Moving

I have a problem because I might be moving during the winter. What the heck do I do with all my lovely perrenials that I've planted :( There's no way I can just leave them behind. I won't do it.

Bummer Summer

I really should have waited to start school until after the summer. My plants have been neglected because I'm so darn busy. I did however get the chance to make some fantastic pizza sauce with tomatoe, onion and basil from the garden, that's pretty cool and exciting. In all reality I have a very small crop for what I was expecting. No zuchinni, no squash, corn, watermelon, muskmelon, no melons at all. The onions stopped growing while they were still small little things...the garlic too... Broccoli hasn't done a thing but I'm thinking when it cools off, I might actually get a crop. Things I DO have, about 100 jalapenos and some other hot peppers, pumpkins...one two, maybe even three, lots of beans and tomatoes. That's it. Of everything I planted, that's all I got. I don't understand why the bell peppers didn't produce yet the jalapenos flourished. They were started at the same time under the same conditions. Weird

On a happy note. My flowers look great and turned out to be very rewarding. At least that worked out for me.

Note for next year, rent a property that gets full sun...my mistake thinking I could grow things without enough sun. Well, it worked last year...boo.

Sad Day

My gladiolus started to bloom. Unfortunately, my zucchini stopped blooming completely and has made no fruit at all...my pumpkins however did. Not sure how that happened.

Happy July

Things are coming along well! A lot of flowers are about to bloom in the next week or so while others are coming along slowly but surely. I'm so impatient, I just want some instant beauty. One of my rose bushes bloomed with two beautiful but small roses. I am not complaining though, I'm impressed they come up at all. The other bush however seems to have given up on life. I will replace it next year. The bean vines I planted are almost reaching the gutter along the roof. I'm so excited, it looks great. Also the cathedral bells I planted there are doing splendidly. Everything else will come in time. I hope to have more time next year. My busy schedule keeps me out of my garden way too much. I miss it. I have a day or two coming up though that I will make sure to spend in the garden. There is so much to do but with the rain, I have been lucky enough to not have to water often and spend my time out there doing more important things than watering.
The peppers are getting big, and still blooming away. The tomatoes are getting bigger and I swear everyday there is another one growing on those plants. The zucchini started blooming as well as the beans. I have my first white raspberry growing, just waiting for it to gain color. The onion foliage all fell to the ground with the extreme weather we had but they are still growing. I am starting to see the size of the bulbs and I am so excited. That is my most exciting crop (other than the peppers of course). I noticed that my garlic leaves have lost their...life or luster at least. They all seem wilted but possibly it is out of season for them and now they just need to cure. I will pull them and use what I have. Having small garlic cloves is better than having nothing. Harvest season is fast approaching. Excitement in my own backyard!

Pictures from the garden

First forming tomato of the season

One of many many peppers

I have two rosebuds on my tiny rose bush that I didn't think would do anything yet this year!

Wildflower, not sure what it is.



Don't know what this guy is either, grows on a 2-3 foot plant with this tiny little bloom.

Hosta



Can't think of the name of this either, got it last year when it was tiny, then it grew 3/4 it's size and bloomed this year. So cute

Cathedral bells

Cana Lily, only one came up

Calla lily

Beans, Cathedral Bells, Convulvous and Nasturtium

Slacking...

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. I just started school so my garden time is limited to the weekend now. But since the last post, I have eaten strawberries, peas and found out which plant I had from February were pansies! The peppers have buds on them, the squash and pumpkin plants are getting huge, corn is coming up, onions started budding(pinched them off as soon as I could). It's no wonder everyone blogs so often about gardening, there is always something going on!

I had mild problems with bunnies or something, maybe squirrels. Also there is a stray cat running around that my boyfriend informed me was using my garden as a play place. I used some chili powder on and around the plants and that seemed to keep them away. I however made the mistake of getting way too much on my muskmelon plant, I went out the next day and it was all droopy. Thinking about it, I definitely could have burned the delicate leaves. Duh Tina... Luckily that plant I bought to replace the gnawed on watermelon had 2 plants in it so the other is doing fine.

Another problem over the last week or so, while one rose bush is starting to take off, producing new shoots, the other has withered leaves and seems to have simple given up. I'm not too heart broken over this, they cost me 4 dollars, I could only expect the worst but I thought I'd try my hand at rose bushes.

Disappointment number 5 (or 6): I planted 3 packets of different sunflowers in my front planting spot where all of my flowers are. Only 7 came up...that is a hugely disappointing number when each packet has about 25 seeds. That's about 9% that germinated. Pathetic if you ask me. This spot is somewhat sandy now that I look at it and also does not have the luxury of getting natural water. It is only about 2 feet wide all the way down the front of the house but in order for it to get water, I'd need to water it myself. The overhang keeps it dry. On another note, I planted 10 or so Dahlia bulbs from Home Depot of which 2 came up. The rest are sitting uselessly in the ground doing nothing. Maybe it's just because they are from Home depot but this back part seems to be cursed. I can't do a whole lot about this now, maybe throw some good soil back there and replant SOMETHING just so it isn't so bare...That's my best option at this point but this late in the season, I wonder if I can still fix my problem.

On a pleasant note (finally), I received my 8 Trillium -white and purple- in the mail yesterday. Originally sold at 5 bucks a pop, I purchased these for 1.50 each. I'm excited to put them in, my shaded area could use some more interesting plants. These will do the trick for sure. Also a good thing, as I was digging and pulling thing out of the garden in early spring, I found an interesting shaped plant that I was unsure about so I left it. Sure enough it turns out to be a lily, the leaves aren't as thick as any that I've seen so I had doubted my decision originally. Good thing I left it though. Unfortunately, I remember pulling one out and thinking maybe that was going to be something. Oh well, I needed to be productive early in the season, at least I got (almost) everything done that I wanted in time even if it means not discovering all of the beauties someone left behind.

I will snap some more pictures soon. Things are coming along nicely. There is only one spot I did not get around to, it was just such a daunting task, especially without a wheelbarrow. Maybe we will still get it to somewhat working condition for next year. Wishful thinking I'm sure, it's pretty late now.

Another Photo Post day #2

The first peas of the season! I'm very excited for this because I was afraid that the peas I planted wouldn't come up since they were in the wrong zone. Needless to say, I planted sweet peas over them...we'll see what happends with that but at least I'll have peas early, I planted another 2 rows of peas last week.


I'm not sure what this is. I planted it back in February and lost track since then...my options basically are Pansy, Berginia Rose, Poppy, Hollyhock. There's a few I thought I could throw out but now I'm just not sure what it is.


One of the 2 raspberries that started growing, according to the company, I will get berries this year. According to how fast it's growing, it seems accurate.


Pumpkins, these weren't even out of the ground the day before, now they're huge!


Onions, possibly planted too close but it's going to look chaotic no matter what.


Lettuce, doing great but a little too early to harvest a whole lot.


Hibiscus started from a bareroot plant. Doing great!




Garlic, looks like I wasn't looking when I planted these, they're kinda all over the place. Behind it I planted 2nd round of peas and some beans to climb up the fence.


Ornamental Strawberry with a visiting friend.


Cosmos


Dahlia 2 of 15 have come up and these are big, that's all I have so far, I'm worried...


Clematis



Convolvulus, Just planted on Thursday to climb up the fence and shade the hostas, also to make a nice transition with the tall flowers in the front.


The Chives bloomed last week. I don't really use these so they're just decoration.


The first of the beans came up. This is a Dragon Tounge. I'm excited!

I'll try to update next week. No time now except for pictures. :)

Another Photo Post Day #1

Any idea what kind of Clematis this is? I bought it last year in the late season, not even knowing what it was.

We stopped at lowes and they had some 99 cent 6pak annuals so we got some Impatients


Can anyone tell me what this is? It is growing along with a wild violet. It has the cutest little white with pink striped flowers.


More annuals, too cute to leave at the store.

More to come...Lots of work in the garden this last weekend and we're already benefiting from it!

Big Gardening Day

Here are all the results from my hard work yesterday...there is more that I didn't take pictures of. They will come later.

Wild Violets

The one Iris that bloomed of the 20 some that were here when I moved in.

New fence and new plants from the plant exchange

Work in progress. (new compost bin in back built by me)

This is all flowers if you can't tell and some new brick work in the front.

The first strawberry starting to form.

Chamomile

Mountain Aster that I got from the plant exchange took very well, the other plant doesn't look as good but is still blooming, although it is facing the ground.

Getting Things Done, Adding More to the List.

I am unfortunately realizing how much shade is actually in my garden spaces. Because of this I am trying to find plants for that habitat. I remembered that the woods at my parents house, there are many Jack in the Pulpit which I plant to go and dig up to bring to my house. I've also done a bit of research for what works best in the shade. Here is what I came up with:
Monkshood
Astilbe
Hellebore
Lungwort
Lamium (should have grabbed some at the plant swap)
Bigroot Geranium
Toad Lily
virginia bluebells
Jacobs Ladder
trollius
Coral Bells
Heuchera
and of course some grasses or ferns

This doesn't include what I already have, these are simply thing I hope to have growing there one day.

On another note, everything is coming along greatly! Gladiolous is popping up everywhere as well as cosmos, marshmallow, violas(late I know) and a few others.
My broccoli is doing okay, slightly eaten but they will survive, Garlic is about 6 inches tall which is great because I planted it late. Peas are getting taller and taller everyday. My carrots have been showing for a few days, Hibiscus I planted in the front are shooting leaves up and last but not least my anne raspberries (sadly 2 out of 3) are throwing out leaves as well. The third I am getting replaced. I planted a few peppers that I didn't mark in one of the only sunny spots by the driveway, we'll see how those do. Everything is coming along very nicely. I'm excited to be finished and only have upkeep for the rest of the summer. That is far away though, and knowing myself, I will simply keep improving even if there is nothing left to improve(won't be the case for years). I'm excited for tomorrow, hopefully I will get everything put in the ground that I wanted, get the compost pile built and at least prepare the last 2 spots in the garden. I might be being ambitious but it's better than being lazy.
Happy Gardening

A Productive Weekend and My First Plant Exchange

Well, I have survived my first plant exchange unharmed. My boyfriend and I attended a plant exchange in Minneapolis yesterday and actually had quite a good time. I was worried about what I was bringing and decided on leaving a few things at home which I wish I would have brought now. All I had was 2 Chamomile plants, 2 Scarlet O' Hara Morning Glory's, some Chives, 1 Ornamental Strawberry-Lipstick 2 Ferns, 3 Hostas and a package of Fairy Lily bulbs (rain Lily's). I only came home with one hosta, everything else went fast. I should have brought a bunch of peppers, only one other person had any and they were much smaller than mine. Who knows, maybe I will go to another this season, we'll see. I came home with at least triple what I had brought. A few exciting items to add to my garden are as follows: Jack in the Pulpit, Lily of the Valley (pink, finally), Mountain Aster, Lamium, Red Bee Balm, Mint, Spiderwort, Sea Holly, Phlox, Dianthus, Salvia and the list goes on. Including probably 8 new red raspberry plants which I will have to find a place for. I can't wait to get home and put them in the ground! It will be nice to have some perennials blooming already this year.

As for things accomplished this weekend (other than creating more work for myself with all these plants), I was very productive. I prepared the end of the front bed which for some reason is overflowing with soil. Derek came up with an idea to fix that problem with some extra bricks we have laying around. The idea is to make a section in the front a low level bed and raise the remaining up about 4 or 5 inches. It will be a subtle chance but at least add something interesting to look at. I may go purchase a few more bricks in order to make a more significant raised bed. We'll see, I already have a lot of work cut out for myself and him. I am so proud of him for the idea however, I love that he is taking a part in this years garden and not only that but bringing more to it than I would have. I hope this continues!

I finished planting the front bed completely with flowers. I can't wait for things to start coming up so I can mulch and add some annuals here and there. I quite honestly have no idea what it will look like but I hope it is not overwhelming. It probably will be since I put some VERY tall flowers in including sunflowers and Marshmallow that will cover up half of the front of our house. We'll see.

Things I remember planting this weekend:
White Bleeding Heart
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Fairy Lily
Carnations
Aquilegia(transplant)
Pansy Black?(transplant)
Twinkle Toes
Double Anenomes
Zinnia-State Fair
Magic Carpet Mix(Gurneys)
Bergamo Bee Balm (annual)
Durango Marigolds
Ranaculus
Peacock Orchid
Ornamental Blue Fescue Grass
Lychnis
Evening Primrose
Scbiosa



Ornamental Strawberry

I also just identified a few plants (some I bought end season last year for about 70% off) around the yard. I definitely have a Clematis vine, Peonies that doesn't look ready to bloom yet, and a flower called an Ornamental Strawberry-lipstick (mentioned above). There are more too that I don't have the names to at the moment.


I am taking Thursday off of work to get some more work done but how I wish I had a wheelbarrow. My back is aching from all the hauling I had to do this weekend. Wheels would have been awfully nice. But I will get it done none the less, I am still hardening off my peppers and other things which I keep forgetting need lots of room. But I still have a few areas that need preparation so I'm not too worried. It would take a whole week of time off to really get everything ready to the point that I want it to be. Oh well, I will take it slow, I don't think I'm as behind as I think I am. The summer hasn't even begun yet.

Till next time, enjoy the WONDERFUL weather!

May Weekend Freeze, Why Minnesota?

As a little reminder to myself, these are the bulbs that I will need to pull up before winter:
2 Cana bulbs
6 Calla Bulbs
84 Gladiolus Bulbs (about)
15 Dahlia Bulbs (about)
20 Peacock Orchid
20-30 Fairy Lily
15 Ranunculus
40 Double Anemones
20 Twinkle Toes

Before Jumping into the real reason I'm writing this post, I'd like to put up some pictures from around my garden that I've been meaning to get to for a week or so. And for the record, these looked much better before I uploaded them to snapfish:

I know this looks terrible with all of the weeds but I assure you those are gone now. I didn't have time before but it has been taken care of :)

I'm worried this little bloom will be dead now because of the frost.

I got to use some of this lettuce last night on my tacos, how exciting!




I am very worried from the freezing this weekend. I don't have a whole lot out but a few things are finally starting to come up. Well, before yesterday I didn't have too much out, and whatever is out is mostly perennials. Since the weather was nice yesterday afternoon though, I ended up planting a whole lot of stuff. I'm curious though if I need to worry or not. They were from seeds, I didn't put any seedlings out so am I safe? I have no idea. I again wonder why I still live in Minnesota.
I took a few pictures last weekend though. Lots of things are happening out there though. I can't wait for the weather to warm back up. My raspberries are starting to bud along with my Hibiscus. Flowers on my strawberries, a few tips poking out from gladiolus bulbs(one of the things I'm worried about), a few sprouts of which I hope to be Violas, carrots, broccoli and the wildflowers I planted. We'll see though. I just hope everything survived but I won't know for awhile.
Friday night I heard there could be a freeze so I gathered my buckets and boxes and bags and covered the things I was worried about. I uncovered everything on Saturday around noon, thinking we were in the clear as the forecast Friday predicted warmer weather Sunday night. Apparently I need to check into this more often because I had no clue whatsoever that it would freeze Sunday. Luckily, I had been hardening plants off for the last couple weeks and decided to bring them in since it was fairly cold...thinking I was just being safe. Well had I known, I would have been out there covering everything. Oh well, there is nothing I can do about it now. Just wait and hope.

Things I planted yesterday(that I remember):
Sweet Corn
Zucchini (burpee and T&M)
Pumpkin (burpee)
Popcorn
2 Canna Lilies
Columbine Barlow Mix
Chianti Sunflower
Marshmallow
Aztec Gold Sunflower
Foxglove-Apricot
Taiyo Sunflower
Johnny Jump Up
Cosmos
Cilantro

(and the week of april 25th included: Coneflower, Lupine, Pink hollyhock, Gaillardia, Oriental Poppy-Red, Broccoli, Garlic, Carrots)

On a better note, my two shipments from Gurney's and Michigan Bulb Co. are sitting on my doorstep as I type. I have a bunch of goodies in there:
Hardy Carnations
Double Anemones
White Bleeding Heart
Fairy Lilies
Peacock Orchid
Ranunculus
Rosemary
Dwarf Pomegranate Tree

Michigan Bulb Co. Emailed me back about my dead bleeding heart and strawberry and has already shipped the new items. It's nice to see a company actually functions like they say they will. Thanks guys.

I also got some seeds from them as well. I can't wait to get them into the ground but I will be patient and wait for this icky weather to pass. In the meantime, I will purchase any cheap cheap sheets I run across, in case the weather drops again. I will be prepared and be better at checking the weather every day and night.


This is the only Iris I have that is showing buds.



I believe this is Creeping Baby's Breath. I got it last year after the blooms were gone so I don't remember what it really is now.

Best of luck to those of you in Minnesota!!! Or in the north in general.