Garden Notes: June 2nd..

 

In gardening, and life for that matter, one marvels at the difference a few days can make. The above pic is one I posted in my last photo album of two iris beds that were still just a sea of green leaves and stalks. Not much to look at for the moment, but within a week's time the sea of green had turned into a sea of color...

 

I have to say that it is the one thing I look forward to the most in my gardening every year. More so than that first tomato, or batch of fresh corn so many other gardeners look forward to. It's when the iris come into bloom that I wait for. A lot of people will argue that the bloom time is to short to bother with them as a perennial, but if you were to vary the different kinds of iris planted you could easily have blooms for 3-4 weeks or more. There are so many different cultivars and colors and sizes, that any garden can surely find room for at least one of these plants known as the poor man's orchid.

I will be uploading some more pics in an album of some of the last of the blooms. I will apologize in advance in that some of the pics are not the best. Using up some old film, one of the rolls when developed had a slightly purple or bluish cast over so many of the pics. I tried picking out the clearest and best. I am not sure if it is the film it's self or a mix up in the processing. So I wasn't able to get all of the photos of the different kinds blooming that I wanted to post here. Out of the pics posted you will see I have a love for purple and have so many varying shades of purple and lavendar iris. Also included in the pics are more peony pics of a second variety of yellow peony that bloomed last week.

Thanks to all of you who have been writing and posting pics about your gardens and flowers. Keep those blogs and updates coming!

Happy Gardening!

Garden Notes: May 19, 2010

 

I've been tickled green seeing all of the blogs and notes on what people have been growing and planting in their gardens. Seeing the pics has me itching to cruise the garden centers and nursery aisles for more plants to create more splashes of color in my own yard.

It's been difficult getting much planted though lately. Every other day it seems to be raining and while the flowers look fantastic this year, keeping up with the weeding has been a huge struggle. I imagine it is the same with all of you though.

I haven't got much new to report on my garden notes for this week. The iris are at their peak of bloom at the moment and I know I need to get out there and snap a few pics. I will however upload a few pics of the very last bit of blooms from this past week of the tree peonies, as well as adding a few pics of the very first of the iris to bloom. Iris are an addiction of mine, and in one of the pics is two of the four beds of irs that I have. I still  have bit to add to those beds, and hope to expand them this fall.

Keep your blogs and notes and pics coming of your gardens and plantings, and let us know what is growing in your own back yard.

Happy Gardening!....(and weeding!)

 

* the above pic is of a spirea if you haven't already guessed *

Garden Notes: May 9th

 

Happy Mother's Day to all of the ladies here on Multiply. Whether you are a mom, grandmother, aunt, sister, friend, or just someone who helps to mold the life of a child or offer support to others,  thanks for all that you do.

Mother's Day has come to be synonymous with flowers. It seems moms always get the day off, lunch out with family, and usually a bouquet of some sort of flowers, or perhaps a planter, or flowers for them to plant themselves. I know every year I opt to buy my mom flowers and a lot of times I end up doing the planting for her. This year with the weather being so cold (see Misty and Trudi's blog pages for snow pics, yikes!) I am waiting to get her any flowers as we both agreed  the tender annuals could possibly freeze.

My tomato and pepper plants still sit at the back patio door and as itchy as I am to plant them, I am waiting at least another week or so before setting them out. Some of the seedlings still need a little more growth time as well, so I am in no hurry. Rain seems to be in the forecast for a lot of this upcoming week, so it may be another week of "could of, should of's" for gardening. I have been out a bit wandering around today, and there are a few more blooms that I snapped a few pics of, that I will try and post  next week sometime. I have been trying to use up some old 35 mm film that I have had for I don't know how long. I did notice that the pics taken last time seem to be a bit washed out. Whether that is from the film being old, the processing, or just this picture taker I don't know. I do know that I didn't linger long on those windy days and so a few pics are a bit blurry. I will still go ahead and post them in an album today.

The pic at the top of this blog is from a north facing flower bed and if you look closely you will see that even though the foliage looks very similar, there is a wayward fern that has decided to grow smack dab in the middle of my astilbe. For now I will leave it, but this fall there will be some shuffling of plants to find it more room. Walking around I noticed I had a lot of plants that seemed to have a mind of there own and they meandered around to where ever they had a notion. For the most part I don't mind that. I like carefree cottage gardens and gardens that look like mother nature took a part in it's design. I guess a lot of my gardening style could be considered as a somewhat ordered chaos. I do have some flower beds though, such as iris that I have planted in rows, and then I have other iris beds that are a riot of color in their mixed informal settings.

That got me to thinking how no two gardeners really do things the same way, that we each have a different approach or style to gardening. Arguments are made for certain varieties of plants, mulching material, fertilizers, and a host of other things that help each of us to bring about the fruition of our efforts. So my question is for you today and this coming week is to tell us about your gardening style. Are you a perfectionist? Are your plants labeled? Do you follow color themes? Just how do you approach your gardens, landscapes, and planter boxes?

Gardens and the people that make them can be an inspiration, so don't be afraid to share even the smallest hint, or tip, or pic of what makes up you and your gardens and plantings.

Happy Growing!

Garden Notes: May 4th

 

I don't have a lot new to report on my gardening process. The weeds keep growing, small walnut seedlings keep sprouting up from squirrel plantings, and I keep finding myself acquiring more stuff to plant when I am hardly caught up with what I already need to do. I can feely admit all of that as I know you fellow gardeners suffer the same illness as me,lol.

My second tree peony has started to bloom, and more iris are sending up stalks. I will do my best to take pics when they bloom to post on here. One of the things I am hoping to be more aware of is planting by the moon signs this year. Kanga Roo posted a blog awhile back on planting by the moon and I have been checking the farmer's almanac for specific dates listed for planting. I don't know if there is any truth to the notion or not, but I will try to follow it closely and report my results at the end of the year.

I haven't got much new planted but I did attend a small local garden club's plant sale and picked up a few interesting things. A variegated yucca, ornamental grass, and a couple heirloom tomato plants. Having already started some tomato plants I didn't really need any more but still came home with two tomato plants. One variety called "kellogg's breakfast" which is an orange variety that I googled for in the picture above. The other variety was called "Nicky Crain" which I found listed as a pink ox-heart type.

Last year was such a bust for all my hot weather crops, that I decided to give the "Mortgage Lifter" tomatoes another chance. Also started from seed were "Giant Belgium" , "Red Brandywine" , and an old stand by variety "Better Boys". If they all live and produce I will have tomatoes coming out my ears. Keeping my fingers crossed that at least my two new acquired tomato plants are not lopped off by a rabbit or crushed under the weight of my neighbors dog that likes to dig.

While googling for info on the tomato plants, I came across an interesting website that had me itching to buy even more seed. I have refrained though and have bookmarked it for next year. I was particularly impressed with the different varieties of sweet potato plants they offered and who knows, maybe I will weaken and order some even though I will have to take an assortment of what they have left to offer. Also listed were some interesting pumpkins and a particular pie pumpkin described as having a sort of "netting" on the skin like a muskmelon sounded interesting. The website is www.sandhillpreservation.com . If you are interested in seedsavers or preserving genetics and heirloom seeds, it is an interesting read.

I haven't planted much in the way of flowers yet, but with Mother's day looming this week-end, I will most likely buy something for my mom at the local garden center as well as acquire a few things for myself. Will let you know how I fare on that shopping expedition at a later date.. Happy planting and an early Happy Mother's day to all of you fellow addicts!

 

Garden Notes...

 

The other day I was chatting with Vero on all things garden related, and came up with the idea of having a weekly blog or update on things happening in everyone garden. So many of my blogging friends plant at least something, whether it be a tree, flower planters, or a huge veggie garden. Living in different parts of the world, it's interesting to know how similar and yet different our gardening approaches can be. What would be considered the norm for some, would be something new, unheard of, or even tropical for others.

So I would like to encourage all of you to add a little bit of a note or blog at the beginning of each week to tell us what you have planted, created, bought/ordered for the garden and post a pic or two of your efforts. Seeing other people's gardens and landscapes does act for a springboard of ideas for others and gets one to think of different aspects to add to their own bit of dirt. Post whether it's been a success or a failure for you, for we all know that as much as we try, mother nature has her imput as well!

 

Vic's Garden Notes: Is it my imaginations or are the bloom times off this year? At the moment I have fruit trees finishing up their blossoms, lilacs, tulips, alyssum, creeping phlox, one tree peony in bud, and iris sending up scapes. The iris particularly seem at least two weeks early for blooming. Anyone else having tall bearded iris blooming or close to blooming? Here in zone 5 it usually is mid-May when the tall bearded iris are at their peak.

I will try and take some more pics this year to post as I have a ton of iris. They are addicting though and I have already placed an order for some new varieties to plant this fall. For those interested in iris or googling, the varieties are:

Sea power, Pennylane, Boogie Woogie, Celebration Song, and Six Pack (which is a flattie, or flat-topped iris). All were ordered from Blue J iris which has reasonable rates for iris which can get pricey. Order early, they sell out quick...

Veggie news - Vero I finally planted my tomato plants but it's turned off cold and rainy, not sure if I am going to have much luck with them at all. Does anyone have any of their tomatoes in the garden yet?

Wish List: I have been looking at adding a new tree peony or two this coming fall (I know it's early, but us gardeners are obsessive,lol). Haven't decided yet on the variety, but have been trolling the peony websites to find who is the most reasonable.

A small reminder that this week-end is Arbor Day, go plant a tree!

HAPPY GARDENING!

Blog Background...

Thanks to all who volunteered on my last blog note. No, I wasn't going to make you write a blog, do a quiz, give blood (or chocolate) or do much of anything that required any effort. What I was asking volunteers for, was for my new Easter blog background.

Yes, it was just that simple. Nothing exciting, nothing cloak and dagger-ish. I just needed a new background. I thought what better way to select my graphical victims then to have them volunteer.

I tried to get some of you to sign up, but you were skeptical. You were afraid. You were quietly lurking, wanting to know about this volunteer stuff before making a committment. I had to smile in that in real life getting anyone to volunteer meets with the same results. I, myself have been guilty of all of those responses. Sometimes eagerly waving my hand to be included in what sounds like fun. Sometimes quietly in the back of the room, hoping to slip out unnoticed before being cornered and persuaded to join up. Sometimes I would ask just what would all this entail and what exactly would my responsibilites be.

You just never know what you are getting yourself into when you volunteer. Hopefully you all, volunteer or not, will have a smile when you visit my blog page and see my new background for the next month or so. Much thanks to my little group of brave volunteers:

Truemasked wabbit, Wukky, Kanga, Gloggy, Stormydayinohio, Glenda, Zzee, Yar, Vero, Robert, Sueshoovrs, Aka, Um, Mrsralph.  

Fateful Blog...

 

I had a conversation the other day with another blogger and I made the casual remark that I believed in fate. His reply was, "really?" and then he went searching for a story he wanted me to read. He found the story and left me a note to read it. It was called, "The Story of Osmo" and it was about a rather plain man who leads an ordinary life and one day stumbles upon a book at the library with the same title as his name. Unable to find who authored the book, he begins reading in earnest, first with dismay and anxiety and then with interest as the contents of the book seem to be his life's story. Each chapter is a year of his life, and he is completely engrossed as he remembers more and more of his life, of things he had forgotten about in his childhood. He thumbs thru the book and is somewhat disheartened on seeing that there was only 29 chapters of the book. Already at the age of 26, he reads the end of the book, only to learn that Osmo dies in a plane crash in Fort Wayne, Indiana without renewing his life insurance policy. Osmo tells himself he won't be foolish enough to fly in a plane and he will remember to renew his policy.

As you can guess, when Osmo is 29 years old and is on a flight, an announcement is made that the plane needs to stop at Fort Wayne. Osmo, becomes panicked and tries to stop the flight, only to die when the plane crashes with him being listed as one of the main reasons for the flight's crash.

I can see why Um would want me to read the story after making my comment. It does give one a lot to ponder on, of fate, destiny and if we are in control or have any control of the outcome of our lives.

It got me to thinking a lot about fate, and how fate can mean so many different things to many different people. You hear the comment, "they were meant for each other, it was fate". Or you may have heard it mentioned for a person of huge talent, "he was fated for greatness". Mention of, "their fate was sealed", or "you can't change fate".

Fate seems to wear many hats. Believe in fated lovers and you are a romanticist. Believe in a set destiny of your fate and you are a pessimistic. Believing that you can change your fate makes you optimistic.

It's a lot to bend your mind around, this fate stuff. If you believe in fate and that there is a natural course that follows are you limiting yourself? If you believe in fate and that you can change your fate by the decisions you make does that make you unwilling to accept things in your life? And then if you do make those changes in your life was it really you that made those choices or fate stepping in and just letting you think you had some real choice in the matter?

Terrence posted a quote on his blog notes on liberals and conservatives and the correlation of their IQ's. I started to think of how that surely had to be tied in with the fate stuff. Perhaps our choices made by our spiritual, political, moral leanings are the groundwork for our fate. That is not to say a christian is going to live longer than an atheist, or a democrat's fate is better or worse than a republicans. It's the meshing together of those ideologies and beliefs that form our view of the bigger picture, that of fate.

Another blogger friend of mine, George, posted a video of a beautiful classical piece of music and wondered if any of those on his contact list could help him with the name of the piece. I listened to the music and it did sound familiar, but I didn't have a clue as to what it was. I could have tried to google on it if I had a basis for knowing where in the heck to start in the googling process. I went on to read the comments of the bloggers as they went back and forth on what they thought was the piece of music. All that ran thru my mind was, I know it's not "flight of the bumblebee"...

Thinking on those posts by my talented and brilliant blogging friends it struck me, that I am dumb as a post. Seriously,... dumb as a post. I don't know if I can blame my stupidity on fate, blame it on political/religious affiliation, or just blame it on not being that musically inclined. Maybe it is a bit of all of the above. Despite my shortcomings though, I enjoyed each post and each comment made by each reader of those posts.

Will any of that have a direct baring on my fateful outcome? Will it change my choices? How minute of a change or thought must we have before it becomes a factor? Is it just the big stuff that has the impact or the smallness of steps that lead up to it?

It makes one think a lot, reflect a lot, and eventually shrug ones shoulders and think, I will just have to take my chances.