My Bit of Earth

Wrapping Roses

Had to go out and give the roses some cover yesterday. I'm worried that they won't make it outside this winter, but we don't have any place to bring them into so they'll have to do the best they can. I covered the pots and the lower parts of the canes with burlap and cedar, and gave them a little water. Maybe they'll make it, it's been pretty cold this past week and they're still hanging in there.

It seems kind of sad to have to be winterizing the roses in the first place. I'd rather think of them making beautiful, warm roses then outside shivering and bare. After about two months of waiting and wishing for winter, I found myself thinking about the first day of summer, when Sweet Husband and I went to the rose garden in Kansas City. I know that it really was hot and there were mosquitoes, but in my imagination it was a perfectly warm, perfectly wonderful day.

This is a new turn of events for me, I usually don't start thinking of spring until after Christmas, at least....

(Update: Well we ended up finding inside space for the roses after all. Moe decided he just couldn't leave those nice big bags of mulch alone. After I rebundled them four or five times (and got progressively more frustrated each time) Sweet Husband finally said he thought it would be easier to just make space in our attic. Rearranging was a pain (it's things like this that are why he is SWEET Husband) but we finally puzzle-pieced everything in.)

Fall Roses=Not Good

So, ok, it got cold in October so I pruned my roses back for the winter as Martha and all other rose gurus told me I should. But now it's warm again and my silly roses think it's Spring. Not only do they both have lots of red, new growth, but the Bacara has buds and even one tiny actual rose. They're supposed to be going to sleep and they're waking up instead. This is a problem.

A Visit From Jack Frost

We had our first frost this morning. I'm enjoying one last sweet semmester of college student sleeping hours, so I would have missed it entirely if Sweet Husband hadn't told me he heard it on the news. I guess we were down to 28 degrees--brrrr!

Whenever I think of frost I think the old Jack Frost Rankin/Bass holiday cartoon. In the cartoon, Jack Frost is spreading winter when he falls in love with a human girl. Father Winter has the power to turn Jack into a human and give him a chance to make the girl love him back, but only until the first day of Spring. It's very endearing, although the end is kind of sad.

Before Jack becomes human though, he flies around and makes frost appear on everything with his breath. When I was little that's how I thought the frost got onto my windows in the morning--Jack Frost came by in the night and blew on my windows.

Actually, frost happens when the temperature drops below the dew point (the point at which water vapor turns to liquid) and then below freezing. So basically, it's dew freezing.

Not nearly as exciting as Jack Frost.

"Mums" the Word

Up to now, I've pretty much avoided annual flowers. They don't make anything (like vegetables do), the don't last for a long time (like perennials do), they're just pretty for a few months and then they die. Kind of silly to spend money on something that just sits there, right?

But the other day I was at Sunrise, where they have rows and rows of mums. They're kind of a gaudy flower any other time of the year, but in the fall mums just feel right. Maybe it's the colors--rusty red, pumpkiny orange, golden yellow--but they just work.

So I brought some home. No place to put them in the ground outside, no place to put them inside. Just brought some home and plunked them into a pot. I've spent ten bucks on far less useful things.

And I know I could try to save them and plant them in the Spring and yadda-yadda, but, really, I did some research on Mums and they're a bit of work to keep. They need extra rich soil and they're supposed to be moved every three years, prone to pests, etc. And I really wouldn't want them in my flower bed in March or May or July, anyway. Just right now.

As part of my little annual-buying rebellion (and also because I want my mums to survive my dogs) I put my pot'o'mums outside our back door instead of the front. We use the back door much more often, and they make me smile every time I walk by.

So they aren't useless really, they're perfect. They'll sit on my back stoop, be beautiful, and make me smile everyday, and when it's time for a poinsettia, they'll be done blooming and ready to step aside.

There's definitely something wonderful to be said about flowers in the perfect time and perfect place.

The Last Rose of Summer

'Tis the last rose of Summer, Left blooming alone; All her lovely companions Are faded and gone;

No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh!

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them.

Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away!

When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?

Watching Grass Grow

Once the radishes were picked we decided to go ahead and seed over the veggie patch with grass to cover it over for winter or maybe forever (since plans are to hopefully move from here next summer if things cooperate). We planted a mix of seeds last weekend and they're just starting to sprout up--tee hee, we have baby grass.

Learning About Radishes

For a few weeks, I've been gradually picking a radish or two a day so that I could tell when they were big enough to pick. I wasn't sure how you tell when something like that is done, and I was afraid they'd just rot in the ground (thereby denying me Tasty Radishes!). Then this past week I got a little busy and forgot to go out and check on them. But tonight, lo and behold, when I walked outside there were some pushing themselves up out of the ground. Lesson: Radishes (and many other root-type vegetables I would wager) will let you know when it's time to eat them.

I read somewhere that if you are not very careful to see that your radishes have enough water they will be too spicy to be very good. I like radishes to be just a little bit spicy anyway--and we have had a good amount of rain--but I was very lazy in my watering and they still ended up very nice. I didn't really make sure to break up the soil well before planting them either, hence I didn't get perfect little nice fat Santa-shaped radishes. But I kind of like the way the shapes ended up--like little gnarled and grizzly garden gnomes that I can bite the heads off of.

And, in the future, when scrubbing radishes, I will be much more alert thanks to this little guy. He was pretty lucky, he came very close to going down the drain. I think he's the reason my radish tops have holes in them.

But I have enough to share a little with so fuzzy a little gentleman, so after letting him nibble his fill out of the leftover tops, I let him go outside back in the garden.

Pretty Purple Pepper Plant

Once I gave it some room, the purple pepper has taken off. The peppers have been very pretty, but they're a little difficult to use. They don't have as much flavor raw as a green pepper does, and if you cook them the tend to turn kind of grey instead of becoming a more intense purple. I think next year I would like to experiment with another variety of purple pepper to see if I can't find something a little more usable because they are so very nice to look at....

Clark's Heavenly Blue

I planted these morning glory vines early this spring and ended up cutting them way back before they bloomed because they were taking over. But one or two resilient vines have popped back up and every few days I've been getting one of these little treasures.

The End of August

We got out and did some clean up tonight. The purple pepper plant is really taking off and I wanted to give it a chance so I pruned back the tomato plant quite a bit to let the pepper breathe. The midget is still doing great, although the tomatoes don't quite have the flavor that they had before we started getting all of this rain.

I also had to take the pumpkin vines out. I didn't want to give up on them yet, but they're so fragile and the dogs had completely trampled them. We got two little pumpkins, but one was a little chewed on (by a dog or by bugs, I'm not sure which). When we have more room I would really like to grow some more, but trying to allocate such a small space between dogs and plants that can't take at least a little abuse just wasn't working.

I have a whole nice big box of arugula sprouting up nicely and the radishes and carrots are coming along too. We had a nice baby arugula salad for dinner the other night from the thinnings (heavenly) and I'm wondering if we can eat the greens from the radishes and carrots? Think I'll have to do some research on that one.

One thing the rain we've gotten lately has been amazing for is the roses. The Bicara has really shot up, and the Leo is looking a little less peaky too. Both have lots of pretty burgandy new growth. I'm trying to let them alone, so that they can get ready for winter. I did one last fertilizer just before school started a few weeks ago. I'm trying to let them form rosehips, and then sometime in October I'm planning to cut them way back and find a nice warm place for them in our attic cubby to ride out the winter.

Good-bye Sunflowers, and thanks for all the fun....

This afternoon I decided that the day had come to cut down the Sunflowers. Two of the smaller heads had already fallen off, and the big ones looked like they could go at anytime. So, I went out with my pruning shears and lopped of the smaller ones, and Blaine had way fun chopping down the bigger ones machete style.

I had read that you could just put the heads in bags and the seeds will fall off in about a week, but I'm a little impatient so I started breaking the seeds off of the smaller flowers. That got tedious REAL quick, so I put the head from the two bigger ones in bags to hang in the laundry room to see if they'll dry.

The seeds that I pulled off were beautiful though. I like the colors and the different patterns of stripes. And they taste good too. I have very vauge memories of eating sunflower seeds fresh from the flower with a friend when I was younger, but I didn't remember how much different they taste. They're kind of creamy and nuttier than roasted seeds--maybe as a result of not being dried?

I think I am going to try to roast some, though. I'm soaking them in a salt brine right now--I think, in absence of specific instructions, I'll let them soak for a few days and then roast them in the oven and see how they do.

I'm also going to save some seeds for next year. I s'pose common sense would say if you don't have much space you should grow small varaties, but the giant sunflowers were worth every inch they took up (and most of the space was vertical anyway). I definitely want to have more next year.

Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkins, and Sprouts

The Sunflowers are starting to make some seeds.

My mini pumpkins are starting to form...

...but the pumpkin vine is starting to take over what's left of the tomatoes and peppers.

Baby Carrots and Radishes starting to sprout.

Arugula sprouts (yum! yum! yum!)

I found this little bluebird at Sunrise--he seemed to be asking to go home with me.

Fall Vegetables

I was cleaning the tomatoes out of my Earthbox yesterday when I was surprised by this little guy and his friend. I think he might have been munching on the roots of my tomato plants, thus explaining their sicky-ness.
As part of a little garden clean-up, I left the mexican midget up as it's still making glorious baby tomatoes. I pulled out one of the pepper plants, but left the purple one as it has several little baby peppers on it. The mini-pumpkins I planted in July are starting to take over. There are several little baby pumpkins starting to grow from the vines. I also planted a mix of radishes and carrots in the remainder of the vegetable bed and an arugula (tasty! tasty!), parsley, chives mixtures in the Earthbox, and replaced some of the plants in the planters.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Now that school is over I'm itching to get outside and do some work (which desperately needs to be done) but it has been way too hot outside! It's been above 100 for the past few days and is set to be for a few days more. Everything looks all melting and droopy and the weeds have gotten horrific. Didn't think I'd be saying it for awhile, but I'm starting to think longingly of cooler days and pumpkins and falling leaves. I'm ready for fall.

Picking a purple pepper

I was out picking tomatoes yesterday and I found a fully grown purple pepper! I put the two pepper plants in next to the Mexican Midget tomato plant and I thought the tomato plant had kind of overtaken them. (It really is enourmous!) But yesterday evening I was out trying to rein the midget back into it's cage and there it was--a nice sized, royal purple pepper that I hadn't even realized was there.

I think it might have been a little past it's prime, but I brought it in to munch on anyway. The skin was tough and it had kind of a funny flavor--a little like a green pepper, but not quite as good. The flesh inside was kind of a creamy color. I think it would have been ok if I had put it into something, but it wasn't a straight off the bush kind of pepper.

The Tale of My Tomatoes

As a summary for next year ....

The Yellow Pears produced a very tasty tomato or two about every other day. They were so pretty too! I had to smile at them everytime I walked by. Definitely something to grow again.

The Mexican Midgets are still making tons of tomatoes! They're tiny, but have amazing flavor. Very few actually made it into anything--there were a few times they didn't even make it inside to be washed! They were also completely easy to grow--they ended up getting what I thought was a kind of crappy spot in the garden, but the plant is now enormous. Definitely a grow again.

The Juliets were the only real disappointment. They were a little green inside, even when the outsides were nice and red and ripened. It hasn't made many tomatoes (although it hasn't had the greatest of growing conditions) and they don't have nearly the flavor of either of the other tomatoes I grew, or even of store bought roma's. I don't think I would grow these again.

The Sunflower's Are Blooming

But I have a problem! My gardening book says that I need to cover the flowers with cheesecloth and they're so tall I don't know how to reach them. So, even if the birds don't eat all my seeds, I'm not sure how I'm going to get the heads off when they're ripe. Blaine says he thinks they'll drop, but he doesn't sound really sure.

Maybe I could hoist the cheescloth up on some kind of pole contraption? Or maybe a pillowcase or a paper sack or something? Hmmm...this will require thought.

Sunflower update

They've finally gotten as tall as the house!

Beautiful Tomatoes!

I had a yummy egg scramble this morning with my first tomatoes. I had three little Mexican Midgets and three yellow pears.

The Mexican Midgets are super concentrated--like a tomato bomb. They're just about the size of a quarter, and they kind of explode in your mouth--good things come in small packages.

The yellow pears have really been beautiful ripening on the plant. They almost taste like a really mellow green pepper. When I was cutting them up this morning I couldn't help but notice how pretty they were on the inside too.

More to come!

Patience is the best remedy for every trouble...

...quoth an old Roman dead guy, and how very right he was! I got a beautiful deep, shiny green Gardenia bush at Sunrise for my birthday--which is in NOVEMBER, mind you--and it just bloomed for the very first time today!

I had it inside all winter and it had tons of buds, but they kept falling off before they bloomed. Then it started to get all brown and icky and I felt guilty wondering what I done to it. I'd kind of given up on it a bit, so when it got warm enough I put it outside to fend for itself. A few weeks ago I was about to throw it away even, but I figured it wasn't hurting me to just let it sit there and give it a chance.

And wouldn't you know it--after all my babying and mollycoddling, it finally bloomed when I left it alone! It's still far from a pretty plant at this point, as you can see from the brown leaves, but the flower is very redeeming. I think it means there's hope!

Moral dilemma

I'm not all about using chemicals to garden. I've done well so far without and (even though they say it's harmless, yadie, yadie, yadah) I just don't really much like the idea. But, a few weeks ago the roses got aphids, and then powedery mildew, and then they looked like they were going to die (pesky hybrid teas). And--as pain in the butt as they are--they're absolutely beautiful. Sooo...I freaked out and got some systemic (fertilizer and bug killer) rose food...and then I sprayed for the powdery mildew. It worked like a charm--goodbye aphids, goodbye other icky stuff. But I hate doing it. It stinks and I have to make sure I keep the dogs away and I look like a masked bandit because I have to cover my face so I don't breathe it in. This gets me funny looks from the neighbors, which further adds to the unplesantness.

But it worked like a charm. Why do things that are so bad have to work so well?

And I know there are other ways to deal with the roses, but they were expensive enough that I don't want them to die while I experiment. And I don't want the cost of experimenting when I know the icky stuff will work.

The broke-ass college student in me is defeating my moral scruples for today, but someday, when I have lots of space and cash and time I promise I'll be better. I'll grow native roses and give them lots of good compost and beneficial bugs and all kinds of happy stuff that doesn't smell bad or hurt the earth.

Reclaiming space for the doggies

We spent our Memorial Day doing an overhaul to give the dogs a bit more room. After a few failures, I think we finally got the fence Moe-proofed which was the major priority. We also moved some bricks and cleared some stuff out--namely the broccoli which only produced a few disappointing sprouts. But to be fair they were a little cramped. Basically we cordoned off an area for basil and veggies, and we've agreed to let the rest go wild.

Basil and veggies

Tomato plants in the grow box

Baby Tomatoes hangin' out in the rain

from the gate

A pretty little prarie flower I picked up at Sunrise for one of my tin cans

Nastrium's starting to bloom

I made a little water garden last week in this basin that I found at "Junque". The dog's like to drink out of it (icky) and Moe keeps thinking he needs to reposition the water crocuses (tall skinny one in the back), BUT other than that it's getting along swimmingly.

The Leonidas rose has been a little finicky (I was fairly warned that it would be) but worth it.

Black Baccara

I picked up this minature rose at Sunrise. It is an "Autumn Sunblaze" and has been blooming like crazy as you can see.

Autumn Sunblaze up close

Remember those "baby" Sunflowers from a month ago? I think they make it feel kind of jungle-like (not to mention they're hiding all my tools!)

This is "Herbo" our little garden-deity. He was given to us by our friend Donnie (best man in our wedding and all around stand-up guy). As you can see, he had a little accident this week. Moe decided he didn't like the way Herbo was looking at him, and so proceeded to shake him by the head until his tail clinked against something that broke it off. Poor Herbo! Bad Moe!

Psychadelic hens and chicks

The jade that I brought from California at Christmas is still growing well.

I transplanted this spearmint from my in-laws garden last fall. I thought it had died this winter, but apparently I underestimated it. I think it's going to stage an uprising soon.

A moon vine just starting to climb the fence.

Roses and Broccoli

Today was a fun day in the garden. Our sunflowers are starting to get great big (about 2 1/2 feet tall I think) and the other flower seeds I planted are starting to come up as well. It's starting to look like we've planted some things besides dirt!

BUT the best things of all are The Baccara is BLOOMING (pictures to come soon) and she is absolutely incredible! Also after months of anticipation We Have Broccoli. Yeeeaaaahh Broccoli!

Where We Are: A Spring Update

Broccoli growing like gangbusters!

Pots by the door

From the gate

The Basil garden

The pots

Tomatos

Baby sunflowers

Herb Garden

Got my little herb garden all laid out today--basically it's lotsa basil for yummy pesto sauce. Here's the skinny ....

Lemon Basil/Roma Dwarf Basil/Cinnamon Basil/Eucalyptus/Cilantro

African Blue Basil/Spicy Globe Basil/Opal Basil/Sweet Basil/Lettuce Leaf Basil

Chamomile/Chives/Chamomile

Very nice!

Blaine also picked out a "collosal pepper" plant that's living in a pot (along with the mexican midget tomato) until the broccoli and lettuce are done and they can have their spots in the yard.

The wildflower patch is coming along alright. The Sunflowers have come up nicely, and I've been able to identify some Morning Glory along the fence, but otherwise it's a little hard to tell the difference between the flowers and the weeds. I'm kind of just letting things go for now and we'll se what blooms.

I also planted the sky pencils in the tiny bed in front of the house--not perfect for that spot, but they'll do.

Pictures soon!

Goodbye Raggedy Daffodils

Ok, so I was out weeding this afternoon and I did it--the daffodils are gone. Dead. Chopped off. No more. :)

Tomatoes and Bulbs and Weeds, Oh My!

My very sweet grandparents-in-law gave us a wonderful little tomato growing box when we were home last weekend, so I went to Sunrise and got some grape tomatoes (my very favorite!) to plant in it. I bought three plants, but I only had room to plant two in the box, so one just got stuck in the yard. I planted ....

Juliet
Mexican Midget
Yellow Pear

The bulbs are looking very ragged these days. It's taking all of my will power to not just hack them all down. Next year I either need to move them or plant more so I don't have the scraggliness. Note to self, don't plant dandelions and tulips in the yard!

And the weeds! I've planted a little flower plot (poppies, black-eyed Susan's, Sunflowers, and others) so it's hard to tell what's a weed and what's a flower.

I thought I had a good plan so that things would stay neat, but it's not going so well right now. I need to get out and move some things and get rid of some things and just kind of clean house a little. Guess that's why this is my practice garden ....

Roses have arrived

Poor roses! It's a chilly day to have to plant them out, but maybe it will warm up this afternoon. Been so busy with the puppy lately that I haven't had much time to play in the dirt, but I'm hoping to get out this weekend and get some organization done at least!

New plants

My Japanese sky pencils and my banana tree arrived today. At the rate I'm going I might have them out of their cartons by next month!

I have some major weeding to do. Dandelion roots are HUGE and thus very hard to dig out I'm discovering. But my daffodills and crocuses and tulips have all come up and are making my little garden look all cheery.

First Crocus

Does this mean it's Spring? I was outside fighting the wild onion weeds and a really strong wind, when I noticed that my first little purple jewel of a crocus is starting to unfurl.

Planted onion sets today

I planted 12 onion sets from Sunrise today. There are four white, four yellow, and four red, all in a nice pretty little 2'X2' plot. The helpful man at Sunrise said to plant them with their little tops sticking out, so I did. Supposedly they will get nice and fat and kind of push themselves up out of the ground that way.

We tilled last weekend so the ground was so nice an easy to play in.

A Nice Kind of Day

My family was here yesterday and today so that little brother could tour KU where he wants to go to school next year. While he and mom went on the tour, baby sister and I took a trip to Sunrise Nursery and had great fun there. It's so wonderful sometimes to see things through her eyes.

A very sweet lady at the nursery helped us pick out some pansies and lettuce for her to take home and grow in pots. We took them home and planted them, along with some black calla's (NAME) that I planted for myself. The calla's came from Earl May.

After they left to go home, sweet husband helped me till more of the yard. I really wanted to plant some onion sets also, but the dark caught up with me so that will have to wait until tommorow, I suppose. It's funny how sometimes it just seems like there's no time, when in reality there's plenty--just not always to do the things you really want to do exactly when you want to do them. But all in all it was a nice kind of day.

For real this time

The cilantro is now also coming up--the means everything has officially sprouted. *Happy Dance*

Everything has sprouted...almost

We officially have sprouts of everything except the cilantro. Even the tomatoe seeds that I saved myself are coming up well, and the luffa gourds have made some nice big fat leaves. The Lavendar is coming along slowly, but there are some starting up. Next problem is that I'm going to have to come up with a system to raise my grow lights again soon--I'm going to have to find more books to stack them on!

So I lied ...

... as of when I left the house we have basil and chamomile sprouts also!

We have sprouts!

The argula that I planted with the other seeds has sprouted up. So far nothing else.

Started Seeds Today

...and I found a wonderful thing in my attic to help me along! Someone who lived here before us left three flourescent light fixtures with grow-lights in them. (Maybe they were growing tomatoes *wink wink*) Sooo I went ahead a started a little bit of everything that I wanted to start. Eight weeks was the outer limit on a few things, but I really only wanted to make the mess once and hopefully with the grow lights I won't have too many problems. Here is what I planted.

Herbs
Bodegold Chamomile (Matricaria recutita)--Sunrise, Renee's Garden
Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum)Wal-Mart, Burpee
Genovese Basil (Ocimum basilicum)--Wal-Mart, Burpee
Lemon Basil (Ocimum basilicum)--Wal-Mart, Burpee
Purple Ruffles Basil (Ocimum basilicum)--Wal-Mart, Burpee
Lavender Lady (Lavandula angustifolia)--Wal-Mart, Burpee
Italian Gigante Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)--Sunrise, Renee's Garden
Fine Leaf Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)--Sunrise, Renee's Garden
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)--Sunrise, Livingston Seed Co.

Veggies
Arugula (Roquette)--Sunrise, Livingston Seed Co.
Grape Tomato (Sweet Olive Hybrid)--Earl May
Tomato (Ugly Ripe)--saved from a tomato from Dillions
Luffa Gourds--From Barbara Gallahan on ebay

Flowers
Larkspur (Imp. Mix)--Parks Seed Tape
Zinna (Persian Carpet)--Parks Seed Tape
Nigella (Ms. Jekyll)--Parks Seed Tape
Baby's Breath (Covenant Garden)--Parks Seed Tape

There are some other things I might start later once I get some space cleared out in my flats, but I may just sow everything else outside in April--guess it depends on how bored and stir crazy I get before then!

A Sweetheart of a Day....

That's what the weather man said it was going to be this morning, and he was right--it's absolutely beautiful here!

I had a few hours between work and school this morning so I got outside and finished mulching over the yard. I've given up on trying to make grass from weeds. I was only leaving it for Porter House, and she always poops and hangs out in the mulch anyway. I think she likes the chocolatey smell. Considering the space we have I'd rather have flowers and veggies than try to struggle with the grass.

But, anyway, while I was out playing, I noticed I have some bulbs just starting to nip up. I don't remember what they are, of course, but that makes it all that much more fun. I think they're probably crocuses because I think they bloom first, but they could be hyacinths or daffofils or maybe even my pretty red tulips.

Lemon Tree blooming to a good book

Sitting up reading a very good book (Bringing a Garden to Life by Carol Williams) and enjoying the scent of my lemon tree, which has two blooms fully open and 6 or 7 more that are just about ready to pop. I've been trying to limit the number of blossoms so that we can get some lemons from the tree, but they're so soft and pretty against the green leaves and they smell like Spring. I want to have my blossoms and lemons too.

The book is one I should probably buy a copy of (it came from the wonderful Lawrence Public Library which I've discovered is a gold mine of "committment free"--i.e. I don't have to worry about feeling like I have to use every scrap of information in the book because I paid for it--gardening books). Nothing extremely specific or complicated--it may be oversimplified even--but I think it's good for me now because sometimes it almost seems like there are too many things to consider. Very good chapter on building a compost pile and very simply adding things to the soil more based on feel then on making sure you have just-so-much of this and just-so-much of that. She felt like a "kindred spirit" in her approach--practical (ok maybe I'm not always that), trial and error, let nature happen. Her garden is much bigger than mine I think, but maybe someday....

Warm enough to play outside

We've had a little warm snap, so I got outside to start some stuff I've been itching to do. My neighbor was teasing me about getting a jump start. I built up my little veggie garden and changed the shape of the walls a little bit so that everything is hopefully a little less stark and a little more cuurrrvy. I also put down some mulch that is made from the shells of cocoa beans. It smells heavenly! It's like a chocolate fix everytime I step outside!

Also got all my recycled planters ready for spring. Sweet husband helped me drill holes in the bottom of some large cans. I want them to get a little rusty and weathered looking so they're all tied neatly along my fence. Hopefully Mother Nature will do her best for them.

Lemon Tree

This was my Christmas present from Blaine. It is a Meyer Lemon tree from Wayside Gardens. The little pink things on top are blossoms, so maybe we'll have some lemons eventually. I just repotted it in regular potting soil, but as I was doing so, I noticed the soil that came with the tree is kind of sandy.

Care: Part sun, fertilize every 6 weeks March-September, Moist not wet, Trim to desired shape

Ordered Roses for Spring

I ordered two bareroot rose bushes for spring. They should be arriving in early April from the Regan Nursery in Fremont, California--that's near San Francisco. I got a Black Baccara bush and a Leonida bush, because those are the types of roses we had at our wedding. The Leonidas are supposed to be a bit tricky, but I really wanted those kinds so I thought I'd give it a shot anyway.

Spring Bulbs Planted

I planted bulbs for Spring in mid-October. If I plant more bulbs next year I need to do it later I think. It was really warm at the end of October this year and the crocuses decided it was time to come up early! Fortunately they didn't actually bloom, so I'm told (by my Mom, who generally knows about these things) that they might still flower in the spring. Their leaves are filling up the bed nicely right now, so it's all good either way. Because of the vegetable garden and very limited space, I planted the bulbs in between the vegetable rows--not sure how that will work exactly, but we'll see this spring!

I planted ...
...50 crocus bulbs (large flowered mix/Parks),
...50 Grape Hycinth (Parks),
...10 Black "Queen of the Night" Tulips (Earl May)
...25 red "triumph" tulips (Earl May).

I also planted three Irises that came as freebies with the other Parks bulbs.
"Stellar Lights"--light lavendar
"Earl of Essex"--white and lavendar
"Harvest of Memories"--yellow

Fall 2004 Vegetable Garden

For my first attempt at vegetable gardening, I planted a small fall garden from seed that came from Parks Seeds. I got started a little bit late--it was mid-September before I planted.

I grew...
...green onions ("Onion Parade")
...broccoli ("Lucky Hybrid")
...leaf lettuce ("Summer Glory Blend").

The lettuce came up wonderfully in big beautiful bunches, but I think the broccoli and the onions suffered from the late start. We were able to use a few of the bigger onions, but most of them weren't really big enough by the time the first really cold freeze came along and killed them. Something ate a lot of the leaves on the broccoli, but it had started to recover and looked like it might be thinking about sprouting. Then the aforementioned really cold freeze hit and that was that.

The plants did really well through the first minor frosts, but next year I need to plant earlier to maybe get some veggies before it gets too cold.