soaphouse's Blog

Veggie Installation
Apr 17, 2010 | 3:37 PM PST
Tags: borghese , brandywine , ichiban , eggplant , sunflower , black prince , cherokee purple , german queen , purple basil , squash , datura , cucumber , sweet 100 , heirloom

My wonderful parents took our kids for an overnight yesterday and I took the opportunity to go shopping for veggies and work in the garden! I haven't been able to spend such a concentrated amount of time in the garden for a long time - it was glorious! I started my adventure by hitting several local nurseries and big box stores to find my desired assortment of veggies. It was especially nice to have a record of last year's plantings as well as the successes and failures - all things I had written about in previous posts. So, I pulled up the old entries, printed them off for reference and took them with me to the nurseries. Here is a picture of the beds all planted up: (Doesn't look like much yet - but it will soon!)

From back to front, left to right here is what I planted:

BED 1

Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato
Principle Borghese Heirloom Tomato 
Brandywine Heirloom Tomato
Ichiban Egglplant
Mammoth Sunflower (seed)
Nasturtium "Fordhook Favorites Mix" (seed)
Marigold "Crackerjack Mix" (seed)
Italian Choice Basil (seed)
Red Burgundy Onion (Seed)

BED 2 (this is the bed that I had put artichokes in and they appeared to be coming back, but seem dead now :( )

Mammoth Sunflower (seed)
Sunflower "Summer Cutting Garden" (seed)
Garden Bush Beans "Contender" (seed)
Soybean "seed"

BED 3 (this bed stays the same as it contains the bee balm, purple asparagus and strawberries, I did top dress it with a mixture of moonure and topsoil)

BED 4 (also still has some brussel sprout plants from winter)

Black Prince Heirloom Tomato
Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato - 2 plants
German Queen Heirloom Tomato
Purple Basil
Jalapeno
Mammoth Sunflower (seed)

Nasturtium "Fordhook Favorites Mix" (seed)
Marigold "Crackerjack Mix" (seed)
Italian Choice Basil (seed)
Red Burgundy Onion (Seed)

BED 5 (still has parsley, spinach and swiss chard from winter)

Crookneck Squash
White Eggplant
Ichiban Eggplant
Cucumber "burpless bush"
Carrots (seeds)
Mammoth Sunflower (seed)

I also bought some fennel seed but can't figure out where to put it. I think I will let everything germinate and then see where I have room for it. According to last year's notes, I wanted to grow cucumber and carrots this year for the kids and crookneck squash to make casseroles with. I also noted that we only enjoyed the asian eggplants and only wanted to grow heriloom tomatoes this year. And, finally that I wanted an entire bed devoted to sunflowers so that i have some for cutting. So, there we are and here we grow :)

I was so excited too to find a purple datura plant at the local nursery!

We had one of these a couple of years ago, but it never re-seeded itself like my white one do - so I am excited to try it again!

And, I picked up several things to fill our container by the front steps:

I found that gorgeous Heuchera, "Tiramisu," then added a purple fountain grass in the back and put a purple wave petunia and hot pink petunia in the front. I am excited to see how this mix does through the season. This is a weird spot as it is under the eave of the porch and get either Full Sun or Full Shade, depending on the time of day. I may leave the heuchera in the pot to come back, or a may transplant it into the azalea shade bed at the end of the season - I am not sure yet.

Speaking of the azalea shade bed - it is only the 3rd season in 7 years that we have lived here that we have gotten to enjoy the azaleas in all their glory. They usually get zapped by a late season frost:

I picked  up some white caldium bulbs to put in the other shade bed to the left of this one. I have never grown caladiums from bulbs before, but they were on sale, 3 for $1. I got 6 - I figure even if they don't make it, I will only be out $2. Here is a shot of the bed where I put them:

The hydrangeas in this bed are looking great   - as well as the hellebore seedlings that a neighbor gave me season.

My dear sweet hubby trampled my hostas in the front yard the other day during a play time with the kids:

He felt so bad that he went and bought be some new ones after work yesterday!

S
o sweet of him! I will wait for all my hostas to fully come up and then I will asses where to add these in.

 I am so super excited that my "globe master" alliums may actually look like something this year! I got these on sale through the mail a couple of seasons ago and they are finally starting to look promising:

M
y mail-order tree peonie that was planted from bare-root and said to be purple, looks like it is going to pop soon - in pink! I know it will still be pretty :0

The madame alfred cartierre roses on the arbor in the back are starting to bud out and they are just the pretties blush rose color - even though they were sold as being white! I still love them!

Here is a nice shot of the arbor and the bed to the right of it that has all of the peonies and alliums in it:

I am loving the virburnum in that bed as well, so pretty this time of year!

The coral bark maple really leafed out nicely and looks pretty with the blue grass under it:

I plan on that grass filling the majority of the bed and acting as a nice mulch/ground cover for the maple.

Here is a wider view of the back yard:

Here is a shot of the front of the house as you are coming around from the back:

I just love the way the japanese maple is looking! We call her "Jane." My husband used to work for a "white-glove" moving service in Atlanta and they moved Jane Fonda at one point. Her designer had purchased this tree and had it potted for Jane's new place, but apparantly, Jane did not approve, so she gave it to my husband! WOO HOOO! We kept it in the pot until we bought this house 7 years ago - it was one of the first things we put in the ground:)

And finally, here is a nice shot of the front porch bed:

Hope you are all having a great weekend in the garden!