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So I took some pictures of the garden and uploaded them to a new album named April...some of the plants are really filling in, and others don't show up so well. I do have a few bare spots to fill in, but most of the flower sales start next weekend, so I don't think it will be a problem.
Rhubarb anyone? It has only taken a week for it to go crazy.
My hubby built this arbor last year and we have kiwi growing up it...the female grew like crazy and the male was slow...
Here are my mason bee houses...they are hatching and putting in new ones like crazy.
Here's
my test slug trap, I am going to put something decorative on top of the plate, but they seem to work perfectly. So I will be making more and spreading them throught the garden. I have several very slug damaged plants. I am going garage saling tomorrow to see if I can find some stuff to put on the top for decoration.
It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we are supposed to have several more in a row. It is so great for the soul!
Hope everyone had a wonderful day and happy gardening!
Oh the sunny wonderful day...and the lawn mower. Now that the ground has has a chance to dry out for a couple of days, the neighborhood is alive with the sounds of lawn mowers and weed eaters. Everyone is out taking advantage of the wonderful weather.
This will be the second time our lawn has been mowed this year, and really should be the third or fouth...but we missed a couple of days last month.
I have always felt that there is nothing like a freshly mowed lawn to make the garden look better. A nice neat lawn lets the eye wander to the garden undistracted, allowing the eye to enjoy the pleasure of the flowers.
The mowing of the lawn is why I ended up with my gardens. Our backyard has a big hill and it was difficult to mow and weed eat, so my husband suggested we turn it into a garden. After that was done, he decided that the front yard was too much work, so that flower bed got bigger. He is actually trying to convince me to get rid of the front lawn all together, turn it into big garden with a patio to sit on...although I am not sure if I am up to that much work.
We shall see, but for now the lawn is mowed and the flower beds look great. Happiness on a warm spring day.
I am so excited that we are going to have one more nice day. I along with my plants are rejoicing in the sun and warmth. It is pure amazement how quickly plants grow with a little of sun.
I guess a little cooler weather and moisture is welcome...only because this weekend I was able to plant some seeds...peas, kolorabi, and squash. They join the parsnips, lettuce, broccoli, garlic, and shallots planted last November. I still need to get in carrots, potatoes and cauliflower. Then when it gets warmer, hot peppers and tomatoes.
After growing up with a garden as a child, it is nice to be able to plant a garden and have my own fresh veggies. I also got the herb garden cleaned out, the rosemary didn't like all the snow that sat on them this winter and they needed some pruning, but I think they should be fine.
Oh the joy of spring...it makes all other worries seem more manageable.
We have been enjoying spring here at soapHOUSE and we love watching the daily activities in the garden. Seems like there is something new to look at everyday! Our peach tree that is in its 3rd year has some beautiful blooms this season:
Perhap
s we will get some yummy peaches this year?
On a stroll around the garden this afternoon I noticed many spring events: The purple asparagus is starting to grow, the dogwood is budding out, the azaleas are blooming, the peonies are coming up, the phlox are all blooming, the hydrangeas have their new growth, the hardy begonia is coming back, the autumn ferns are showing their new growth and the georgia blue bells are in full bloom...I just LOVE it!
I noticed recently that the beds that we had put along either side of the driveway had done their fair share of compacting and the edges had become a bit messy, so I set out the other evening with my broom to tidy things up a bit. Little did I know that there was about a foot of driveway on either side hiding under all that pinestraw that had gotten compacted! So, that turned into quite a project. After a lot of work with the shovel, rake, broom and bare hands...I uncovered about 2 1/2 feet of driveway and have a nice tidy edge now: In these picts you can still see the line of where I cleaned up. WOW! Glad I did that. I think it makes a difference and makes things look tidyer.
The other project that has gotten under way recently is rebuilding our back deck. We knew it would need to be done when we bought the house 6 years ago and now we are finally able to do it. My husband is a carpenter so he is doing all the work himself. He has decided to use ipe wood and I am so excited to see how beautiful it will be! He has taken his vacation week at work to do the bulk of the project this coming week :)
Here is the before shot (taken about 1 year ago):
Ugh! So ugly!
Here are a couple of shots as he was doing the demo:
He said that as he was taking it apart, some of the wood literally crumbled in his hand! Pretty bad! Hard to believe we had been walking on it all this time!
Here is what it looks like now with nothing there:
We deadbolted that sunroom door closed so that we wouldn't accidentally forget and let one of the dogs go running out the door - HAH!
So this week, we should see a lot of progress on this and I will keep you all updated!
I cannot wait to start my spring seeds! I am so excited. I was told today was the first day of spring! Yipee it is on it's way!! I will start my seeds soon and of course post the pictures up on here as soon as I do.
I have been thinking about lots of cheap seed starters/containers. I thought of two ideas today:
1.) I plan to re-use the small plastic cups that the Jello brand "fruit and jello" come in. Also the regular the fruit cups that are now available. They would be perfect seed cells/containers. I will take some pictures when I start some seeds in them and be sure to post them then. The only thing that I may want to try doing would be to drill a few holes into the bottom of the containers. But these cups could be used year after year since they are pretty strong/heavy plastic.
2.) Using toilet paper or paper towel roll sections as seed cells. I am still working out the kinks in this one, but I think that if you cut 2-3" pieces (like rings). Placing them on a tray and then fill them with potting/seed starting soil and planting seeds into them. They are roughly the same size around as the seed starting biscuits that you just add water to and they expand. Everyone has them, and either they are thrown out or recycled, but I think that they could make a really great seed starter. The only concern I have at this point is that they may not hold up enough after a period of watering. I will have to test this out and see if it works. I am thrilled with this idea, so fingers crossed it works!
I have saved a peach seed that I am going to try and start (force it by refrigerating for a few months) but I have no idea how that will work. We'll just have to see. Also I have a grapefruit seed that I saved from one of my grapefruits. I had a grapefruit houseplant but I accidentally killed it (it dried out). I was so sad that it died and have wanted to try and start a new one to be as successful as I was with the original one. I just saved some apple seeds and I will try to get those to work too, but I have to do some research on how to do this first.
So, I think that tomorrow (depending on how my daughter feels since she is fighting off a cold right now) I will try to start some seeds in the various containers I have collected. I will be sure to update as I progress!
~M~
My seedlings made it through the night, and so did I!
The greenhouse stayed at 51, and the guests stayed until 2 am. The plants were much perkier than I was this morning.
My son Dan, who lives in Hawaii, surprised me and showed up on my doorstep for the party. I was so happy I cried and cried. So three out of my four children were here. Kyle, my third son, toasted me and also made me cry. A couple of weeks ago I told my daughter Makenzi that we should make the party a St. Patty's Day them, but forgot to tell her I'd nixed that idea. She showed up in a ridiculous big green bow tie, green pigtails, and green suspenders. It was quite funny when she walke in and realized she was the only one "dressed" for the occasion. There were over 50 people here, and I feel so blessed to have such an amazing group of friends. All in all a great evening.
I took a lot of pictures of the plants and the party. I'll be posting them as soon as I find the cord for my camera.
The temperature got up to 52 outside today! Spring really is going to come.
Gay Lynn
What a drastic change in the weather (again)!. Yesterday's high was only 35 degrees and today's high only 40. Too cold for me outside - I just worked with my seedlings indoors. I did go out and fill my bird feeders today in between rain showers. They were pretty empty; the birds were happy that I did that. It's supposed to stop raining and start warming up again after today - I have a few things to plant, so I hope so. The rain and wind have really done a number on my daffy's and hyacinths. They were standing up so tall and pretty, now they are just too heavy to stand up straight. Hopefully when they dry out, they'll perk back up.
She is a shrewd one, she is. The sun is shining and the sky has never been more blue. I want to throw on my flip-flops, a tank top, and a pair of comfy shorts and head out to the garden. But the weatherbug icon in the lower right corner of my computer's task bar tells another story. It's only FIFTEEN DEGREES out there!!! It's MARCH 11. Almost spring. HELLO!
A similar trick is played on me when I look in my mirror lately. I don't look or feel nearly as old as I should- but, sure enough, Mother Nature has seen fit to bless me with my fiftieth birthday on Monday. How can this be? I was just a young mother - my children tiny, my whole life ahead. The irony is, I've never been happier. Yes, Mother Nature is a tricky one!
Well I suppose I'll just keep my wrinkled fifty-year-old self inside today. I'll stare continually at the propagation trays on my kitchen table where nothing will sprout for at least a week. I'll talk to them and check on them and wonder if they need water.
I really am getting old!!!
I've been a member at this site for years but never really used it much. I'm pretty sure I've never posted to the forums but I have lurked. I'm such a lurker!!! :) Imagine my surprise when I recently came to visit the site. It's totally different than the last time I was here. It's really great so I decided to update my profile and start a blog!!
I've been thinking about keeping a gardening blog and I think this is the perfect place to do so!!! Let's see a little about myself...I've always loved to garden. I got it from my mother. I'm married no kids but I'm owned by a mini dachshund named Shaq. We've lived in our home for about 8 years and I've been working on the yard since the day we moved in. It's nothing extravagant or lavish but it's mine. :-) I have a tendency to go overboard with planting though. :) I bet I'm the only one that has that problem. ;-) I have a habit of planting things but not marking anything sometimes I don't remember where things are until they come up. :lol: So I was thinking a blog with pictures would be a great idea!!
This weekend has been great!!! This year my motto will be "work smarter not harder". Last year I really didn't do much at all to the yard. It was a really difficult time with DH's illness and our financial situation so between being really stressed and not having ANY money I just kinda gave up. :( Things are looking a little better this year financially so I'm going to try and whip my yard back into shape. I know I'm going to have a problem with the weeds but I'm going to try and catch them early and keep up with the weeding.
I've decided my first step will be to add edging to my flower beds. I think that will really help with the weeds and then the grass and flower bed won't blend in together. I tried using the little metal fencing but that doesn't seem to work so great. I bought some of the pound in edging and installed that on the flower bed on the side of the house. I think it looks pretty good!! I still have some to do something about the wire hanging and the crawl space's door. Too bad I didn't take a before pic...you could definitely see the difference!!!
My plan is to blog at least once a week and take pics of my yard as things start blooming. I'm determined to actually let the plants come up before I start buying new plants. I told you I have a tendency of going overboard. :-)
Edited to add: Please ignore the date on my camera...I have a habit of not setting it. LOL
Well, we typically get one snow a year in my neck of the woods...and thats what we got yesterday! It started really coming down while we were at church, and when service was over and the curtains were lifted, everyone cheered at the sight of "cotton balls" falling from the sky. It really was quite beautiful! It only kept up like that for a couple of hours, then it just turned to slushy rain. I did get a couple of shots of the crocus in the snow:
Here is the front yard with the nice "dusting"
Its all melted now and we are forcasted for weather in the 70's this weekend :)
My little seedlings are coming up in the veggie beds: lettuce, kale, parsley and chinese cabbage. - HORRAY! Always so nice when something goes as planned! I hope to get the rest of the mulch moved to the veggie area this weekend during the gorgeous weather.
Happy spring :)
Gardening in Texas is going to be very different from what I am used to. Back home in Seattle, they were getting snow today and here in Texas it was 77 degrees today. But my Texas gardening book and local folks tell me we can still expect a frost or two until March 10th here. So the weather is very unpredictible to me. The nurseries have bedding plants already set out and I'm eager to buy and start planting, but I noticed that some of the plants already have frost damage on them because we've had a frost since they put them on display. So even they put their plants out too early.
The house we are living in has no flower beds whatsoever - just the 14 pecan trees, some daffodils planted around the bases of a few of them and five roses along the front of the house. That's it. I am itching to plant and make beautiful flower beds, but first I have to learn what will grow here and what won't. I have started all my seeds inside like I usually do back home - I'll just have to see what grows and what doesn't. I am keeping records of what I see blooming and at what time, so I'll know what to plant. Everything seems to be blooming a little earlier here than back home. Right now I see flowering pear, flowering quince, forsythia, magnolia trees, camelia, daffodils and today I even saw some white irises blooming in one yard. Now that surprised me. I even have one little red tulip in bloom in one of the pots I planted last fall. It's very stunted though - as if it were very eager to bloom!
I did buy some azaelas the other day though - they have been overwintered outdoors and I think they will do fine. I also bought a hydrangea - I love them and I had to leave a beautiful hydrangea behind in Seattle, which I miss a lot. I hope that it will grow well here. I do not recall seeing any growing in anyone's garden when I first got here last year, but I will give it a try and see if it survives. I am going to make a list of the plants that I want to buy - it is going to be a LONG list! I know for sure that I want forsythia and there is a lilac that is supposed to grow here in the south - I want to try to find it and grow that also. I DO so love lilacs.
All the first signs of spring are just around the corner in my garden and I am loving it! I have been able to get out in the garden a fair amount lately. It is much easier to take the kids out now that the weather is a bit warmer.
We have mostly been working on spreading the giant pile of mulch and sprinkling pine straw over the beds. My next door neighbor has a front yard full of pine trees and they rake it into mounding piles around the trunks. So, they have given me permission to use some for my beds. So, I filled up the wheelbarrow and got some spreading done:
I just love the look of fresh pinestraw. I got a good bit covered. I didn't have enough to do all the beds, but they have a good covering of leaves, so they are in good shape. Its not in the budget to purchase pine straw this year, but I think this will do (especially since last year the beds got a very good thick layer).
We also took some time to look for the latest signs of spring. one of which is our crocus patch. funny thing.. the first year i had them and they bloomed, every one bloomed and it was a beautiful little patch of color. then, last year, all the foliage came up, but only one bloomed. Well, same thing happened this year. And, its the same one that bloomed. Very strange.
The daffodils have just started blooming and most of the plants are showing first signs of buds and growth.
Since we are still having cooler weather, I thought I would put out some cool season veggie seeds that I had left over. So, I put out kale, parsley, lettuce and chinese cabbage - just in one bed...hope we get something from it.
I am also putting my plans together in my brain for the veggie garden this year. I know for sure that the center bed will be turned into another perennial veggie bed. i am going to put out artichoke and poppy seeds this year. Artichokes are pernnial for us and I am counting on the poppies to self seed every year. In the other beds will go varieties of beans, tomatoes, eggplants, marigolds, nastursums and basils.
I am also thinking that the mulch that I have left over will go in between the veggie beds...I am getting tired of mowing that obstacle course- LOL!
Have a great week everyone!
I'm hearing a Cardinal outside just singing up a storm! In the past few days I've heard the chirps and singing of Robins too...what a nice reminder that Spring isn't too far away.
In my class at school, the kids were busy building with legos and one happened to notice a ladybug just crawling around the table. They screamed, Miss. Mary!, there's a bug over here, come quick!! As I walked up to the table, and offered my hand to the little bug...the kids just looked at me...how can you let a bug crawl around on your hand? Oh, I don't mind at all.. this one little girl was actually frightened of this little creature..she kept saying....don't ladybugs bite? They don't bite I said. They are a gardener's friend. They eat the harmful bugs that try to destroy plants. She wasn't convinced. :)
I enjoy my work with the kids. They are a lot of fun.
Is it Spring yet, at your house?
I'm happy to be back on the garden guide forum. I have kept myself busy over the summer months. One is I started my own little business.. of making my own soy candles. I also make my own natural herbal soaps as well, I had been looking for a facial soap that wouldn't dry out my skin and cause redness, so the herbal soaps are an answer to my prayer.
BTW...if anyone was wondering about my Father-in-law....yes he is doing better...and went to work almost immediately. So this is good.
I've missed you all! And especially now since Spring is "trying" to come around the corner! I have noticed some little green leaves and stems popping up from the cold frozen ground. Amazing.
With the rise in prices at the grocery store.... we are planning to expand on our garden. This past summer's heat was just so trying on the plants....we tried hard to get everything to grow...but it just didn't work. Even my brother's garden failed in some areas, which actually made me feel a little better.
Is anyone doing a seed swap on this forum?
I'm just sooooo tired of all the cold temps and snow...although we didn't have as much as other's did....and it IS SNOWING again out there!!!! yikes.... *it doesn't seem to be snowing now*...I just looked out the window. GOOD. Maybe it will stay away for good.
Well, hope to hear from you guys and gals... Have a blessed weekend and Happy Valentines Day!
~Mary~ aka Flower-Power
Now is the time to start the spring time gardening. Here in IL, we have received so much rain that there has even been some flooding. We are fortunate to not have had any flooding right where we live, but all the rain has slowed us up in being able to till the garden and plant our seeds and small plants. I am so looking forward to being able to get out into the garden. I just love gardening. And last years garden was such a success, that I am praying this years will be as great, if not greater! I want to plant similar things as I did last year, like lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach (which I think I love the most of all the spring crops), peas and so forth. In addition to my garden being a success, I pray your is a success as well. God bless all who read this post.
RubyRedTomatop>
I just got some manure top dressing down before last nights gentle rain! Gentle rain is really cool, because here in Texas it usually is either bone dry or knee deep.
I went out this morning to pull a few weeds and inspect the manure soaking (yes, that is what I call excitement these days). I was all hunched down there yanking out tiny weeds, and stood up too close to the tree. I bumped a limb and received a nice dose of raindrops down the back of my shirt. After doing a little jig and sneaking a peek to see if any of my neighbors saw that ( Whew!), I turned my gaze towards the limb all prepared to give it a stern talking to. But I stopped in my tracks...
Well, lookie here!
I have counted about 10 blooms so far. They turn into fruits as the flower is pushed off. They will be ripe in late October.
and the mama tree (My 4th season with this pom - I am guessing it is 6 yrs total(?)):
It is hard to believe that we are almost in April. The last two and a half weeks have been a blur of activites, none of which are garden related.
Two of our daughters were home for their spring breaks at seperate times, with a short overlap. It was nice to spend time with each of them and the family as a whole. The third daughter also had a week break and it was different than the other also. Time with her has been spent looking at colleges in an effort to make a selection. There are still two more to view and then it will be time to make her selection. It has been fun but at the same time un nerving. The thought of financing another college education is a bit scary. This step forward in her life is going to be a great one for her and I am happy for her. For DH and I it means changes at home based on the empty nest-that will be fun and scary in its own right.
Part of the spring break activities inclued sewing a medival style dress for one daughter and that was great fun. Easter was quite. All in all it was fun to spend time as a family and we are all on the count down to HS graduation, college selection, and the summer.
THere have been meetings to attend, work that needed completion and interest outside my gardening that I have been focusing my energy on. Additionally, my computer is dying a slow death. First the internet connection went arye and now the blue screen of death seems to be with me more than not. By the good graces of our daughter I write here today. After all the high ticket repairs on two of our cars in the last two weeks, I don't see a new computer in the near future.
While I have spent quality time in the garden of my family, I am looking forward to getting my hands into the earth. I have missed my connections here at GG.
On the gardening front, my greenhouse blew over in the big windstorm but fortunately wasn't damaged too much. We are hoping to get it set back up tomorrow so that I can refocus my energy back on gardening. The signs of spring are everywhere, green here and there..........getting bigger by the day........and the email notification that UPS will be delivering bare roots on monday!
The tumble has been tumbled, but not enough moisture so I have altered that and will continue to tumble. Both sides are going now. Manure will be delivered by my neice in a couple of weeks and next week it is time to put the first pea seeds in the ground.
I am, still very excited about spring coming, sharing in the creation of beautiful plants..............garden on!
I have always bought the $1 starter plants as I have a relatively small plot (16x8) and very little time, skill, or patience.
Eager to get started this year, but fearing one more March frost, I gazed longingly at the little peat cups and at the 4-sided Tower of Babel on a swivel. It was filled with seeds of every sort and so many packages! I am partial to edibles but couldn't resist a pack of echinacea (purple coneflowers) and some other perty, young, colorful things.
With high hopes, I decide to take the plunge. I even bought a bag of seeding dirt and a bag of compost - which I can never get into the cart without thinking of my dad back in Mississippi. I'd say, "I'm a real city slicker now, they just tricked me into paying real US dollars for a bag full of cow droppings!"
Having grown up pretty rural, that thought never ceases to amuse me. I can see ol' Cecil laughing out loud as he loads one more plastic bag with cow chips for the city slickers. Shaking his head, he knocks the dust from his seat and climbs back into a 1978 Chevy and heads across the fields for home-spun supper. But, I digress.
I filled each peat cup with a level of seeding dirt. Deciding to err on the side of BrownThumb-caution, I elected to place about 5 seeds per bin. Mind drifting, the thought of Easter eggs crossed my mind as the peat containers reminded me of my formative years dyeing Easter eggs with my Mom.
I made little tags to mark each section. "Let's see: 4 rows of cilantro, 2 Jalapeño, 2 of these new fangled gargantuan Jalapeños, one row of my experiment (broccoli), 1 row of eggplant and some bell peppers." Into each bin, I gingerly spread the seeds apart from each other, taking care to insert them to the exact depth called for on each package, checking each with an electronic seed-sensing caliper.
(OK, I made that last part up. You get one outrageous lie per blog entry from me - then I'm spent.)
I was nearly OCD in my attention to spacing, count, and marking. One more row... I reached for the scissors, nipped off the corner and shook out a few seeds. As I reached to place the last packet back on the table, the package caught the edge of the table. And that's when my over-active reflexes altered my planting season with both drama and flair.
Snatching frantically at the opened package of seeds, my right hand shot forward, catching the package in mid-air...
...and continued on to arc through every open pack of seeds that I had placed (intelligently) just above my seeding tray. Both hands became a frenzied blur sandwiching all the packets for a timely save.
" awHahw Hohhn!! Not zo fest my leetle frends!", I thought in my very best cheesy Three Musketeers-fake-French-accent.
Somewhere about mid-gloat I noticed that both jalapeno packages were upside down and gloriously raining seeds across 90% of my seed trays. They fell in slow motion, tumbling, catching sunlight on the way down like little tiny fire-laden jewels.
Well.
Dang.
Staring down at my assortment of what appeared to be some 200 seeds and more than a little disgusted with myself, I opted to bury them all and let God sort 'em out. Having wounded my pride and lost my patience, I walked to a 10 gallon pot with last season's weeds growing in it. I hacked the weeds lickety split and sowed the remaining seeds helter skelter with all the care that a hacked-off gardner can muster. I dumped a little cover soil on top and spun on my heel to leave. Harrrrrumph!
So now I have trays full of seeds - moistened up and placed to get just a little reflected sunlight. Before long, my terribly skilled efforts have produced many seedlings - most of which are jalapeno, I am sure. I got excited all over again, forgave my idiocy, and began to dote over my little seedlings. There's just something cool about going to seed!
That is, until they began to look a little sickly. So I tried to place them outside for a small dose of afternoon sunlight. This is apparently a bad thing. The next day, all of my 1 1/2 inch seedlings promptly fell over like tiny trees at Mount St Helens. Now, I am confused. This is a pattern I repeat in various forms over a couple of cycles and now I have NO seedlings successfully sprouted in my crazy little peat pot experiment.
Ironically, the helter skleter planting method in full sun has produced a pot full of healthy looking sproutlings. How amazing is that?! Yesterday, I think when I walked by the pot I heard a tiny chorus of voices yelling, "Maama, Mama!"
...which is kind of unsettling since I'm a guy.
If anyone can expound a little on the best methods of veggie seeding, I think we can all agree it is worth my time to study it.
Trowel on,
BrownThumb
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