On Your Mark…Get Set…!

It is Almost Time!

What can be more inspiring on Easter weekend than celebrating life and joy outside digging in the dirt? To me, this is just as much a religious experience as sitting in church. This may sound blasphemous to some, and in no way am I negating the importance of this holiday or church, but I feel closer to God when I am enriching His soil and really connecting with the spirit of nature. I’ve also never been one who felt very comfortable in church, or a church family, but consider myself a very religious and spiritual person. So my main desire this weekend is to create a spotlight of beauty that comes from my soul, seeds, and sweat.

I am already piling my gear up and getting ready to head Dallas way to BFS’s house. The goal for the weekend is to get all the soil ready in the front bed in order to add my highlights and edging plants, and then my specimen at a later date. I would love to plant it all in one go but unfortunatelythe plants on order with the AgriExtension Office won’t be here until the 19th.

In the mean time, Imy plan is to use white as the main color accent. I am usingSweet Alyssum (white) along the border edges and in a few large patches throughout. Alyssum is great because it is a heavy flowering and scented plant. Perfect for sitting on the front porch on beautiful spring and summer nights. When the flowers start to die or look sparse, then simply hedge them back and there is a new burst of growth and blooms fit for a rolling country meadow. Two of my favorite spring flowers are Shasta Daisy and Sweet William. Sweet William comes in a variety of colors but I chose the white variety, and should be fabulous bunched together with mounds of daisies in a wave of white. This may look super magnificent on it’s own without the addition of the other plants.

So much has to be done first, however, to get the dirt ready for new vegetation. The grass that infiltrated the beds has been “dealt with”, and hopefully will not be a problem, and as you can see from the picture above, I have the soil amender and mulch ready to go. Since the soil hasn’t been worked with insome time, I will need to replenish and balance the nutrients in the soil. Amending the top soil with one part organic mulch and one part enriched soil (enriched with organisms, enzymes and other good, growy stuff) should do the trick. Once that is thoroughly mixed in, would be beneficial to let it sit for a week or two to acclimate. But since I’m there, and won’t be back for a few weeks, I wanted to go ahead and get the border and accent plants in. Then, I will put a 3 to 4 inch layer of Red Cedar Mulch down. Red cedar has an advantage that some mulches don’t have. It detracts bugs and roses love red Cedar. Also, the reflection of the red has been theorized to produce healthier and bigger blooms. Side note: Tomatoes and strawberries love red mulch. They have been proven to yield a larger and tastier crop.

Once all this is done, I’ll let the sprinklers do their job and let the flower babies grow. I cant wait to get back around the 19th or so and plant the specimen plants and ornamental grasses (Little Blue Stem, Mexican Feather Grass, and Blue Muhly grass)

Specimen Plants

(From post on 2/27/09 Garden of Delight)

In the perennials category: White Oxalis: These are a fantastically hardy plant that is drought resistant and attracts butterflies. (Butterfly attractiveness is one of the main things I look for in a perennial.) I also ordered passion flower vines. This vine features a super spaceship looking blue flower. I was told to order 2, one for the butterflies and one for me. I also chose Cotton Lavender and Green Santolina. These make amazing ground cover and fillers in a natural landscape.

In the Shrub category: I added a Hardy Flare Hibiscus that I plan on babying in a container for a few years, and an American BeautyBerry. I have heard wonderful thing about this bush and it produces long stems of beautiful and tasty berries.

In the rose category: I chose a few eye poppers and nose tempters. The Antique Cadenza is an amazingly hardy, deep red, climbing rose shrub with an out-of-this-world fragrance. To compliment this rose shrub, I added the Duchesse de Brabant rose. This rose is cream to pink and equally fragrant. Maybe later on I will add some white Knock-Outs to add more ooompf….Phases…phases! I have to learn that I can do things in stages and not all at once.

So that is the plan for now. I am very excited to only have to concentrate my plantings on flowers for now. I have my vegetables safely tucked away for the night in the garage growing in their little buckets because the news said that there was a chance of a freeze tonight. I already have a wee tiny little tomato and the tops of a few peppers are blooming out, and am so excited that I chose to do a container vegetable garden this year. It may take a few years to perfect it, but I’m digging it so far and can’t wait to see how to utilize it in small spaces year round.

March 29, 2009March 29, 2009

Burr Cold Weekend

Weekend frost seemed to have bypassed, and the fruit trees should be fine

To Frost or Not to Frost?

Well, the weekend temperatures were down for sure. I had family in Lubbock with snow in the ground (informed via text-by-text updates) and I had family and friends in the Dallas/Ft. Wort area with ice and rain. I even had Austin reports of hail and thunderstorms. However, we had a very mild and in between weekend. It was cold, windy and bizarrely sunny. My gardening solution was the “be safe than sorry” stick everything inside the garage approach. I kept track of the garage temperature and it got as low as 38 inside. Thankfully, I chose the container route this year and everything should make it fine as long as I can fight the rabbits and ground squirrels that have seemed to flourish in the last few years. Mainly, since the farm across the way took government subsidies for letting the land go natural. Understandable and noble, but a pain in the <beep> for us fighting the critters. Anyway……

The mud finches have returned, another signal that spring is here to stay. So the time is approaching for some serious gardening and flower planting! I’m getting very excited. In the mean time….. This last week I made observations on the blooming status of already established plants are a Go, Go, Go. Below is a pic of the rose tree that I severely trimmed a few weeks ago, It is out of hibernation and ready to thrive.

This week, I am removing everything out of the garage and finding somewhere permanent to place the veggie babies in a safe protective place out of the wind. This will probably be the back patio. I have already observed that the wind might be my major battle this year.

Tomato babies in a different light. safe and sound in the garage.

Let me know if any of you had any serious weather issues this weekend and what your solutions were to protect any plants you are growing were.

March 24, 2009March 24, 2009

Buckets of Goodness and a Side Note of Tragedy

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring everyone! This is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year.

In celebrating the first days of spring, I spent the weekend working like a woman obsessed. The weekend was full of spring cleaning, planting vegetables, herbs and left me absolutely exhausted. I have been so busy that I just now have a moment to even blog about it.

Why all the ugly buckets?

I’ve had a garden most of my life. Most of them have been at least an acre in size (but felt like 100). I spent summers hoeing, picking, canning and complaining. Little did I know, that when I became a wizened adult, I would find the happy memories inspiring. I say wizened because when I first moved away to attend college, I wanted nothing to do with the roots that bound me to the land. I didn’t grow a tomato again for almost 10 years. It has really been in the last 5 or 6 years that I have really gotten back into growing things. The vegetable garden hasn’t been as large as when I was a young but the rewards have been fruitful. I love the idea of being as self sufficient as possible.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to work on my usual row garden, but I still wanted to have one. I also want to learn as much as I can about how things grow, so this year I have stepped outside of my traditional rows and am doing my vegetable garden in containers. I had a few terracotta pots available but mostly old 2 to 5 gallon plastic planters and buckets are what I am using. It doesn’t have to be pretty to grow, right?

So here is What I Did

On Saturday, my mother, Parks and I set off to have lunch and run a few errands. We ended up in 4 garden centers and only bought a small truckload of stuff. The highlight of the day was when I found a Brown Turkey Fig Tree at Garden Place. I spoke at length with an employee who knew quite a bit about Figs and he offered some advice for growing it in a container. Since I’m not sure where and when I want this plant to rest forever, a container will do for now.

We hit Garden World next and the favorite purchase there was a Midnight Ginger plant. Its hardy in zone 10 so it will definitely be a house plant. I then picked out my favorite veggies that I knew did well in these parts, some organic soil, and some organic fertilizer that would “do the trick”. Then it was on to Lowes where I bought shrub and tree dirt, a few hanging baskets and then it was off to Wal-Mart to get wine and terracotta pots. Both much cheaper there and I have a serious love and lack of taste when it comes to wine. (Don’t get me wrong, I like the good stuff too, I just don’t discriminate.) Back at home it was container time.

I know I said I wouldn’t plant until Easter. I still mean that. Nothing goes into the ground until Easter weekend. So I broke into the plumbing work truck, swiped a drill and a bit, went to the shop and found tons of buckets. Once I selected all the varieties I wanted, i drilled drain holes in the little suckers. That should do.

Below is a pic of the fruits of my labor. I am not sure about the placement of this bucket-o-Garden. For now, all the plant babies are taking refuge in the garage. The temps have been ok, but the wind has been awful.

My first attempt is mainly filled with the varieties of plants that I know well. One of my favorite summer activities is also canning peppers so the more the better. Therefore, I kept the garden small and stuck to what I know. Hopefully, it will be a success. If anybody out there has any suggestions or advice, please feel free to let me know.

(Magners is my garden warrior. He protects the plant babies at all cost. Even if that means laying on top of them to keep them warm. He’s not that bright sometimes, but he means well.)

Some Pictures to Illustrate the Goodness

Above are my patio tomatoes, lavender, and peppers. I am hoping for huge tomatoes this year. I am growing cherry and roma.

Mags is guarding the stash. left to right we have a pot of misc herbs, cucumbers (hanging baskets), two white varieties of crepe myrtle, figs, leeks, jalapenos, banana peppers, tomato (r0ma), tomato (cherry) lavender, various bell peppers, more jalapenos, and hot banana.

This is my wee, hundred plus pound baby. He wants to be in every shot (and even poses! u see that?!). Otherwise, Magners is a great garden buddy. No one else is able to stand my gardening OCD and follow every footstep as if it is the best thing in the world. It’s my own personal fan club.

OK working with dirt is not glam, so I look……well, not glam……and eerily alot like my dad…..yikes….MAKE-UP! Anyway, my fan club rested his head on my shoulder and decided we needed a pic together. so CHEEESE!

Meanwhile, in the house…Catastrophe Strikes

On the seedling front….CATASTROPHE! I went away for a fun filled spring break. In the mean time, my hardy little seedlings were growing away in a specially designed, self watering container. I guess that’s what I get for trying to take the easy watering way out. We have mold people!

It hit with a vengeance. Two of my trays have been infested. I hope I got to it in time. So I don’t loose the whole crop, I immediately removed the plants and bleached all my trays. I then flushed out my plants with water. It’s is the only thing I can think to do without spending any money and still maintain my organic principles. It is survival of the fittest around here. It is a week later and It looks like the remaining plants will be survivors. I didn’t loose too many.

These guys are still kicking butt! go purple basil and zinias!

March 17, 2009March 18, 2009

Outside Time

I hope everyone had, or is having, a great spring break. P and I had a fantastic one lounging around like lumps @ BFS’s house. I just loved all of those cloudy overcast days that brought all the much needed water and nutrients to the budding plant babies. Not much to do @ BFS’s house this month as far as planting and gardening goes. I’ll still let him have control of the lawn for a bit and continue to make my master plans (Mwahahahaha… ahck…cough, cough). Mostly, it involves lots of mulching, overturning, edging, fertilizing, and planting. Nothing a few super-exhausting warrior weekends can’t fix. Simple but beyouteaful…I hope.

BACK TO THE GRIND

So, it was back to work in the ho-hum yesterday. I had tons of fun catching up on a week worth of ignored stacks of file me’s, sign me’s, and HIDE me’s (JK BOSS!), just waiting for my attention. (Boo on that)…. I finally, with much effort, gave it up. It was too beautiful of a day to stay inside. A new plan began to emerge. I started to crank up the iPod, and then changed my mind. A monster rattle snake was recently found (killed) lurking in the garage. I decided I’d better keep my eyes and ears open….for now. It’s a little early for rattle snakes to be wandering these parts. Usually around this time, they are just waking from hibernation and sunning closer to their dens. Never-the-less, I was going to be certain that my zone was a rattle free zone so I was working iPod free. I even went as far as to wear SHOES (that weren’t flip flops). I hate to wear shoes when I dig in the dirt, so it was a huge sacrifice for me. Stupid snakes ruin everything. I was pretty disappointed in the lack of an iPod because I had some really great podcasts that I was trying to catch up on….but I digress to more important things.

For my birthday, I received a great pack of gardening gloves for all occasions. Obviously, one must have 5 pairs of gardening gloves that are categorized in gripability and material thickness, to do all the fantastical, outdoorsy tasks that need to be done. I was very pleased the pair that was deemed “pruning and weeding super-grips” were the ones with the cute daisy on the back. I was now wearing my lucky camo shorts, thoroughly slathered with spf1000, sadly wearing tennis shoes, majestically wearing daisy/super-grip gloves, was iPod-less, and ready to get outside and kick ass (minus the cape)!

THE TASKS

First things first, all efforts to save the potted rose tree. It has really been neglected and not looking well in the past week, or two, or three…(it wasn’t me, I just ignored the problem). SO, my first task was to water the hell out of aforementioned potted rose tree, and prune the heck out of it. I had to cut a lot off. I don’t think it will have a very good growing season this year, but will survive after a healthy dose of rose fertilization and pest treatment. When he’s up to it; he will shine.

GUILTY CONFESSION

I will have to admit, I have been a bit of a pre-spring neglectful gardener. This past month, my weekends have been pretty full. I didn’t get my “It’s February so Prune Me” time in. I still had tons of pruning back and hedging to do. So, next task was backyard pruning. Grapes and Wisteria looked ok. I was already aware that I probably lost one of my grape vines and it lookd like I was right. Dang puppies will always dig in the wrong places. I put it on my list to take care of at a later date list.

I noticed that a limb on one of the mulberry trees had fallen during all the rain this week and was hitting the electrical line. That was put on the list of things BossDaddy can do. I then set to work on my butterfly and hummingbird area and began hacking away at my Texas Fire Brush (Hamelia patens). It was already coming back so I didn’t totally hedge it to the ground. I did the same to the Autumn Sage (salvia gregii) and Butterfly bush (Clematis ternifolia). Once I removed all the leaves and two wheelbarrow loads to the compost pile, it was looking pretty good. I then trimmed the rosemary and wired up the honeysuckle fence. The cows were not pleases about that. I have to grow my honeysuckle on a fence in front of the fence; otherwise, the cows (or sometimes goats) will have a buffet of honeysuckle delight. Not happonin’ on my watch. I then set to work on my Vitex, aka Texas Lilac, aka Chaste Tree. I am growing them as multi-trunk trees so it is very necessary to cut back quite a bit as well as cut all the potential new growth off the trunks.

LAZY BEDS

One of the things thing that sets me apart as a successful lazy gardener is that I love to use nature’s own insulation system. When the leaves fall from the tree, I direct them in an orderly fashion, via the wind, to the beds. It is totally a win-win. I have great dirt, natural compost and a wonderful living environment for all the creepy crawlies that want to stick around for the unpopular months. The only problem is that the cleanup is kinda ookey but very satisfying. That being said, I moved onto my front beds for cleanup time.

I am also an avid herb grower. Rosemary and lavender are my favorite. It grows everywhere. So I go to work on clearing the leaves off the everlasting herbs. I say everlasting because most of the herbs in the bed in front of the house made it thru the mild winter. I cut back all the dead lemon grass to reveal new sprigs emerging among the dead stalks. Underneath this, and a foot if mulberry leaves, was my oregano that I knew was alive throughout the winter because I uncovered and snipped a few sprigs this winter for spaghetti sauce. I also had a very woody sage bush, lemon balm vigorously coming back, parsley that was still hanging in there, more rosemary, dill, and cilantro. The American bamboo was looking like it needed a trim but the JFK White roses looked fabulous. The only problem was some Bermuda grass threatened its space. That was when I discovered that the doggies had found a new favorite spot to do their business. I was none to please to say the least, however, a job was a job. I braced myself for the worst. I grasped my shovel and went to work on removing the vileness from my bed. The smell that was wafting to my olfactory sensifications was…was….was…. chocolate?…… and……holy hell……MINT! No way! Underneath the desecration created by the waste of my evil pups, grew a wafty and potent patch of chocolate mint. I didn’t think it took when I planted it last spring! Bless the Lord and Nature! Miracle observed and appreciated.

ANYWAY…

On the other side of the porch I revealed the shallots and garlic already up in abundance. I thinned that a bit and made more room for my calla lilies. I have a patch of all white Calla Lilies that thrive next to the faucet. I love these babies and they will most likely be the favorite bulbs that I dig up and take wherever I go. The garden roses grow somewhere in the mass of all that awesomeness. Then there is regular old mint and evergreen honeysuckle mounds. All is well here.

The hundred year old lavender bushes are blooming and doing fine. We had a scare a few years back and nearly lost them to drought and disease but thanks to a heavy pruning they are alive and well (sadly, they are not even a fraction of their old size).

One of the signs of “Spring is Here” is when the big English Ivy covered Mulberry tree blooms. It comes on quick and within the span of a wink and a spit we are covered in these allergen filled pods. Spring is now delivered in the form of hay fever! Must get the leaves up in order to shovel these buggers out with a shovel soon. It’s a big tree.

QUITTING TIME

I’m exhausted. I have blisters on my thumbs, despite my amazing gardening gloves with the daisies on them. One more major area to cover. The little burned stump area is last on the agenda. This is an area around a chared stump where anything will grow. Around it grows any misc herbs I can find. I currently have: fennel, indian mustard, thyme, rosemary, sage, chamomile, purple basil, sweet basil, regular basil, catnip, dill,oregano, turmeric, tarragon, cilantro/coriander, parsley, and majorum.

On another side is my trophy cherry tree that I snagged from my FavAunt H’s house a few years back. It is a baby from my Grandma’s cherry tree/bush. It holds so much sentimental value and it is blooming. I am truly happy. I sit and talk to the tree for a minute. I explain that he is new and still growing and gently let him know that, in this climate, he may not produce every year but he is still loved. I laugh about blogging this later and all those who will hopefully understand my craziness and then move on to another area. This is an area that faces the circle drive so it is a spot for beauty. Here grows my lantana, beauty vine, clemantis, columbine, some pretty blue flowered ground cover called flax, marigolds, California poppy, zinnias and cosmos. Nothing is showing here yet but lots of it will come back from seed. It will soon, however, now that I’ve let the sunshine in. It is hard to believe that so much will grow in such a small space but it will be packed to the brim with ausomeness by the summer.

I mainly removed the dead growth, cutback and cleared the leaves. I am was on wheelbarrow load # 7 and was almost done. It was after 7, the light was waning and then…aaaahhh, wiggly, scaly…..oh yes…snake!!! I’M DONE! Thats a big NO on working with snakes, thanks. Turns out it was just a harmless Bull Snake. Oh yes, they bite and its hurts, but not poisonous. But still!

The super kitteh guarded the stump and I went inside cursing snakes and enjoyed a lovely glass (or two) of Pinot Noir while reflecting on an evening well done. I figured that the only people’s who will read this, know me, and will forgive me on the insanity and understand how crazy I get about this time of year. Now that I decided to blog about it at extensive length the whole world will have it as public record. DANG

Much love and Peace.

March 9, 2009March 17, 2009

Blossoms are Here

I took some pictures of the fruit trees a few days ago. I really pray that temperatures will stay and spring time is truly here so we don’t loose the fruit. The trees are just about in full bloom and bees were busy doing their masterful job of pollinating.

Peach

Apricot

Plum

March 6, 2009March 17, 2009

Goddess of Gardening Update

Ok! Maybe Goddess is a bit much! But still……….

I included lots of pics in this blog because I just lurv clicking away at my flower babies. It’s all I can do at the moment, since the more I leave them alone, keep them watered and sunbathing the better they will be.

A few observations about my wee little seedlings :

Zinnias planted in first planting are way too leggy. I am not sure if it had to do with amount of sun exposure but I kept them in the same window as Zinnias planted in # 2 tray.
The fennel are not as strong grown indoors as they were when I started them outside last year. I’m going to put a fan on them for a few hours a day in order to develop some strength to their stalk. I’ll just have to keep an eye on the water. I don’t want them to dry out.
So far everything has sprouted beautifully

My mother, being a master gardener herself, brought a few store bought herbs because they were a steal…but can you see how jealous the plant babies are sitting next to them?! Total Performance anxiety; but I told them that size didn’t matter….it’s the ability to photosynthesize that gardeners look for. I think they feel better.

Grow herby babies! Grow! The purple basil looks good enough to eat already. I love to plant purple basil in my show beds for their deep color. It adds a beautiful contrast to the vibrant colors of spring blooms and bright greenery. Also, infusing your beds with specific herbs are a natural pest deterrent. Less chemicals and more smarts peoples. I plants herbs everywhere (outside and inside) The nature woman in me believes in the innate healing properties of herbs just by proximity alone.

These guys are reaching for the sun. I have to rotate my flats so everyone can get enough full sun. I seriously need a green house as big as a house. Currently, I house my seedling nursery/overwinter storage/plant hospital in the south facing utility room. There is a washing area and a huge window that allows for an abundance of light and protection. It’s a pretty smooth operation, but I’m greedy. I want more! I ran out of room for my overwintering facility in the Utility room, so a good portion of my non-winter hardy, containerized plants are in my bathroom. It is literally a jungle in there!

So what’s going on outside?

We’ve got pink buds! Peaches are all set for go. Please, Please, Please no freeze! Last years peaches were amazing. We still have a freezer full ready to go for cobblers and ice cream toppings! The apricot and plums have leaf nodules but since they are only a few yrs old and were planted last year, I’m not expecting a crop. The grapes are budding as are the Wisteria and roses. I am so excited to see the bees out and about and the Mud Finches back. That means Spring is almost here. I won’t officially be excited until after Easter. Then I will let superstition pass and dig like a mad woman.

The sad aspect of gardening this year is the lack of a vegetable garden. I made the decision to not do a veggie garden this year, due to the fact that I will be moving during the critical summer gardening period. I love having a garden and have had one most of my life. So a good way to make me jealous is to talk about how good your tomatoes and onion sets are doing! I am still maintaining and caring for whatever is currently rooted in the ground, but will not be adding anything to this property. I am propagating my seeds for my new residence, family and friends, the buzz garden for the zoo, and plant sale.

Never fear, I have my perennials and annuals on order for April and my seeds are set and it looks like all the cutting back and hedging has done its job and I see more and more sprouts every day.