arugula update and other veggie pics

Well, the arugula does indeed seem to be growing back. I'm glad I had this blog so that I could reference the picture from the weekend. That's the point!! :)

The peas continue to impress and the lettuce is still making progress, poorly timed or not.

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.