Note to self: Babies and cacti are a combination to be avoided at all costs in the future.
— Gardening Lesson #1 for 2013
Hello Spring!
Today, the little one and I swung by our local garden center. It’s one of our favorite things to do. She’s crazy about plants and so am I.
As we walk through the parking lot, I can feel her little body tense with excitement in my arms. She recognizes the buildings, the colors, the trellises, and the big bags of garden soil.
“Flower! Flower! Flower!” Her hands flail in the air. She is all smiles, but she wants “Down! Down! Down!”
The minute we’re in the greenhouse, I set her down. She runs to the nearest ranunculus and gives it’s big red blooms a big, baby kiss. My heart melts.
Hello spring! We’re all so happy you’re finally here.
Hmmmmmm……
If you garden, “Hmmmmm…..” has come out of your mouth at least once. What kind of tomatoes do I plant this year? Do I have room for another hosta in this bed? Should I weed or pour myself a glass of wine and call it a day?
Like they say in real estate: lots of potential!
This week, it’s been this bed. Sure, there are lots of pretty things going on, but some stuff isn’t working. I’ve got a big gap in the middle, which was supposedly going to be filled with foxglove and poppies. They declined the invitation and stayed stunted. Those foxglove were expensive, too, when I got them last year! Wankers! There is short stuff behind taller stuff. I apparently can’t grow mint to save my life. (For the novice gardener who may be reading, this is like not being able to boil water.) The Japanese iris didn’t bloom very well, despite being quite large. (The mint needs more sun. The iris needs to be split and planted with the rhizomes closer to the surface.)
So, I’ll be moving a few things around in late August. It’s too hot now, and by not doing this task next spring, everyone should have a good headstart so they are fabulous next year. Meanwhile, I’ll be settling into one of those Adirondack chairs with a book and a glass of vino, enjoying the view, ignoring the flaws and imbibing in the scent of the heliotrope planted nearby.
In contrast, here is a part of the garden that is hitting it out of the park this year.
Poppies, daylily, tradescantia, lilium, volunteer daisies
Busy.
Oh, hi. I’ve been busy gardening, and now the big spring push is done. I’ve re-planted a couple beds, cleared another of lily-of-the-valley and got the vegetables in.
The freshly weeded seating area
I absolutely love this time of year. Not much has gone wrong–there’s been no time, really–and all the plants are small and perfect, with even more perfect futures ahead of them. My beets and chard will sprout and grow unmolested by rabbits. I will certainly never forget to water the pots: no wilted gerbera daisies this year! The sickly dahlia I managed to step on will nonetheless grow tall and hardy with countless blooms.
The garden in miniature
Ok, a few things have gone wrong. The daisies have already wilted.Slugs have razed the lungwort. I began seed-starting late and the tomatoes plants were all of 4″ tall when I planted them a week before Memorial Day. (That went right! It was early.)
I finally found the right combo for this tough spot
But holy cow, check out my peas–planted in what is usually the dead of winter, March 18th. They will be put into a spicy rice noodle and beef concoction this week.
Naturally, I meant to get these tied up....
What are you most excited about this year? Are you growing anything for the first time, or looking forward to old favorites?
The seating area with Geranium 'Biokovo' in full flower with Tradescantia--spiderwort--doing back-up
Happy Memorial Day!
Remember those artificial poppies that veterans used to sell for Memorial Day? I loved those. The delicate feel of the red crepe paper, the crinkled round petals and dark centers that I still adore.
When I was a kid it seemed those poppies were everywhere this time of year. My mom would always let me get one – just one – and I’d wear/play with the thing until it disintegrated.
As an adult, I couldn’t wait to plop some poppies in my garden. I’m crazy about my orange Oriental Poppies and purple Icelandic Poppies. But in honor of the holiday I picked up a packet of the traditional red Corn Poppy that started it all for me.
I never see the poppy-selling vets around anymore, so I’ll be growing my own. Happy Memorial Day, everyone!
Meet Buttercup
* Not actually pictured
Yesterday, while out hunting for various home-improvement supplies, I made an impulsive stop at Petco. I was thinking that our pond seemed very empty and lonely (except for the VERY LOUD toads!) and wanted to get a few goldfish, to test out if I could keep them alive, and to add some life to our beautiful pond.
Alas, the pet store was out of little goldfish, and I was so disappointed. But the clerk helpfully pointed me toward the koi tank, and encouraged me that I could easily keep a koi alive.
So I picked out a pretty yellow koi about 5″ long, got a crash course, and came home and put her in the pond. She swam around for a while, nibbling at algae, and seemed reasonably happy. When my husband got home, I excitedly brought him out to the pond to meet our new pet (who I have since named Buttercup). It took us about 10 minutes to find her, she was laying very close to the bottom of the pond and very still, and blended in perfectly with the rocks.
We were worried, but she was alive, exploring the grit at the bottom of the pond and moving her fins slowly. The water is still a bit cold (but not too cold for koi) so research indicated that she would get more active as the water warmed up.
Since then, she has completely disappeared! There are lots of hiding spots in our pond, and we were outside most of the afternoon so I think she’s still alive. Hopefully she will come back out to meet us when she’s gotten a little braver.
Any koi enthusiasts among our readers? We would love to hear more about how to care for our newest addition.
A corner of sanity
I usually find gardening meditative. Pulling weeds, digging my hands into the dirt – all these things calm me and help me focus on things other than the stresses of life. But the work required to tame the jungle that is our new garden has been anything but soothing.
Whenever there is a clear evening where I’m home while it’s still light out, I put on my gardening gloves and head out to tackle another area of the yard. Years of neglect mean that the most aggressive weeds have survived and thrived and I’m losing the battle.
So this week, I decided that I needed one area of the yard that is DONE.
My corner of sanity
I filled three big paper yard waste bags with weeds, lined up the stones that had migrated around the area, and put down a healthy layer of mulch to prevent more weeds from popping up.
I can’t tell you how therapeutic it is to have one area DONE, complete. Even though there will surely be more work in this area it feels fantastic to know that I can build upon this and tackle additional spots around the yard in this way.
What do you do when the work in your garden overwhelms you?
We’re taking a moment to update our blog with a new template and a new blog! We hope all of our changes will be ready by the first week in June.
Are You Jealous of My Trellis?
I am over the moon about the new “Green Arrow” shelling peas I ordered from Seed Savers for this season. I’ve never grown peas before, nor have I shelled them, so this counts as a garden experiment for me.
Of course, peas need to climb. So I tasked my husband with building a trellis system for me.
(FYI for those considering a trellis: there a lot of ways to build one. A lot. Just google “pea trellis” and you’ll get a more choices than you can shake a bamboo plant stake at.)
An easy-to-build trellis!
We picked a simple design. It’s essentially two three-foot-tall wooden rectangles leaned against each other at the top. The crossbar at the bottom keeps the trellis from collapsing… until we need it to fold down and overwinter in the attic. You can make the trellis as long or as high as you want.
I strung twine to give the peas something to climb. I intentionally chose a natural sisal twine over string. Once the season is over, I’ll cut the twine and plop the whole shebang – spent pea vines and all – into the composter. Easy peasy! (Pun intended.)
Between the cedar boards, nails and twine, you can pull this baby together for less than $15 and an hour of work.
Which is totally worth it for a crop of these beauties:
Photo from seedsavers.org
Mystery Plants
All right, garden sleuths, put your detective caps on. I’ve got a plant mystery in need of solving.
This plant has popped up in 4 places in the garden. A neighbor told me it was a weed, but its location and shrubby growing pattern have caused me to hesitate to yank it.
Help me identify this plant!
Here are 2 more...
Any ideas? Or do any of our readers have a good online source for weed identification?