arugula has been harvested!

It's 5/30 and my google calendar says the arugula is ready. We seem to have planted it a bit late - it's a cold weather plant and the weather isn't cold so I do believe that stunted its growth a bit. Not sure if more is going to grow, if we were supposed to clip only the outer leaves, if we were supposed to clip it all, etc etc etc. We'll check back in on it next weekend. Until then, here are some pics to laugh at.

pics from post 2

Here are some pics of the new plants on the side of the house. Also, we planted some bulbs (20 purple and pink gladiolus) near the rear entrance. We'll see how they like it there.

PS I might have put some more sunflowers on the side of the house to see if they like it over there. They are in between the plants, just like near the garage.

Memorial Day weekend update, part 2

The side of the house, from back to front. All perennial (I hope!!) so I only have to do this once. Pics will come tonight after we finish mulching. . . .

(white) "Hellebore" Helleborus Double Melody double white blooms with a green center adorn these winter beauties. deer resistant. spring bloom. part sun.


(light pink) "Hellebore" Helleborus Sympathy rose pink flowers with dark freckles in the center of each petal. long bloomers. deer resistant. spring bloom. part sun.


(dark red) "Astilbe" Astilbe chinensis Vision in Red thrive in moist, shady gardens. late blooming variety with bronze green foliage. dense, upright, purple-red plumes bloom on sturdy stems. a robust grower. very floriferous. late summer bloom. partial shade or shade.

(peach) "Astilbe" Astilbe x rosea Peach Blossom showy flower plumes and striking foliage are indispensable in the shaded or woodland garden. excellent compliment to bergenia, hosta, ferns, or Japanese iris and especially attractive near water. a beautiful, long lasting cut flower, fresh or dried. mid summer bloom. partial shade.

(redish/purpleish) "Japanese Primrose" primula japonica Miller's Crimson vibrant flowers in tiered clusters attract butterflies and hummingbirds to the garden. beautiful planted with japanese iris, hosta, ferns, and lady's mantle. will naturalize readily in woodland setting or any garden site with consistently moist soils. late spring bloom. partial sun.

(redish/purpleish) "Japanese Primrose" primula japonica Carminea lovely carmine red flower clusters attract butterflies to the garden. wonderful in woodland settings, along walkways, or at water's edge, or as a cut flower. attractive planted with spring flowering bulbs. needs constant moisture. late spring to early summer bloom. full shade.

(blue/purple) "Serbian Bellflower" campanula poscharskyana Blue Waterfall
profuse flowers carpet spreading plants. beautiful cascading over walls, as a small-scale ground cover, in a rock garden or window box, or at garden's edge. attractive with flax and dianthus. trim faded flowers for extended bloom. summer bloom with some repeat in fall. sun or partial shade. *note, planted two

Pale Red Lacecap Hydrangea, dark green foliage provides perfect background for the large florets of pale red flowers. makes the ideal crowning touch to any shady garden spot.

pics from post 1

These don't seem to have uploaded to the last post . . .

Memorial Day weekend update, part 1

I snuck out to Garden Barn this morning and did some serious damage. Today we're tackling the side of the house. It's filled with ornamental grass that is seriously overgrown and ugly. We're digging up the entire thing and filling it (or starting to) with shade/partial shade perennials. I'll update on the specific plants we chose and their blooming predictions later this weekend.

Bought some brussels sprouts as an impulse buy. Don't know anything about how to grow them yet - just put them in the ground for now. Planted them without weed paper to see what that's like. I planted them in the empty space in our garden where we thought we would plant more arugula (but it's way too hot to do so - bad planning). 85 days until they are ready.

Butternut squash and zucchini and already showing signs of growth. That was really quick!

Something dug up/ate Sam's one hot pepper plant so I bought "Hot Portugal" pepper plants today when I picked up the brussels sprouts. Now there are 5 sweet pepper plants, 6 of these, and the one (most likely) dead hot pepper plant from the original batch. No idea what critter ate it and why they liked that one and left the others alone. 65 days until they are ready.

Also, I planted the butterfly bush given to me as a gift by my 8th grade band. It's in the back of the yard by the sunflowers.

Garden pics, part 3

I added a whole mess of sunflowers to that back patch that used to be the rock garden. We'll see what happens. The soil isn't the greatest and it could look pretty funny, but I wanted to see if they would grow and they are only an annual so it's just for this year that it would look silly.

The other two photos are of those giant drunken iris monsters that Sam and I hated so very much. They were between our driveway and the door so we passed them every day when we came home. I couldn't take it any more so we dug them up. RIP giant drunken iris monsters.

Garden pics, part 2

Arugula is starting to do some good work. We might get enough for one salad before it gets too hot but overall my comment about the lettuce applies here. We realize it was just plain planted too late.

The long beds with the ovals are the butternut squash and zucchini. Sam and I are having a discussion about earth staples holding down the weed paper neatly, but tearing it when it's windy VERSUS rocks which seem to work better but are ugly. I don't know why I care about ugly. Once we started using this weed paper we turned our lawn into a haunted house anyways so he says I should get over it and he's probably right.

Those 6 cute little plants are our peppers and check out those peas. They are going to grab on to that fence any time now!

Finally a shot of the entire veggie garden, including our composter.

Garden pics, part 1

Not sure what these little purple flowers are but I moved them today. They are probably a weed but I kind of like them and I like them a lot more than the drunken lily monsters that used to be there.

This veggie garden shot features the tomatoes, their cages, and the lettuce . . . .which clearly is not going to grow this year. There are a few starting finally but it's going to be too hot for them to do their thing. We just started them too late. Next year . . .

I planted some sunflowers in between my perennials. . . we'll see what happens there. I think I put the seeds down too deep but I tried my best not to cover them up with mulch. I added some soil from another patch of the lawn to make sure the hole didn't fill in with mulch. We'll see. . .

Also, I like the foliage of the Shasta Daisy, even when it's not in bloom. If it blooms well you might see more of that in my garden in the future.

green onions are yummy

We were brave today (Sam's idea) and we tasted the first veggie from our garden. It was a green onion planted by the previous owner of our house. In a side by side taste testing with the organic green onion we had purchased from Stop and Shop it was indeed tastier. So excited for the rest of our veggies.

While I'm online, enjoy some pics of our updated gardening bulletin board. I do plan to photograph the actual garden tonight but we need to tidy up the earth staples first.

composting

I can't believe I forgot to write about the composter! We purchased a composter so that we won't have to buy soil next year and because we throw out so much produce waste when we cook.

http://www.gardeners.com/Deluxe-Pyramid-Composter/20706,38-682,default,cp.html

At the suggestion of our friends Laura and Jason I also purchased and read the book "Let it Rot" to get some idea what we were supposed to do.

We put down some sticks/vines on the bottom for air flow. . . .then some dried grass from our initial digging that has been in the garage (it was from that yellow grass and was dry like straw) . . . . then some more powdery textured, fresher grass from when we dug the veggies garden. . . then some cantaloupe rinds . . .and some water. Hopefully that's a good start.

Sam is shredding some newspapers - our best source of carbon. Since compost needs to be 25 parts carbon to every 1 part nitrogen (grass clippings and kitchen waste which is the reason we are composting) we'll be keeping our eyes and ears open for people who might need to get rid of leaves and sawdust (which is extremely high in carbon). For now we'll add newspapers and kitchen scraps and some more grass clippings in time.

warm weather veggies are planted!!

Maybe it seems silly to be planting more veggies before we've enjoying any of the cold weather batch but IT'S TIME! Last night we planted zucchini and butternut squash from seed. I have heard that zucchini might need something to climb on so we're prepared to add structure if needed down the line. We also planted tomatoes and peppers from transplant. We ordered them from Seed Savers Exchange (in Iowa) and let them send us a variety of their choice. We love to cook with new ingredients and we're experimenting with the garden this year as it as so it seemed like a great choice. Yesterday was like Christmas as I opened the box to see what kind of food I'd be growing (although admittedly, it was a little scary to not have control. . . but the benefits outweighed my fears).

Pictures will come later but here is the info, including catalog descriptions.

TOMATOES

~Cherokee Purple - 80 days
"our favorite large purple tomato. unique dusty rose color. flavor rivals brandywine, extremely sweet. productive plants, large crops of 12oz fruits."
~Velvet Red - 75-80 days (horray!! i was hoping we'd get a cherry tomato plant!!)
"unique, silvery gray dusty miller type foliage. heavy yields of 1" cherry tomatoes, excellent sweet flavor. occasionally a non-silvery plant will appear."
~Amish Paste - 85 days
"produces 6-8oz red fruits that are oxheart to almost teardrop-shaped. Meaty fruits are juicy and have outstanding flavor, good for sauce or fresh eating."
~Gold Medal - 90 days
"large, yellow streaked red, firm and smooth. very little acid. the sweetest tomato you ever tasted. a gourmet's joy when sliced."
~Brandywine Sudduth's Strain - 90 days
"large pink beefsteak fruits to 2 pounds. incredibly rich, delightfully intense tomato flavor."
~German Pink - 85 days
"bavarian variety. potato-leaf plants produce large 1-2 pound meaty fruits with few seeds, very little cracking or blossom scars. full sweet flavor. excellent for canning, freezing, and slicing."

PEPPERS
~(Sweet) King of the North - 70 days
"arguably the best red bell pepper for northern gardeners where the seasons are cool and short. nice blocky fruits, great sweet flavor."
~(Sweet) Jimmy Nardello's - 80-90 days
"one of the best for frying. productive 24" plants are loaded with 10-12" long peppers."
~(Hot) Wenk's Yellow Hots - 75-80 days
"medium hot fruit with thick, waxy yellow walls, ripening to bright orange and then to red. 2-4" long, blunt tipped fruits. great variety for canning and pickling."
~(Sweet) Orange Bell - 60-90 days *I think they are green and therefore edible in 60 days but orange and extra yummy in 90*
"the best tasting orange bell pepper we have grown. blocky 4" by 3.5" fruits are 3-4 lobed, extremely thick fleshed with excellent sweet flavor, and heavy yields."
~(Sweet) Buran - 90 days
"extremely sweet and productive polish heirloom. great flavor! medium-sized plants grow 18-24" tall. fruits are 3 lobed and measure 4" long by 3". fruits are almost equally sweet when green or red. sure to be a favorite"
~(Sweet) Tolli's Sweet Italian - 75-80 days
"this sweet red italian heirloom is one of our all around favorites for fresh eating and canning recipes. great added to tomato sauces. large dependable yields of 4-5" tapered fruits.

pictures to come soon, the weekend has only just begun. . . .

mulch

Today we added the mulch to the flower area. I hate to admit it but it does look much better and I do like the idea of not having to weed. Sam watered everything again (because he's awesome) and we're definetly seeing some more progress in the veggie garden. The peas had a big night last night!! It's really hot so we'll be watering generously again this evening.

grass update

I was thankful that we got a lot of rain this week because watering the lawn is not something I enjoy. Sam was fabulous (as usual) and finished the overseeding of the lawn a couple of days ago. So now we just have to keep watering and watching to see what happens. The places where we laid grass seed first are now starting to show some patches so we are encouraged and will try to keep up with the watering.

finally chose the hanging baskets

These pics are sideways - oh well. This blog could stand to improve it's image adding options but that's a whole separate issue . . .

I wanted hanging baskets for our porch but we can't figure out how to hang them from the aluminum. Sue suggested shepherd's hooks so we we going to put them in the ground. I thought they would still hang where I wanted them to be but they are not as tall as I envisioned and our (dying) shrubs in the front of the house were getting in the way. So they are now in front of our front steps.

Plans have been discussed to build some boxes that the hooks could be put into on the porch so that the hanging baskets still end up where I want them. We'll see if Sam can construct what I'm envisioning . . . it's hard to say if he thinks it's a good idea or not . . .

Sam didn't EXACTLY know I was planting perennials yesterday. I might have snuck them into the ground. He didn't notice the hanging baskets until quite a bit later so it was hard to get an opinion - - - mostly just saw shock.

In the meantime I was happy with my choice of the lighter petunia basket and I paired it with one in a deeper purple on the other side. We looked at a lot of hanging baskets and I'm happy with what I chose.

Apparently these will also go on the list of things that need to be watered every day AND I have to buy some miracle grow to put in the watering can once a week. I remember some talk about deadheading or not deadheading too . . . Sue will provide a refresher on the expectations there I hope.

Perennials - the garage garden bed is almost finished

Yesterday, Sue took me to Garden Barn - an enormous garden center across from our school. We looked at so many plants. It was total visual overload for me. I have on interest in annuals. I want to do this once and have the yard look nice every year after that. So we bought some perennials and I'm hoping for the best. These are planted along our garage.

Blooming now is Moss Phlox. Apparently this comes in a bunch of other colors and it will spread in the future. I'm OK with that. Maybe it will appear again somewhere else in the yard in a different color some day.

Next to that I planted Shasta Daisies. I don't think those come up until the summer. Same with the Black Eyed Susans right next to them. Finally I planted Cranesbill, also a summer flower but apparently it's a similar height to the Moss Phlox so that's why it was planted on the end (aka because I was told to put it there). It's not really on the end since I have the experiment going on with those bachelor blossom buttons or whatever annual I planted from seed just to see if I could grow flowers from seed. Those, by the way, are showing signs of poking out of the ground in both locations where they were planted. We'll see how they do!

Adding some mulch this weekend and then this little area will be done!