Flowers. Splash of color post!

I wanted to have a half barrel to go on the side of the garage but when I saw a planter with a stand it was meant to be. Originally I was using 2 planters one upside down with the other on top, it worked well and I thought it was a neat idea. This new one looks so much better!

Picture taken June 09

Flowers. Splash of color post!

It's December which means it's time for some summer flashbacks full of color!

This container is low to the ground but wide.


I wanted to dress up a stump in the front of the house with a half barrel, who knew they were so expensive, so this was a great compromise. Yes, I nailed the sucker to the tree just in case someone came by with sticky fingers!

Cherry Tree

I've got a beautiful cherry tree in my front yard, this isn't the greatest picture as the blossoms are falling off. Not exactly part of a garden but it really puts a splash of color onto the lawn! Every Mother's Day the girls and I take our picture under the blooming tree!
This picture was taken late May 2009

Hostas Splash of color post

I've got variegated hostas (right side) that do very well and I think those are autumn splendor (left side), they turn pink in the fall. These babies really do love their spot!
Picture taken May 09


Here are my full green hostas (all my hostas were transplanted from my mother in law's garden) next to them are lilly's (I think). It's crowded but I'm not transplanting anything until we fix the walk way.
Picture taken May 09

Tulip Tree in Bloom! Splash of color post!

A splash of color from the summer. Guess what I saw in June? Tulip flowers on a Tulip tree! I've lived here for 12 years and not once have I seen them bloom. Either I haven't noticed or they are sneaky ones!

Garden life connected to real life?

I love reading gardening blogs. One I frequent is New York City Garden Today he pondered if there was a link between garden life and his life (overcrowding, etc.)

My comment was...
"I hope my garden doesn't reflect the type of person I am. This year due to the rain, there was hardly any harvest. I hope the fall garden does better. Think of it this way, every year in the garden is different, like our lives are filled with ups and downs. Just keep growing in life and in the garden!"

Garden Visitor

I was all ready to start the day with heavy duty gardening and then I saw a garden visitor.



It's ok, he can have the garden today.

I'll check back tomorrow....

What is this plant?

I planted onion sets, never grew, just stayed the same. Guess they didn't like my plastic under the bed container box. My thought is poor drainage. Live and learn. I'll move them to the raised bed garden for a early spring harvest and try some in the fall Earth Box which should ship any day.

This is what grew instead. What is this plant? It's NOT an onion! It's 6 feet tall!





The bottom looked like an Iris plant, where the stems are fanned out.


The top makes me think it's some kind of grass going to seed.


Is it Johnson grass? I'm not an expert. How did it get in my box?! Would have rather had the onions!!! Thanks for any help!

Slugfest: Guess how many came?

While in my upper garden I found a slug, killed it. Looked slightly to my right and saw another. Couldn't squish it with my foot like the other (too gross) so I thought I'd get a bucket of soapy water. Wrong. I looked up and saw dozens over the fence in the grass making their way to the garden. I freaked! You would too! I ran inside and grabbed the salt shaker, ran back outside and started to shake. One, two, nine............want to guess where it goes?
Fifteen, Thirty (yes I got up to thirty), Fifty (surely I must be joking....NO!). I ended up with 60 before the squeamish of the event before I was ready for the white coat with sleeves wrapped in the back. This was early morning, I thought they only came out at night. It seemed they were all coming from some weeds and spent raspberry bushes. Next year I might put a barrier over there and they can live on their side and I'll garden on mine. Gross!

EarthBox

I just ordered Earthboxes using a 15% off code: AUGSALE09 Thanks to my sister in law who received an email. The earlier free shipping code last month would have worked out to a better savings. Maybe they will do it again down the road and I can get more if these work out, which I'm sure they will!

Today in the garden...

Today in the garden I worked up a sweat due to humidity. Last of the lettuce & peas were sown. There's still cauliflower & broccoli to transplant but will wait till they are bigger. Next month I'll plant garlic. I also hooked up the 2 roof spouts in the back of the house to buckets to collect rain water. Crude set up just to see if it will work. I hope the fall garden is better then the spring.

Seeds for 2010 Spring Garden (and 2009 Fall)

I ordered seeds for a late fall crop to supplement the fall crop I started plus I'm buying for next springs garden. Renee's Garden is having a 30% off sale, which I've been waiting for!


Beans, Pole Tricolor
Beans, Edamame
Runner Beans, Magic Beanstalk
Carrots, Round Romeo
Cucumber, Endevor
Eggplants, Italian Trio
Greens, Crispy Winter Salad
Peppers, Jewel-Tone Sweet Bells
Radish, Easter Egg II Mix
Scallions, Delicious Duo
Spinach, Catalina
Squash, Zucchini, Tricolor Mix
Squash, Delicata & Butternut
Tomato, Cherry, Garden Candy
Chives, Garlic
Morning Glory, Early Call

I was very happy to get those Easter Egg Radish seeds! Only thing I wasn't able to get were fava beans. In order to get a jump on early healthy plants because not all of mine did so well (deer ate most), I'll be purchasing regular tomato plants at the nursery along with brussel sprouts & romaine lettuce (if the seeds from this years plant don't work). Other than that I've got all my seeds bought earlier this year plus some that I've saved from this years crop, like the jalapeno pepper from mine & my brother/sister in laws garden.

I found an old soaker hose in the basement, woo hoo! I'll hook it up to the fall garden once I find a plug for the other end. The deer were able to open up the gate and eat more tomatoes, grrrrr! I lost a squash plant to slugs, the zuchini plant below just isn't producing anymore. I'll need to stake the eggplants, luckily they have lots growing on them (for now). I'm waiting for the romaine to go to seed before I pull and compost. Most radishes were a bust, sigh. The cucumbers are growing nicely! Cherry tomatoes keep popping out. I made a rhubarb/strawberry pie (rhubarb from garden). So not all is a loss this year. Darn rain (and deer!)!

I've got a lot of plans for next year. They include more raised beds, Earth Boxes, and self watering containers. Go green thumb!

Some garden pictures

What's with all the ants running around my garden?


The Romaine lettuce, well, what was left after the deer attacked it, is now going to seed.
I'll be saving some!


One of the yellow crooked neck squash plants after I deslugged it!


Come on tomatoes, hurry up and turn red!


Jalapeno peppers!


Just a quick shot at the garden. Next year I'd like to have some flowers mixed in for color.
Green is so bland! Plus I'd like more bees to come by and help pollinate.


Fall seeds are growing

Woman vs Bird Strawberry battle, guess who won?

Here is the only strawberry I was able to taste this season.

The bird got the rest!

Remember the picture of mama bird?
Well here are the babies...


But....
We did get to eat some Raspberries that were growing all on their own.

I've started to save seeds

I started saving seeds and chose the best looking marigolds, petunias, and jalapeno peppers (from brother/sister in laws garden). Next year I'm going to try their seeds and the seeds I bought this year.

I saw a bee!

It was early morning when I went out to take a updated picture of the fall raised bed garden and heard a buzz. I turned around and saw a bee. Mental note for next year...plant more flowers to attract more bees.





He/She wouldn't cooperate and look at the camera so we only see it's back end! Hey, as long as it was doing it's job I'm fine with that!

The Zucchini are coming, the zucchini are coming!

Imagine me doing a happy dance!

Eggplant Pest

I just got rid of a TON of these pests and found one that came back. I flicked him off and will be checking daily for more.

Fall Raised Bed

Wow, what a difference a few days, a bit of sunshine, and some rain will do.

Picture taken Monday 20th


Picture taken Thursday 23rd


Picture taken Thursday 30th (notice more pots!)

My Garden Cart

This is my garden cart. It's so old but was kept in the basement for years and years. I was able to get it via a click for points program so it was practically free!

May 2009


July 2009

Garlic Harvest

It's only one, sort of an experiment. Right now it's drying. I'm looking into a fall planting. Perhaps I'll use a plastic under the bed box like I did with my onions and corn. This way I can bring the container under the deck during the cold winter and bring it back out when the weather gets warmer. We shall see. Lots to think about!

More planting

I did another batch of cauliflower, peas, broccoli, lettuce, pepper & spinach. I hope the fall spinach works because the spring didn't.

Newpaper dilema solved!

The debate on colored ink newspaper being good or bad for the garden had me on the fence about what to do. So I compromised, colored ink as a weed barrier for the walkways and black/white ink for mulching the garden. Sounds good to me!

This weekend I put down 3-4 sheets in the walkway right before the rain came. I also added some to the corn and lettuce. I wish I had grass clippings to go on top but hubby is using the mulching mower.
The pots are there temporarily to hold down the paper while the rain came down to wet it.





Plus I used organic fertilizer on most of the plants in the upper and lower raised beds. It was a busy gardening weekend!

Tomato Happiness!

They are turning red and I have lots more green ones on most plants. Crossing my fingers that the plants stay happy and healthy! Hubby has been waiting for tomatoes.

Black Bean Flowers!

The bush black beans are bushy and started showing flowers!