away. I just don't feel nearly so positive about it all. My point is, that by the time we realize that 4 ft. wasn't enough, the garden will be gone!

There is a garden show in a nearby agricenter that I want to go to today. (had planned to do it yesterday but weather was just too bad. ) I also want to be in the dirt . Must figure out how to do both.

There must be 20 birds flitting all around the birdfeeder this morning. I love watching them. I don't know too much about them yet but I'm trying to learn. Then I would love to invest in a really good camera and learn to take really good photos of them. Gosh, my hobbies are getting to be as expensive as my huband's hobby of restoring old cars!

Let me get a move on. Church awaits....then the dirt!

 

Rain finally
Apr 3, 2008 | 12:34 PM PST
Well, we actually got a little rain last night. My transplants needed it! The weather is so crazy at this time of year. Yesterday it was 81 degrees...today 59. I just don't care much for being out when it is damp and chilly. But let it get a little warm and a little sunshine and you have to drag me into the house! I was given a new camera and as soon as I can figure it out, I will send pictures of my "projects". I'm rooting some camellias now. I really hope these cuttings take as they came off my mom's bush. I rooted a cutting off of her rose bush that is doing great. This has been such a fun spring so far. I have a bluebird family in my birdhouse, bees buzzing around already, blooms on my blueberry bushes and cherry blossoms on a yoshino cherry tree that I did not realize was on the property. With this being our 1st spring here, I'm almost afraid to pull any weeds for fear of pulling up a perennial. What fun to discover hyacinths coming up all aound 2 of our trees!  I feel like I'm having babies every time I go out into the yard. My vegetable garden seeds are sitting here waiting to be planted. I have all next week off from work....can't wait to get out in the dirt!! Happy gardening to all!!