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!