April 2010

Well it is drizzling.........we had no rain/snow in March so this is welcomed being it is so dry.
Was able to get the pre-emergence out there when it was over 50s. Hope got it in time so prevent the crabgrass from taking over. The other day was able to clean up the old stuff in the flower beds(most of them - a few more to go) There are grass mixed in there that need to be cleaned up.
Will have to get a quote to spread some black dirt and also mulch for the plants. Will have to gave a plan of attack to get the yard work and plants in. I am seriously considering getting bales of 'hay' 'straw' and see if I succeed in getting this going.
There is so much to do before June............so will keep you posted with my progress.

March 2010 - Straw Bale Gardening???

Last year, gardening fell on the wayside. Deer, rabbits, and lack of attention - kept me from a bountiful garden. I did my usual container gardening for my flowers for the front entrance steps and back patio area. A no-brainer - just water and fertilize.

Seed catalogs have been arriving and the planning seems to be getting the better of me. Also, I came across 'straw bale gardening'. I did some research and watched some video; this has gotten me curious. I am not too excited about how to prepare the bales.

1. Straw bale and NOT Hay bale.
2. Preparation before planting - many suggestions.
3. Ammonium nitrate for one. I am not too excited about using this. Other alternative is soil and manure or 'human pee' Yuck!............but I have checked it out and there are videos and website that suggest this. I have to think on that.
3. Should take about 10-20 days to prepare the bale............needs lots of watering to condition this.

For now, I am at the thinking and research stage. I plan to journal through the season and we shall see what I end up doing.

Stay tuned!!

Memorial Day Weekend -

Finally the start of the gardening season. Nothing started from seed this year. Plants bought at the annual Picha Farm.........bought flats of red salvias, white alyssums, and mixed zinnias. Last year, these were a sure thing.........deer proof! Also, bought heirloom tomatoes............looking forward to seeing the variety of colors.......it will be great in salads. Bought another varigated honeysuckle vine..........need to replace the honeysuckle that died..............hope they grow fast..............miss those hummingbirds. Red geraniums a must...... along with some accent plants.

May was pretty busy and weeding was not getting my undivided attention. So.............the week leading up to this weekend............have been getting up early and weeding as much as I could before getting ready for work.

Friday made a trip to Menards to loadup on dirt, compost, and mulch........thank goodness for a neighbor with a truck! Just one trip!

Saturday(not my usual day to go).............headed to the Mpls Farmer's Market........................crowd, parking a premium........reason why I don't shop there on Saturday............................Nevertheless.............lucked out on someone leaving............and put my parallel parking to the test...............piece of cake!
On the way home........quick stop at Frattalone's and why not check out Kmart's garden center...................great deals...........headed home and ready to dig!!!

I got the three areas in the front ......tilled, planted, and mulched (pictures forthcoming). Containers in the front...............soil amended, mixed, and filled..... variety of plants.............I can't wait to take the before and after pictures!

My two sons cleared an area under the four pine trees/flowering crabapple tree...............partially mulched(ran out)............it looks great..............son suggested a hammock or a bench .............would be great...........

Front is done! Vegetable garden and backyard and patio.............for another time..........I promised pics!!

Happy New Year

Well seed catalogs are arriving in the mail and this is a good time to start planning your garden. Make a diagram of the type of flowers for your containers and/or fillers for your garden.

Did you remember to save some seeds from last year's flowers? Now is a good time to start planning your 'starting your seeds'. I would also suggest getting a calendar so you can journalize and note when you started your seeds, germination time, when transferred to containers/ground, and when blooms appeared. Some seeds are started at different time because of how slow/fast they grow.

Have fun paging through the catalogs and noting what plants to have this year. Hope you took pictures of your containers and garden when they were in full bloom!

If seed starting is not your cup of tea, then just make a list of flowers you like and then start planning how many are needed (how many you bought last year). Impulse buying can be costly; but if you plan and wait for sales (flats) such as marigolds, impatience, and geraniums, you can be a 'smart' shopper.

The days are starting to get longer :-)
Seed Catalogs will be clogging your mailbox
Flower and Garden Show is around the corner!

Just an FYI! There is a robin that has decided to stay for the winter; and I have been trying to get a picture of it feeding on some 'mini' crabapples. The apples are usually gone before winter because of the cedarwaxwings and this year they didn't come so the robin seems to be surviving. I have seen him out there in 0 degrees...............hopping from one branch to another eating enough to survive. He shares with a couple of cardinals...........

Later!

Fall is here!

Well, I did not post as often as I wanted to. Fishing and biking took up most of my time. The garden, containers, and lawn received TLC during the season; but not much time devoted to blogging or pictures to post. The containers have been emptied, cleaned, and stored away for the season. I dug up some plants, moved some around, tossed a few, and trimmed some plants down. However, I did leave plants with their flowers/seeds for the birds to snack on during the Fall/Winter season. My collection of hostas were great at the beginning of the season; but the deer made sure the leaves were gone so I could not identify the different hostas that I bought through the years. I will have to be more aggressive in keeping the deer away from my hostas next season!
I re-potted some herbs (rosemary, sage, marjoram, and thyme) and have it sitting by my bay window, which faces south.
It was a beautiful weekend; and I mowed the lawn on Sunday............but will it be the last mowing of the season...........we shall see. Hope it is .........because the gas tank is almost empty..............The next fill may be for the snowblower!

This may be my last posting for the season and will start up in Feb/Mar, when I start my seeds.

In the meantime........happy Fall!

What do you do when deer rules?

The beginning of the season my hostas showed great promise. The left corner of my back yard is shaded by trees on the property line. I planted ferns as a backdrop for my hostas and astilbes. This was low maintenance, just mulch and water. There are two ponds on each side of my property that also borders the other backyards. A few blocks on the north west side is a park and several acres of marsh land. This makes movement of deer from the park to the ponds in the neighborhood to be quite frequent.

In previous seasons I would sprinkle some milorganite and/or shavings of Irish Spring soap around each hosta to discourage deer. After two or three rainfalls, I would repeat this process, which helped deter the deer but not the rabbits or racoons. What took a toll was my vegetable garden. It was fenced in with a gate and an arbor for the entrance. Beside weeds taking over when the heat was on, deer got over the fence and rabbits still squeezed between the gate door. Beans, green peppers, tomatoes, okra, eggplants, cucumbers, and zuchinni were planted each season.



I manage to yield tomatoes and cukes in abundance; but the others depend on who got to it first.

This year I gave up on the hostas; and just let the deer have at it. The picture of the deer down by my hostas was taken after her fawn walked by the hostas on it's way to the pond. It made it fun to watch them in the yard early in the morning.



At night the deer check out the container gardens around the patio. Some of these containers had green peppers or lemon grass in the center with petunia waves, dahlias, marigolds, or red salvias around it. Without the deer's attention, the peppers and lemon grass added height and the others added volume when the blossoms were in full bloom. The lemon grass did well; but the peppers never matured except to a bare stub(picture). My impatients have also been deadheaded by the deer while the flowers are in full-bloom.



They do not touch coleus or zinnias. Also, lemon grass, herbs, marigolds, and dahlias are not on their menu.


As we come to the end of the season, it is time to think of what plants to split and move around. Check in for next posting. For now enjoy the blooms!

Pictures of some of my containers on the front steps and sitting area:



This container, the canna in the center and surrounded by two red petunia wave, dahlias, and double petunia. Next year, I may do the wave (3-4 plants) again; but will start the canna much earlier because it did not do much for height. I think, I may plant the dahlias in a container by itself.



These giant coleus are just wonderful and easy to grow. Facing north and shaded most of the day, it does quite well here. The petunia did surprising well for being in the shade most of the day. I plan on doing this again next year.



Impatients always do well on the front steps, which stays shaded most of the day. The deer rarely come up to the front steps!

Enjoy the blooms!

The Heat is On!

(Coneflowers, monarda, and moonbeam coreopsis do well in heat and less water)

The heat is on and weeds are flourishing! No sprinkler system makes for uneven watering. Thus, it becomes dormant grass and weeds haven. You try to save your flower beds by abiding by the city ordinance on watering on odd/even days and 'No Watering' time between 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, least you risk a fine by the 'city watering patrol'. For homeowners and avid gardeners that are not blessed with a sprinkler system, it becomes a full-time job to orchestrate the concert of moving hoses with a variety of sprinklers attached within a timed soaking. This may be interrupted by a distraction of a phone call or a TV program. The task to evenly water can be a challenge; but the flower containers around the patio and front steps always get the daily attention needed. Also......... mowing less when it’s hot and keeping the lawnmower cutting level at 5 or 6 help manage the lawn. The weather forecast ‘possible thunderstorm’ …………………a welcomed statement, but will it come true! We will have to wait and see!

Enjoy the blooms!