Category: Gardening

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Late seed and plant shopping

Today, my mom, daughter and I went late seed shopping. It’s not really late, since our growing season last into fall, but it’s sometimes iffy to plant late like this. Still, mom knew of some stores that had seeds really cheap and if I don’t use them this year, I’ll use them next year. Unless seeds are a few years old, I don’t pay much attention to the expiration dates. I keep them in air tight and water resistant containers, so I’ve never had a problem with them growing.

Tomorrow we’re going to take my mom out for dinner for Father’s Day. She doesn’t want me to spend my money on this and wanted to cook us dinner. That is just the way she is. Today I bought her some great inside plants that she’ll get tomorrow. It was hard to get them into the cart and paid for, then into the trunk of the car without her seeing them, but I had my daughter distract her. Actually, mom has eyes behind her head and doesn’t miss a trick, so she no doubt saw them or had an idea that I got them for her. She’ll act surprised though.

My garden here is starting to look really nice and I’ve been working on my son and my bale garden. It’s fun and interesting to see how well the veggies are going to do planting this way, since we’ve never done it. I’m getting a lot of advice from my friend Lindsay though. It’s been a long day, I’m tried after walking all over today. I’m looking forward to scattering s0me seeds tomorrow though in a spot I dug up along the sidewalk.

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Keeping the cats out of the gardens

I have a problem keeping the cats out of my gardens and it’s starting to get super irritating, not to mention ticking me off to no end. When the kittens we have (that were drop offs) are a little bit bigger, I don’t like to do this, but I’m taking them to the humane society. I have to. Everyone drops off unwanted cats and kittens at my house and there is not a thing I can do about it since they are dropped off in the night.

I am thinking about using chicken wire and laying it over the spaces and beds that I have seeded, and then anchor it down, until I can fix the cat problem. They are using my gardens for a giant litter box, and since I don’t have cats in the house that have to have a litter box, I sure as heck am not going to have them outside ruining my gardens.

People who abandon animals, should be fined or in my opinion be arrested, but without catching them in the act there is nothing to be done. It’s so sad.

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A full Saturday

Finally I have time to sit down and relax. It feels good to put my feet up. A day filled with grocery shopping and then running errands is not something I was looking forward to today. I got some great photo frames that I needed and also a new clock for the kitchen that were on sale, so that was a plus.

When I got home, I had a visit this evening from a dear friend, Brenda. She and I are gardening buddies and we are always swapping plants and surprising one another with little garden gifts. It was a welcome visit. We sat talking about more home improvement we wanted to start on our houses, and had the same idea about various tile in the kitchen.

All in all it was a productive but long day. Tomorrow I’m going to dig up some more iris’s to give to my friend, and she is bringing me some of her tile samples that she got so I can look them over.

 

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Kill then shop

Today I played the Terminator in the back yard. The patio is all old brick, which was literally covered in heavy weeds. I used a great weed killer last year, that killed the weeds within an hour, but at the first sign of Spring, up came the weeds again, though the weed killer people promised a full year of no weed infestation.

The whole chore took a lot less time than I thought it would and I was rewarded with dying ( I thought I heard them screaming) weeds at a very rapid pace, and also a great start on my tan.

Tomorrow I go shopping for some top soil for the beds I dug up, and also I’d like to pick out some tomato plants and I saw an ad that there were garden hand tools of a good brand on sale at the tractor supply store that I go to. I’m sure I’ll find seeds and other plants I want though.

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Envy Zinnias

Last summer I saved the zinnia seeds that are now three generations strong. 🙂 I planted green zinnias, that some seed company’s call “Envy” and others don’t even carry. Around here, or at least in the garden departments of the stores around here, the stores don’t carry them, that I have ever seen.

My seeds came from a friend who first found them in Ohio. I’m sure that there are places that readers will be able to go out right now and find, but to me, it’s all in the “seed seeking” and finding of these little green gems. I always dead head my zinnias and save the seeds, but I put the each color and size of the seeds into packets (easy to make one’s self and a great gardening tool) and mark them, so I know which I’m going to be growing, or relatively close to growing,what I marked on the package, since one never really knows for sure. To me, the seeds are more organized and I’m somewhat prepared. I think I’m going to be pretty sure what color and seed are going where. The green zinnias make an lovely contrast, also a great conversation piece in the gardens.

 

 

 

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An over abundance of chives

Looking out at my garden, I have noticed that I have a big time over abundance of chives. I must have at least 12 patches of them that I have counted just now, as it’s a far as I can see out the front door. I’m going to have to dig up clumps and give a lot away. I’ll also be saving space for other compatible plants.

I know that one of my long time friends is going to take some this weekend, and bring me some of her geraniums in exchange, but I have plenty more to share. I do plan on drying a lot of them, and lately my son likes his (as I do) mixed in with his mashed potatoes, so he’ll grab some and chop them up.

After the chives, I have to definitely thin out all of my various mints and cooking herbs. A great deal of them are all volunteer plants. Maybe I’ll just start another few gardens in the back yard. It’s closer to the kitchen and would be much handier.

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Digging up the beds

While going out to the mail box this morning, I stood in the middle of my front yard and took a good hard and long look at my flower beds. They are pretty, but I need a change. I know I’ve been planing my flower beds all winter, but truth be known I went for all perennials, since I have loads of annuals in the gardens.

After looking at some of my annual beds, I’ve decided they look tired and need a whole new look. Without even really giving it a thought, I went straight to the garage and grabbed a shovel.

For the rest of the morning, and even into the early afternoon, I dug up plants and transplanted them in every available space, until I refresh my soil, build up some beds and then put the plants and herbs back, in a different look and order. To say that I’ll ever be satisfied with my gardens and that they will remain the same for at least three years running, is never going to happen. I’m still not finished up digging up and rearranging beds, but got a good start today. If it hadn’t started raining, I would have stayed outside longer.

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Gardening and weather woes

Never have I been so uncertain about the weather as I am this year. I realize that it is odd all over and various states are getting pounded with elements they aren’t used to, but even my body and older age creeping in, doesn’t change the fact that I used to be able to tell what the weather was going to do, just by how my body felt. Now, it isn’t like that. I’m getting kind of tired of my joints and such, hurt on wonderful sunny days, and are better on dismal and cold rainy days. What is up with that?

My gardens and perennial plants don’t act they know how to react to the weather either. My sage and parsley of all things are growing at an incredible rate of speed, along with some other plants and even a small tree I have outside.

We had frost last night and it was cold and windy. I would welcome back the 80 degree, with a warm breeze weather we had in March, compared to this. So would my plants in the garden.

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Gardens for my daughter

After looking at hundreds of garden plans, my oldest daughter has put the decisions about what to do with the yards of her new home they will be moving into in a week. I realize I don’t have the time that I need this year to have them looking great, but it’s awesome that she would like my advice. She was never into gardens and gardening while she was growing up.

I’m thinking about putting in some simple raised beds for the time being and when she finds what she would like, then we’ll go on from there.

I have a feeling this is going to be an exciting but long summer for some beginning gardeners, for instance, my oldest daughter and my son, who is starting to get into it also!

 

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Picking out Pansy seeds

My oldest son has never taken an interest in any kind of gardening or plants until recently. It surprised me today while we were at the market and he stopped at the seed display, and immediately reached out and picked up a packet of mixed pansies. He said they would look good surrounding my big tree in the front yard. Since he has never showed an interest in my garden except to photograph flowers that were in interesting lite once in awhile, I never thought he noticed the pansies I had grown under the tree. I looked at the price and nixed it.

This particular store, raises the prices according to their idea of how much things cost, despite of the price on the package. That is why I rarely go shopping there. I knew I was going to Lowes this weekend, and they have seeds on sale. I’ll buy enough pansy’s to keep my son busy tending to the pansies this summer! Thinking about it, I might just take him into the garden supply section of the store. Maybe he’ll want some garden tools. 😉