Sunflowers = Goldfinches.

No matter what Regina thinks, the real reason I plant sunflowers is so that the goldfinches will come back.  

These flippy, chirpy little birds are like living pieces of sunshine.

Garden Haul.

August has been the month for harvesting.  We have been getting this many tomatoes at least every other day!  Those are pierogies in the making behind her on the counter.

Garden Update.

The garden went in the week before Mother's Day.  We took a risk by planting so early, but thankfully we didn't get another hard frost.  We tried a garden plan that spaced things out a lot wider this year, since every other year it got overgrown and we let the weeds take over.  This year we placed the tomato plants a full 4 feet apart in every direction, and left a large center area for pumpkin and squash.  The Hubbard squash is creeping in every direction, though, and needs to be pinched off every day or two.  It has 4 or 5 fruits setting.

We also put down sawdust paths this year, and we're farther ahead of the weeds this summer than any year previously!  

So far we've harvested broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, banana peppers, lettuce, strawberries, and a few cherry tomatoes that are starting to ripen.  The rest of the tomato plants have tons of green fruit, but none have started to blush yet.

In the foreground are yellow squash and zucchini, with hubbard squash and pie pumpkin directly behind. In front of the yellow squash are three more broccoli plants, since we're eating it as fast as it's growing!  It is so much better than store broccoli.  On the left is Natalie's section (broccoli, cuke & celery) and a few tomato plants.  On the right are mainly bell peppers.  In the distance are three rows of tomatoes of all sorts - beefsteak, roma, cherry.  19 tomato plants in all.  Dad really wants to do a lot of canning this year.

Not pictured above are a few more broccoli plants and two eggplant plants, one of which has its first fruit!

This little dogleg of the garden has Gladys, Theresa's watermelon plant, an heirloom tomato plant, a few cukes and three broccoli plants.

Out back we have another small pumpkin patch (R), and on the left is what's knows as a potato cage - alternating layers of straw and compost, with seed potatoes in each layer of compost.  The plants grow out the sides of the cage, and when it's time to harvest, we just tip the cage over and they all spill out!  Well, that's the theory, anyway...this is the first time we've done it, so we HOPE that's what will happen!

This wonderful corner of color was quite a surprise.  The daylilies came from my sister-in-law last year, and the white lilies must have come from discarded Easter lily bulbs, but I had completely forgotten that I planted them.  It was a real mystery while we were waiting for them to open to see what they'd be!

These came as transplants from another gardening friend - they are called Cleomes.  They're next to the lilies. 

We mulched the whole front slope because Andy was sick of fighting to mow it.  We have to rake all the mulch up and put down a better weed barrier, though.  The front wall is bordered with alternating petunias, snapdragons, and cosmos.  I had envisioned the petunias spreading out and cascading down the wall, but so far they haven't.

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Conor's favorite - the black petunias.

Regina's sunflowers just started to open this week, and this year I put carrots in pots of compost so they wouldn't have to fight through rocky soil to grow.  They're about the thickness of my finger now, so we'll be able to pull some soon!  There's also cosmos, zinnia, and dahlia along the wall.

Finally, the strawberry patch in the middle of the yard.  I have been pinching back the blooms for a month, so hopefully now that I let it go, we'll get some nice fruits!!

Picture Parade: Flower Flag, Before and After

June 9, 2012

June 30, 2012

Not bad!

Gardening: Before

There's been a lot of gardening going on the past month or so.  Just yesterday, we decided to reclaim the jungle plot that's been growing under the dogwood.

It was centipede heaven under there.

I dreamed of squirming masses of centipedes last night.

Mission accomplished; now it's filled with a variety of impatiens.
And centipedes.

Hello, Lantana!  

I was so delighted to find my favorite flower at a local nursery.  This grows in abundance in the southwest...in El Paso, the roadways are lined with huge bushes of this flowering beauty...but it is much more scarce around here.    I found only these two plants, and that was after shopping in four distinct nurseries.  I love it because of its continual flowers, and because it tolerates heat, and dryness,  . . . and neglect.

Over the past few weeks, Andy and the boys ripped out the row of dying hedges that lined the front yard.  You can see the same kind of hedges lining the neighbor's yard in the background of the picture.  

In their place, we planted a row of flowers.  

Geraniums at the corners...

followed by a colorful row of dahlias, 

 salvia, and sun-hardy begonias.

On the other side, geraniums, followed by forty feet of marigolds.

Although it's difficult to see at this time, the pictures below are petunias planted in the pattern of an American flag.  

Yes, I hang our laundry out to dry.
It smells wonderful that way.

They do look rather pathetic, don't they...

We're going to string the runners in lines; hopefully it will look better once they take root and fill in.

In a few weeks I'll post more pictures to show how everything has progressed.

2011 Garden Plan

Andy, look these over and let me know your thoughts. They were too large to email.




Andy, look these over and let me know your thoughts. They were too large to email.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program

I've been trying to blog about the Texas trip before I forget everything, but I just have to change lanes here for a minute.

"April gardeners often forget that August is coming."

I can't remember if I read this somewhere or came up with it on my own. I can't even remember if I've gotten it correctly. All I know is that this adage has stuck with me ever since my fledgling gardening days.

This is NOT my garden.

Oh, but how I wish it was. Look how orderly and spacious. Observe the absence of weeds! Notice how easy it will be for this gardener to harvest that bounty!

This is my actual garden in May (there are actually plants planted in there; they're just too small to see) :

My garden at the end of July:


I really thought that with all that square footage that I spaced everything out adequately. As it stands, I can barely find the plants I planted. how in the world am I ever going to find all the ripe veggies before it's too late??

The weeds are taller than the potato plants. It didn't help that we were away and nobody weeded for two weeks. When we got back, we didn't even know where to start.
I could lose a small child in the tomatoes.

The cabbages and brussels sprouts are going to be swallowed up.

The corn is full of miniature ears.




Look what I found today! I didn't even know these plants were producing yet.


I only planted one watermelon plant and one canteloupe plant. I had no idea they were going to threaten to overtake the entire yard. But look what we found today, nestled under the leaves!