Down My Garden Path.....

Pase Greenhouse Order Arrives!

2006-04-20T08:53:00.000-04:00

WOOHOO!!!!

Over the late winter months I started ordering plants from eBay. The second batch of those arrived last night - Varigated Weigela, Buttonbush, Northern Bayberry and Cinnamon Fern. All arrived in good, healthy looking condition with moist roots and buds looking like they want to start to swell and open

Buttonbush was planted at the end of the bed adjacent to the Butterfly Bush. Had to dig up a few Iris tubers to make room and I will probably have to move the Formosa Lily at some point. I have high hopes that this shrub will fill in the end of the garden and create a kind of "full-stop". Its is a scented native shrub which developes ball shaped flowers which butterflies and bees LOVE

Just in front of this in the virgin ground I planted the Varigated Weigela. I had to raise the dirt level a little to give adequet drainage during the wet times. Hummingbirds LOVE the flowers and I'm hoping that I enjoy the shrub as much as they will. Both shrubs are included in my garden to add winter interest and a potential nesting / hiding area for my ever growing collection of wild birds!

The Northern Bayberry I have temporarily planted in a pot as I have no idea where I want it to go! Just I will have to do some research and find a sport for it!

The Cinnamon Fern was already starting to develop its first new frond and I have put it in a pot to take up residence in the shady corner of the deck. It is the first plant in my potted shade garden scheme for the deck, I hope to also include a shrub or two, other Ferns, Hostas, Coral Bells, Ivy and various other shade tolerant plants

Its great to finally have things arriving and I can't wait to watch them grow

PS: I strongly recommend Pase Greenhouse (I have no affiliation) and look forward to buying from them again in the future

Spring is Definitely Back!

2006-04-19T09:06:00.000-04:00

Well.....Spring is definitely back with full force, although living up here in the North-East things can change VERY quickly! I am lucky enough to have a South facing front garden which helps in the Spring when everything is just getting started! I have had green perennial growth for quite a few weeks now and the Daffodils are almost done blooming. The Tulips have just started to open, creating the next wave of early Spring colour. When Autumn comes around I must remember to buy more Spring bulbs for both the front and (especially) the back gardens

My plant orders have started to arrive from my eBay purchases, which is very exciting. The two Purple Smoke Trees have been in pots for a while just waiting to be planted out. I almost killed on of them through over watering but it seems to be coming back now. My two Serviceverry tree's arrived from Cold Stream Farm last weekend, both look to be in great condition with great root systems and many swelling buds. The rest of the orders should arrive in the next couple of weeks

The "New Dawn" Climbing Rose I brought at Walmart is starting to leaf out so I look forward to watching this one grow. I have read that it is a pretty rampant grower so I have high hopes for it

Spring Is In the Air!

2006-02-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

Well.....

Its been a long time since I posted anything regarding my gardens! Things wound down VERY quickly for me at the end of last season and I was thankful to get a short break. Then off course those long winter nights showed up, albeit mild ones and all of a sudden gadening is the last thing on anybody's mind!

HOWEVER.....Spring is starting to show its pretty little head a little early this year, I already have Daffodils poking through, I even discovered the tips of some Tulips the other day! You can "smell" the sweet scent of the change to warmer days as these nights get shorter and the spring gardening catalogues start to arrive. Wanderings around my still mostly sleeping garden are becoming a more frequent event as the hope of renewed growth gathers speed and I find myself looking for those early signs of life in my earliest of plants

A wander around my front garden last night presented the pleasent sight of freshly emerging growth on my Sweet Autumn Clematis. Now moving into its second year it has already started to produce its first new leaves of the season, with more buds swelling. I have also noticed that many of the Hollyhocks which I cut back last year have started producing new leaves, although very small ones. Common Ditch / Homestead Daylily's have started peeking their leaves above ground, as have the Autumn Joy Sedum which I planted last year. I have even noticed that the Sweet Alyssum has started producing growth from their self sowed seeds

I do fret a little though because inevitably we will get colder weather moving in and out over the next 6 - 8 weeks which no doubt will stunt growth and maybe even kill a couple of things off! I do live in hope though and the felling of refreshed new life is amazing to say the least, it gives me such hope and koy for the coming year

Saturday, August 28th

2005-08-30T07:08:00.000-04:00

What a wonderful day Saturday turned out to be! With Fall on the way and a "first frost date" of mid-September I decided it was time to stop procrastinating and get the last of the plants in the ground. I seem to be collecting plants of late, they come from all corners and then I find I don't have time to plant them straight away (slap on the wrist for me!). Today was the day to finally transplant these and other things so that they could establish themselves nicely before the much colder weather arrives

First to get done was the transplanting of my "Colour Guard" Yucca from its big pot into its permanent position within my front bed. I have trying to agree with a place (you should hear the conversations I have with my plants and garden! LOL!!! Husband and neighbours think I'm mad!) for this plant since I got it from Wayside Gardens way back in the Spring. I FINALLY decided on a spot in the front of the flower bed after I saw another picture of the same Yucca surrounded by all sorts of colourful plants, mine will eventually be surrounded by Black Eyed Susan's, Blanket Flower "Goblin", Daisy's, Sedum "Autumn Joy" and others to be planted next year!

Talking of Sedum...I was kindly sent some starts of Sedum by an online friend who was dividing hers, she sent both roots and root-less stalks. After a quick internet search I have discovered that Sedum is SUPER EASY to propagate and I can already see that the cuttings are starting to take root, there are also tiny little shoots coming up from the roots which were planted. I look forward to the coming years with this plant as the descriptions I have read sound WONDERFUL!

This same online friend also included some orange double Daylily's which have now been planted in the front bed by the front door

My other major mission of Saturday was to add a couple of things to my developing shade area out front by the road. Earlier in the year I had rescued a couple of different Ferns and a Hosta (which I divided into pots). Hostas grow really well in pots because of the very shallow root balls, they a great addition to a shady deck area. I needed to get these in the ground to establish themselves so next year they should look pretty good. Back in the Spring I also brought a couple of small pots of Creeping Jenny from my local Price Chopper supermarket. One was all but demolished by the Japanese Beetles but now seems to be bouncing back nicely, the other was planted in a large container out back and just "SPANG" to life to form a really nice large clump. It took me quite a while to dig it out of the pot since I wanted to try a keep the roots as undisturbed as possible, but I got there in the end. This "clump" is now planted underneath my Rhododendron and its amazing how much it brightens up that area

Fall is on the Way

2005-08-26T07:28:00.000-04:00

Well, Fall is DEFINITELY in the air, literally!

I have been noticing a marked difference in our climate the past couple of weeks, days are nice and balmy with temps still in the 70's / 80's but there is no humidity keeping things nice and dry. The evenings are cool and breezy and I don't mind going outside to work in the gardens. I can sleep at night again and the mornings are nice and "crisp" (50F at 7am this morning)!!! I LOVE walking round my small gardens first thing in the morning, coffee cup in hand, just looking and watching to see what has been happening, the most enjoyable part - feeling the dew on my feet!

The gardens are also starting to look tired and ready for their long sleep, the only things still blooming are the die-hards - Black Eyed Susan's, Obedient Plant and my youthful Butterfly Bush. Next year will be different tho' as I will have many more native plants for that end of season burst of colour, I can't wait! The Highbush Cranberry and Clethera that I planted a couple of weeks ago are loving their new homes and are growing well, especially the Cranberry which has LOADS of new growth. I can't wait to see them in a couple of years when they have really settled in and have a lot more substance to them

Yesterday evening I started my Fall cleanup chores (that should really read pleasures!). Last Spring I planted my front bed with a lot of "mystery" plants I had grown from seed, all of which performed REALLY WELL! Now I know what most of them are they are off course planted in the wrong spot! I moved a bunch of Black Eyed Susan's so as to spread out their colour a bit, I plan of leaving them up for the winter so the birds can eat the seeds and hold the snow in place. I cut down pretty much ALL the Coreopsis "Plains" as I have discovered that they are a rampantly reseeding annual - not a perennial like the Walmart seed packet says they are! This is OK tho', I had planted them all in the wrong place so I will grow more this winter / spring and plant them correctly next year! However, I am sad to see these go as they have been a fantastic performer for me this year

I also cut down the remainder of my Hollyhocks. Yes, they are a biannual but I have been told that if you cut them COMPLETELY down to the ground after they have bloomed but before the seeds mature you will confuse them into thinking they are in their first year. This makes PERFECT sense to me and I am already seeing new leaves popping up on the one's I cut down a week ago! If this does work then its great because I won't have to worry about growing new one's or having them re-seed themselves EVERYWHERE I don't want them!

I do have a couple of things to look forward to tho' because in the Spring I brought two late bloomers to brighten my end of year blues! The last of my Lily's has put up its flower buds and they are growing in size each day, they still have a way to go but I can't wait. The other is my Sweet Autumn Clematis which has been growing well all season and seems to really love its spot climbing the front (south facing) of my house! It is just now starting to develop buds and I am looking forward to a nice show of flowers in this its first year

Obedient Plant - (Physostegia virginiana)

2005-08-12T20:16:00.000-04:00

So apparently the tall, spiky plants that Sylvia from down the street gave me back in the Spring are Obedient Plant, a Native wildflower. This is very exciting as I am headed in this direction with my gardening and was going to get this plant anyway!

Obedient Plant or False Dragonhead (Physostegia virginiana)

Sun: Full Sun
Soil: Sand, Loam, Clay
Moisture: Medium, Moist
Height: 1' - 2' Bloom Time: Aug - Sep
Color: Pink
Hardiness Zone: 4
Plant Spacing: 1' - 2'

A Great Groundcover for Damp Soils

This showy member of the Mint Family positively thrives in damp soils. The bright pink flowers appear in brilliant masses in August and September. Creeps rapidly by rhizomes and keeps most weeds at bay, making it an excellent groundcover. Grows one to two feet tall in any moist soil. Plant with Great Blue Lobelia for a stunning late summer show.

Tripplebrook Farm - A Native Plant Nursery

2005-08-11T07:12:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to find a Native plant supplier which is "local" to me so that I would know if the plants would take our growing conditions and obviously get somewhat local advise, but everything I was finding was based out of Ohio. Then someone on Garden Web recommended this place and I decided that it was close enough to visit, so last weekend we made the trip

Tripplebrook Farm is located in Southampton, western MA about 20 minutes north of exit 4 on the Masspike, for us this was about an hours trip from our weekend house at exit 2 (Lee / Becket). I had visited the website on Friday and it had recommended that I call in advance to let Steve (the owner) know that we were coming so that he could meet with us. We arrived a little early but Steve very quickly made an appearance and welcomed us with open arms. Now Steve is a character, he is one of these older guys who has been digging in the dirt since birth, his parents (may have been grandparents) brought the land in 1916 and it has been the family home ever since. If he owned a boat then I could quite happily describe him as a "salty old sea-dog", permanently tanned from exposure, lines of knowledge in his face etc...

I had expected Steve to just welcome us, give us a quite description of where we could find what I was looking for and then let me loose on his land, I couldn't have been more wrong! I quickly realised that it was his intention to personally show me around the nursery, describing the plants and their characteristics. This was AWESOME since it was my first foray into Native Gardening and I still have VAST amounts to learn. Everything he sells at the Farm also has a permanent place in his landscape and he was able to show me the plants established and mature. I was particularly interested in the Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia) & the Highbush Cranberry (Cranberry Viburnum), he was able to show me both of these in his landscape and I have to say that seeing the mature plants made me want them even more, photos in catalogues just do not do the Clethra any justice! While showing me the colony of Clethra he cut off a small branch for me so that I could smell the flowers and see it up close, the bee's just LOVE it and I had three land on my cutting whilst carrying it around!

Some other notable plants I saw at the Farm were the stand of very well established Joe Pye Weed which topped out at about 8ft and had stems to thick and healthy not even a hurricane would knock it over! Horsemint with its beautiful flower spikes. Mountain Mint which had so many different varieties of Bee on it that I lost count (I have to get some of this plant!). Rice Grass which stood tall and graceful in a small pond (I wish I had water to grow this grass!). The Monarda's were just WONDERFUL in person and there were many others

The Farm is not pretty and manicured, it is working land but organised. The plants are all propagated onsite from established plants that are growing happy and healthily in the landscape. What Steve doesn't have there he buys or responsibly collects from the wild, he has a LONG list of plants he would like to get his hands on!

His knowledge of the plants is AMAZING and happily kept me entertained for three hours until DH came and told me he was getting cranky cos' he was hungry (definitely time to go!). I could have spent much longer with Steve. I brought my Clethra and Cranberry shrubs, both of which are now happily establishing themselves in my garden

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place to anyone wanting to make the trip. They do do mail-order for those to far away, there are a couple of negatives on the Garden Watchdog site but there are more positives. Having met Steve and visited this farm I put the negatives down to the fact that sometimes things go wrong, even if you have the very best intentions. I will be ordering from them for the Spring

Wednesday, August 3rd

2005-08-04T07:05:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: ??

As gardeners we like to try and attract wildlife to our gardens, beautiful Butterflies flittering between flowerheads, busy little bee's pollenating their way around the neighbourhood or birds sqwarking at the feeder. If your like me you also have Squirrels wither aerobatics, Chipmonks with their puffy little cheeks stuffed full and Rabbits who munch through EVERYTHING!!! How wonderful it is to look into the garden and see all this "work" going one, making you realise that all that hard work earlier in the year was well worth the effort!

I got home this evening and followed my usual routine of feeding my meowing cat who greets me noisily at the door, opening the upstairs windows and then slowly opening the sliding back door to enter my gardens to see what occured while I was out. As I headed to the door this evening I was greeted by the flittering of something around my spent Cosmos (which is in need of some major dead-heading!), I assumed it was a large Butterfly because it was so brightly coloured. Then, all of a sudden it hopped over to the purple Liatris which is starting to turn to seed, at this point I realised it was a male Goldfinch in all his summer mating glory!!! What a wonderful sight to be greeted with, so colourful, so vibrant. I stood and watched him for a while as he helped with the gardening chores (dead-heading!) and the natural process of spreading seed

I'm hoping that he decides he likes it in my little garden and starts to return on a regular basis like many of my other birds, whom I have gotten to know through their repeated visits. I guess my next step now is to head out and buy an upsidedown feeder suitable for Thistle (Nijger) seed!!!

2005-07-30T19:08:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 90F (ish)
Weather Conditions: Sunny and hot

What a long hot day! I went outside this morning with the full intention of spending the weekend catching up on my gardening chores and I did! I have spent ALL day pulling weeds and generally tidying up after the neglect of the past few weeks! Needless to say that now my back and shoulders are VERY sore!!!

I also managed to edge a couple of my beds with "pound-able edging" brought at Lowe's. I've been meaning to do this for ages so that I can give the front of these beds better definition, looks good and does the job

I finally managed to get my "Don Juan" Climbing Rose in the ground between mine and my neighbours driveway. It was hard going though as I'm sure that when the house was built 20 years ago all the sand and stones were channelled into this small area so I had to dig the sand / clay out, separate out as many of the stones as possible and mix in some "Rose Garden Soil". The Rose went in the hole fairly easy and I back filled with this improved soil mix, I am DEFINITELY gonna have to get some good compost etc. into the soil to improve it further but for now it has a good start. All I need now is a trellis for the Rose to climb!

I forgot to mention a few days ago that my "Silk Road" Lily has finally opened into all its glory, the smell is AMAZING!

Bargains of the Week!

2005-07-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Sunny and for a change NOT HUMID!

Well, I told you that I'm not allowed into Nurseries or Garden Centre's without "adult supervision", all I went into Lowes for was some Rose Garden Soil so that I could plant my "Don Juan" Climbing Rose this weekend! I picked up the soil but unfortunately the stack was right next to the discounted plant rack, I begged myself not to look but it was like there was an invisible force dragging me over. The rack was mostly filled with dried up Marigolds and Oriental Lily's that had finished blooming. HOWEVER, being the bargain shopper that I am I part the foliage and came across a gallon sized "Limerock Ruby" Coreopsis ($3) that was a little dried out, had finished blooming and was COVERED in seed pods. These have all now been snipped off into a paper baggie to dry further and then they will be distributed in various "seed swaps" this Fall. A little further to the right on the shelf below was a very dried out gallon sized "Cuprea" Scotch Heather ($1), half of it is brown and looks dead but I reckon with proper planting and watering it should bounce back nicely

These "finds" off course put me in the mood for more bargain shopping, I was headed for Walmart anyway for coffee and birdseed, however the unfortunate thing is that my favourite nursery is just before it! I pulled in to the parking lot telling myself that I was only going to look because I hadn't been there in ages as they are more expensive. YEAH RIGHT!!!! I walked out of there with Lemon Balm & Hyssop ($1 each) & two, 3 gallon, pink Bee Balms ($3 each)!!!!

OK, so having just completed a search off all my new plants I discover that the Coreopsis should really be considered a tender perennial at best, many sources even say it is only an annual! This is a bit frustrating as the colour looks awesome and would go well in my back garden. I did read however that a few people had managed to over winter it by either bring it inside, placing a Clouche over it for the winter or mulching HEAVILY! I will give it a try, if it dies that's fine cos' it only cost me $3

Falling Behind!

2005-07-25T22:19:00.000-04:00

I seem to be falling further and further behind since starting work, oh how I wish I could go back to being a lady of leisure and play in my gardens all day! Since my Immigration status has been finalised I have had to start working to help my husband keep me in the lifestyle I have become accustomed to! This off course means that a number of things have been pushed to the sidelines a little while my new schedule becomes the norm, this not only includes my diligent weeding sessions but also my journal / blog writing and my own personal website. I'm finding it all quite frustrating!

Anyhow, why is it that if you let things slip a little then all hell breaks lose?! My gardens are starting to look quite over run with weeds and I need to do some serious deadheading! I'm thinking of letting most things go to seed at this early point so that I don't have to keep up with things as much, but then I sacrifice any repeat blooming that could happen

Things are quite exciting though as I have had continuous blooms now for a couple of months, my "Plains" Coreopsis and Black Eyed Susan's are just outdoing themselves and really holding the front garden together. Add into this mix the Hollyhocks, Geraniums and Marigolds and things look pretty good. I have had an added bonus in the last couple of days as my "Caravan" Lily which was ordered this past Spring from Wayside Gardens is the first of the collection to start blooming, it smells heavenly and the fragrance just floats around on the breeze. My "Silk Road" Lily will also start blooming in the next few days, apparently that one is SUPER fragrant so I can't wait

"Caravan" Lily

Saturday, July 16th

2005-07-16T14:51:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Overcast and Humid

We've had LOADS of rain recently which is quite surprising since almost every other gardener I speak to seems to be in the middle of a drought, I guess I should thank the rain God or something! I am thankful for it though as this is my first season in these gardens and I have had encouragement watching things bloom, I'm not sure I could have coped seeing all my plants under stress in their very first year!

I have had some nice blooms recently though including the Garden Phlox & Purple Coneflowers which I dug from my neighbours garden, Marigolds, Black Eyed Susan's & Mexican Hats. A walk through my gardens today has reveal a few more things that are blooming or that are on the cusp, like my "red" (!) Hollyhocks and Purple Liatris (Gayfeather), Hosta & Catnip

My little purple Butterfly Bush that I brought at Walmart back in March has gotten quite a bit bigger and is actually about to put out small blooms, which I didn't think would happen this year. I brought it as a short stick with a couple of leaves on it and the whole thing looked rather unimpressive, four months later it has grown a lot although it is still relatively small compared to what it will end up looking like. I am really enjoying watching this plant grow, it feels like my own baby!

I am also getting excited because I have noticed a few buds starting to appear on a few of my other plants, most notably my "Don Juan" Climbing Rose which I brought at Walmart (looking half dead I might add!) for the grand old price of $3.50!!! I am actually AMAZED to see buds on this little shrub since I didn't expect any until next year at the very earliest, I might actually get a bloom or few out of it this year?!

I also have a number of Asiatic / Oriental Lily's that are about to burst open in bloom and its a race to see which one will be first! My money is on the one named "Caravan" although the "Silk Road" Lily in the back garden is giving it a run for its money! I can't wait to see and smell them when they are finally blooming. My "Casa Blanca" Lily's are a little disappointing in this there first year one hasn't developed a bud and another has been eaten by one of the wild Rabbits or Deer. I have one left in my big giant blue container so I'm hoping that at least that one blooms. The other Lily which was part of that Wayside Gardens collection is the "Formosa" Lily which is reported to grow to almost 10ft!!! Well mine is no where near this size but then this is only its first year so I have high hopes for it in the future

Lastly, I am also starting to get flowers buds on my Naturiums, Wild Rose and Sweetpea

For some reason the Mosquito's have started to come out in force over the past week or so as I now have so many bites on me I look like one huge bump! I don't know what happened, two weeks ago you would have one land on you from time to time but this past week if I step outside I just get swarmed by them!!! It must be all the rain and moisture (humidity) we have around at the moment, a new batch of larvae must have hatched

Attack of the Japanese Beetles!

2005-07-13T07:27:00.000-04:00

Well, my garden seems to be disappearing more and more with every passing day! I think the Japanese Beetles are to blame but I can't say for sure as I NEVER see the damn things, all I see is the destruction that they are leaving behind. If I could find the little B@#$!&%D's I would quite happily drown them in my little jar of soapy water but they keep alluding me! All my Hollyhocks are quickly turning to lace. My Alaska Daisy's out front are all but stubs in the ground. The Creeping Jenny out front is receding. The "Wild" miniature Rose I rescued is nothing but stems, although it is starting to show a lot of new growth. As for my prized Pineapple Sage which took me so long to find, it is VERY quickly disappearing, so much so that I think I might bring it inside!!!

I am proud to say though that I rescued a few plants on Sunday evening from my neighbours abandoned flower bed which she said I could "rape & pilage"!!! I came away with Purple Coneflowers and what has been identified as Garden Phlox

Purple Coneflower

Garden Phlox

Sunday, July 10th

2005-07-10T21:27:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Sunny

I seem to be doing a lot of deadheading at the moment! The Coreopsis Bi-colour "Plain's" the I have an abundance of in my front sun-bed just always seems to have more and more spent blooms on it! I've come to the conclusion though that the reason it is so tall (about 4 -5ft!) is because it had to fight for the sunshine and so became "leggy". It does look good though with this wave of yellow / burgundy flowers everywhere. I'm gonna have to move them in the Fall though to spread them out a bit and put them in a spot that will suit their normal 3ft (ish) height

Spent a lot off time today re-potting and planting things. Back in March we were involved in a volunteer project to help upgrade a ladies home, fix the roof, put up siding, paint, put a new ceiling in the bedroom etc... Anyway, she works at a county nursery and they were going to through out a whole bunch of plants, she offered them to us! Well, Thursday night I picked up Marigolds, Snapdragons, Geraniums, Impatiens and a Moon Plant. The Marigolds are all now planted in the front of my sun-bed out front, the Impatiens are in a nice ceramic bowl which sits in the shaded area outside my front door. The Moon Plant I have moved into a larger pot as I'm not to sure where I want to put it permanently, I may just keep it in successively large pots!

I discovered a couple of plants flowering in the bed my neighbour said I could adopt! This afternoon I have transplanted a couple of Purple Coneflower clumps, both of which are now located in my back sun-bed. I also transplanted another plant which I'm not sure what it is yet, I'm sure it'll come to me sooner or later and probably with the help of all my various online friends! All transplants were looking a bit droopy this evening but I'm sure they'll bouce back in the next couple of days, especially if I give them plenty of water

Wednesday, July 6th

2005-07-06T21:36:00.000-04:00

WOW!

It feels like I haven't written anything in AGES! It has been non-stop though since we got back from the mountain house on Monday afternoon

We pulled up into the driveway and I immediately noticed that my front full-sun flower bed looked TERRIBLE! Why is it that you let things slip for a couple of days and all of a sudden everything is a mess?!! We must have had driving rain or strong winds because most of my plants were now growing horizontally, I spent the rest of the afternoon placing stakes in the ground and tying all the plants together. Then of course the following day we had a major afternoon downpour (thunder, lightening, the works) and everything has fallen over again!

Then of course there is the deadheading and weeding!.....Needless to say, I think after three days I am finally caught up again!

Happy 4th of July

2005-06-30T15:40:00.000-04:00

Well, to all of you that actually take the time to read my ramblings, I thank you. Its nice to know that my garden interests people other than me!

Being born in England I don't really understand this whole "4th of July Weekend" thing, this will be the first time I have celebrated it so it should be interesting. Apparently we will be going to see fireworks and EVERYTHING, which is great because back home in England we have to wait until the beginning of November (Guy Fawkes Night - he tried to blow up the houses of Parliment way back when) for fireworks, far to chilly to truely appreciate them!!!

That obviously means that there will be no ramblings until after the weekend, probably Tuesday. So have a great weekend, happy 4th of July and I'll see you all on the other side!

Thursday, June 30th

2005-06-30T14:21:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Starting out overcast but turning sunny in the afternoon

Last night we had a torrential rain storm, so much so that they issued flood warnings and we had a power-outage. I some respects it was great because it gave the garden beds some much needed water which should now keep them going until Monday afternoon when we get back from our other house. Unfortunately though the rain caused a bit of damage. On my daily walk around my gardens I noticed that a few of the taller plants had been flattened to the ground in the downpour. All my Coreopsis was bent over at a severe angle so that now I have them tied to stakes to keep them upright! All the perennial Baby's Breath look like drowned rats with the flower heads looking all soggy. The rain even water logged one of the hanging baskets I have on my fence out back causing it to drop into my sunny flower bed, flattening a couple of plants in the process! Its my own fault really as I filled the basket with regular (heavy) garden soil as I didn't have potting soil to hand, I knew it was gonna fall eventually - that'll learn me!!!

I have "discovered" Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)!!! At the top of the slope out back, just in the front of the tree line are a stack of wild-growing plants that are really pretty, so I made it my mission to find out what they are. Their scent is HEAVENLY, very similar to Lilac and best of all it is a haven for all those "beneficial insects"

Common Milkweed Flowers

Common Milkweed Plant

Common Milkweed is an important plant because so many species of insects depend on it. Monarch Butterflies, Milkweed Bugs, and Milkweed Leaf Beetles only eat milkweed, and could not survive without it. Many other species of insects use milkweed as their primary food source, or as a major food source. Common Milkweed grows up to six feet tall. It has large, broad leaves, usually four to ten inches long. They sometimes have red veins. This plant is found in fields, gardens, and along roads. Common Milkweed flowers are pinkish-purple clusters which often droop. Fruits are green pods which turn brown before bursting open to let out fluffy seeds

Milkweed seeds are spread by the wind, which catches the fluffy part and carries the seed for long distances.....Through rhizome spreading, Common Milkweed forms a colony that quickly crowds out other plants.

Common Milkweed, when broken, lets out a milky sap. This sap has poisons in it, called Cardiac Glycosides. Some animals can eat the glycosides and not be harmed. When the Monarch butterfly's caterpillar munches the leaves of milkweed, the glycosides go into its body, making the caterpillar poisonous to predators. Even after the caterpillar has changed into an adult butterfly, it keeps the glycosides in its body. Milkweed flowers bloom from June to August, and are visited by many species of moths, butterflies, bees, and other insects. The flower nectar and pollen does not have glycosides in it, so these animals do not become poisonous. Milkweed is a shelter and hiding place for other species as well. Yellow Jackets eat bees and flies which get trapped in the flowers, and crab spiders ambush visiting insects.

Common Milkweed is considered by many to be a pesky garden weed. Others, however, value it as a great attractor of wildlife, especially butterflies. It is poisonous to humans, so do not eat it. The fluffy seeds of milkweed are sometimes used as insulation or stuffing for life jackets

Taken from This Website

Sunday, June 26th - Gone Weeding

2005-06-26T17:55:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 90F
Weather Conditions: Hot & Sunny!

Our neighbour has this HUGE tree in their backyard, its actually a really nice tree that provides a lot of shade to all the nearby houses, including mine in the late afternoon. However, it seems to have become the bane of my gardening existence because over Memorial Day Weekend this one tree dropped so many seed pods on my property I was clearing them up for 3 days straight! I don't know what kind of tree it is, all I know is that these little seed pods kept on coming, falling to the ground like little helicopters spinning around and around

Now, a few weeks later I find myself out in the garden pulling up "baby" tree's, not just a few but hundreds, even thousands of the stupid things! They are EVERYWHERE, in the garden beds, in the containers, growing out from under the hot-tub, growing between the deck boards... the list is endless. It amazes me what nature gets up to, these seed pods have evolved over time to fall to the ground in such numbers that at least a few survive - Nature will not be stopped! After traipsing up the slope to the compost heap to deposit the third bucket full of seedlings I decided I'd had enough and duly gave up for the day in favour of AC and a tall glass of Iced Tea!

I did decide though that it was probably a good idea to water the garden as it hasn't rained in a little while and some of the plants were starting to look decidedly limp! I brought a new spray attachment at Home Depot a couple of days back as it was on sale for $5, reduced down from $20 - yippee my first opportunity to use it. This spray head is AWESOME, its one of those long ones with and angled head and different spray settings, definitely worth the money - now all I have to do is buy a hose that won't explode due to the pressure of the water running though it!

I have my first flowering vine! My Scarlet Runner Bean Vine which I planted to climb the porch post with the Sweet Autumn Clematis has started to bloom, I am a little disappointed that it isn't "bushier" but I think that is my fault more than anything since I didn't support the bottom properly so that it could start climbing. At least now I know better for next year. My "mystery" Coreopsis has also started it bloom parade, these plants came in my Walmart Perennial Seed Mix and were part of my Winter Sowing Project. I have about five plants, all of which have LOADS of buds just waiting to open in the coming days so I'm hoping to be able to get a multiple flower shot soon

Scarlet Runner Bean Vine

Bi-Coloured Coreopsis

Backyard Progression

2005-06-24T19:51:00.000-04:00

Today whilst flicking through some past photo's I came across the shot I took of my back garden while we were viewing the house before buying it. It was so "plain Jane" as the previous owners were just not into gardening, you should have seen inside the house!!!

Backyard September 2004

As you can see I had a clean slate to work with and so set about designing things the way I wanted them. I spent the winter months making notes on the suns position, how much shade the yard got and where. I also discovered during this time that because of the hill (from the top of which the photo was taken) the drainage is horrible creating a "pond" at the bottom after any significant rain, it was great we had our own ice skating pond all winter!!!

I decided we needed raised beds at the bottom of the hill to give any plants the greatest chance of survival, my husband helped me with this as he wasn't impressed with the trenches I was digging all over the place! We were also able to score a whole bunch of free slate from the job-site my husband is currently project manager for, which enabled us to build a path pretty much for free. I am still trying to decide what I want to put between the stones. I also Winter Sowed a great many seeds so that I could get a good amount of plants as cheaply as possible, other plants were donated from neighbours who needed to divide theirs

Today this is what my back garden looks like, notice that I now call it a "garden" instead of a "yard"

Backyard June 2005

I think it is a substantial improvement, although it is still quite sparse. This will obviously change as time progresses and the young plants fill in and grow. At this end of the path you will notice a large plant-pot, this contains a very small Butterfly Bush I brought at Walmart at the beginning of March. It is still VERY small but it is growing well and should look really good once it has matured enough

Shade Bed

Sun Bed

This left hand picture is the side that gets the most shade, it only gets about 2 -3 hours of afternoon sun. The Hosta's you see are the one's I scored from my neighbour the other day, they look a bit raggedy but look great next year. In between each Hosta I have planted rescued Bleeding Hearts which should give some nice early interest next year. On the right hand side you can see the baby Butterfly Bush more clearly which I have underplanted with Snow-in-Summer, I'm hoping this falls over the edge a little to soften the lines of the pot

Thursday, June 23rd

2005-06-23T20:20:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Nice and Sunny

Continuing on with my new shade "strip" along my side fence I decided to move some Bleeding Hearts that I acquired earlier in the year. All three of them look rather wimpy this year as they were all damaged when I received them but they do have lots of new growth and look very strong, next year I'm hoping they really put on a show. The Hosta's or still looking very damaged from their transplanting with ratty looking leaves and some broken stems etc, they'll bounce back - if not this year then definitely next year

Finally got up the energy to plant the "Ditch Lily's" that I dug up from the neighbours flower bed, they were starting to turn a little yellow. I planted them with the shrubs out front which means I had to dig up yet more grass to make way for the Lily's, wonder what hubby will say!!! Next year they should look really good as their blooming, just a mass of orange toned flowers

Bargains of the Day

2005-06-22T07:57:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 7:30am - 70F
Weather Conditions: Sunny

She shoots.....she scores.....(and the crowd goes WILD!!!)

Walmart, everybody's favourite place to shop, especially since things just kinda "jump" into your shopping cart! I went there today to return something, silly thing is I've taken to parking near the garden department as there's ALWAYS more spaces than at the main entrance, bad idea I hear you all say!!! Well, all the plants are dying, yes its that Sales Associate curse because they have a habit of neglecting their plants but for us gardeners its the perfect time to visit the store. My winning moment of today was finding a "Don Juan" Climbing Rose on sale for $3.50 and two "Miss Bateman" Clematis for the grand price of $2.44 each. BARGAIN!!!!

The "Don Juan" Climbing Rose is one of those with beautiful deep red flowers and a wonderfully fragrant smell. At the moment I am a little unsure as to where I am going to plant it but I think it will likely end up between mine and my neighbours drive against the front of the house. This location would be great next summer when the fragrance can waft in our bedroom window at night, oh I'm getting all excited about the prospect!!! LOL!

The "Miss Bateman" Clematis will be planted in my back sun bed where I have started Purple Hyacinth Bean Vines this year. The Clematis will be the "bones" and then each year I will combine it with the HBV for some added colour and fragrance

Monday, June 20th

2005-06-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Hot and Sunny!

Well, its been a great day albeit one of HARD WORK!!! Yesterday during a discussion with my neighbour about her new fence I found out that she was going to rip out her back flower bed and replace it with boring old grass (YUCK!) Anyway, immediately my had went up and I said I wanted as many plants as I could dig up and she just said to go for my life! SCORE!!! So last night I dug up about $100 worth or bicolored Iris, four Hosta's and a bunch of regular Ditch (Homestead) Lily's. There's a whole bunch more which I will grab in the next few days and then during next spring I will grab all the bulbs that come up!!!

Only problem with yesterday's score was that today I had to plant it all!!! The Iris were pretty easy as they went straight into my existing back beds, the Hosta's on the other hand were a completely different matter! For a long time now I have wanted to put a bed along the shady fence and put things like Hosta's, Fern's, Bleeding Hearts etc..., it was going to be a project for next spring, well today I got to start it sooner than planned. I've spent the best part of today digging up grass and turning the soil over ready to plant the rescued Hosta's. I finished planting my last Hosta at 7pm!

This all sounds like it took me an unnecessary long time but by 1pm it was just too hot so I had to take a "siesta", I chose my favourite shady chair on the deck and just sat and watched. Mostly it was the birds coming back and forth chowing down on the seed and generally making a mess. HOWEVER, after a while I heard this scuffelling sound and out of the corner of my eye I saw our resisdent Chipmonk race under my chair, across the deck, around the plant containers, under the fence, back along the fence on the neighbours side, then back under the fence to my side and then stopping at the water faucet not 3ft from my chair!!! Mr Chipmonk then proceeded to drink the water that was pooling on the floor of my deck from the as yet unfixed dripping tap! He was VERY cute and hung around for quite a while, after drinking from the faucet he made his way back across the deck and started stuffing his face with bird seed

Now lets talk about the HUGE Spider that decided to make an appearance on one of the leaves of my rescued Hosta! Now I HATE Spiders due to a very traumatic incident as a child but so long as I have my trusty garden gloves on (you know the ones that are invincable to nasty little critters!) I can can somewhat deal with them, infact I have been all day with those horrid little ones that live in the garden soil! Anyway, I was fiddling around with this Hosta trying to get rid of many of the weeds as possible when all of a sudden movement caught my eye - the scream I let out was AMAZING! My husband has learned to ignore my bug induced screeches but this one brought him running and he proceeded to inform me that it was a Wolfe Spider with egg sac in tow

As for any new blooms I have today. My Bachelor's Buttons have finally started opening and they are a beautiful blue colour, I have completely fallen in love with them. I also have a number more of my Cosmos opening. Out front I was surprised to find that the flower buds have started to develop on my Scarlet Runner Bean Vine, this is great news as it means it won't be long before I have nice red flowers to keep my Hummingbirds happy

Food Fight with the Birds!

2005-06-18T19:15:00.000-04:00

Temperature: Cold
Weather Conditions: Rainy & Overcast.....AGAIN!!!

I was finally able to get back out into my garden again today after three days of rain, not that it didn't rain today as well, I was just able to squeeze in some time between downpours! It was nice just to be able to sit outside again and take in the sights, sounds and smells, everything always seems so fresh after a good downpour and today was no exception. It was so wonderful to sit out front on my miniature porch listening and waiting for my Hummingbirds to appear at the feeder, you always hear them coming - vibrating all the way, sounding like HUGE bumble bee's. I have at least two different Hummers visiting my feeder and the only reason I know there are two is because one is a male and the other female, both "Ruby Throats". I love the scarlet of the male's throat, it always looks like someone has take a knife and slit his throat. The females are a little harder to identify until you know what they are, lacking the scarlet throats they instead have an iridescent green back that looks metallic. For more information on Hummingbirds check out www.hummingbirds.net

Today has generally been a day of watching the birds as I have been completely unmotivated due to the weather! I have a hoard of House Finches that gobble up EVERYTHING I put in the feeder. I haven't filled the tube feeder out front in a couple of days due to the rain so instead they have found their way to the back deck to the pedestal feeder, there is now seed EVERYWHERE!!! These little guys are so messy, its like a perpetual food-fight between a bunch of 5 year olds and occasionally fisticuffs will occur!!!!

I also have a male / female couple of Northern Cardinal songbirds feed in my garden each day and you can always hear them LONG before you see them from their chirping. Its actually very sweet to watch and listen to them. The male (red one) will appear first and usually comes to the pedestal feeder, chirping all the way, letting the female know that it is safe for her to come and feed. She (brown with an orange beak) will appear a few minutes later, chirping in reply. Mrs Cardinal will only feed from the ground, usually the deck where all the seed has fallen from the ruckus created by the House Finches!!! They are very timid though and at the first sound of disturbance they fly off into the trees behind the house. They can usually been seen early in the morning or in the early evening, I'm hoping to eventually see baby Cardinals in tow later in the summer

Then off course there are the Bluejays that visit every morning like clockwork at 7am!!! They are a beautiful bird but can have a very nasty nature, usually chasing off all the little birds so that they can be greedy and gobble up all the food for themselves!

After the Rain!

2005-06-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

Temperature: About 70F
Weather Conditions: AM - More RAIN!!!, PM Breezy with more sunshine than showers!

Well, its finally stopped raining!!!

I was horrified this morning to find that the driving rain we had last night and this morning has made some of my winter sown plants "fall" over! In my front porch bed many of the taller plants have fallen over so that they are now flat on the ground, not exactly how I had designed things. However, the small perennial Baby's Breath flowers that now scatter the ground are rather appealing to the eye, guess I will just have to stake them up and offer them a little support

I was extremely pleased to find that I have a couple of new blooms in the form of annual Snapdragons & Cosmos. The Snapdragons were always a favourite of my mums back in England and I remember, whilst growing up, her showing me how if you squeezed them just right on the sides they would open and close like a mouth. This fascinates me even today and was the first thing I did with my new blooms!

I also have my very first Cosmos flower blooming, its such a happy looking thing. These Cosmos seeds were given to me by "Bluegrass Girl" on the Garden Talk Forum over at BHG.com and were some of the very first things that I Winter Sowed. Surprisingly these were some of the very first seeds to germinate back in February and grew really quickly

Rain, Rain & More Rain!!!

2005-06-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

Temperature: Who care's as its not HUMID any more!!!
Weather Conditions: Rain, rain & more rain!!!

OK, I have been complaining lately that there has been no rain and the beds are getting to dry, but COME ON!!! Today has been ridiculous as all it has done is rain, anyone would think that I am back in England!!! I dread to think how my plants have been handling all this inclement weather, the Rose bush that comes over the dividing fence is sagging really badly and I'm sure I saw a couple of my plants out front going the same way. One thing I have considered is that all this rain might open up some of those flower buds that are looking ready to burst, hopefully there will be a riot of colour tomorrow morning

WS - A Definition

2005-06-16T20:44:00.000-04:00

It has been brought to my attention that I have been using the abbreviation of "WS" without actually explaining what it is!!!

WS stands for Winter Sowing, this is the process of sowing seeds outdoors in the dead of winter in mini greenhouses, creating stronger, more hardy plants to grow in your garden. Lets also not forget the fact that it removes the need for artificial lighting and heating of young seedlings, putting Mother Nature back in control!

Unfortunately it isn't my original idea, it was handed on to me by my friends over at the Garden Talk Forum at BHG.com. It was "our" winter project to see how successful it would actually be and how successful the plants would be once planted into their permanant garden beds

Starting from scratch last year in a new house I wanted to get my gardens growing as quickly and as cheaply as possible, WS was definitely the way to go. Although my garden beds still look very bare as everthing is still in its first year, I have very strong and healthy looking plants that weren't fazed by the late frosts we expereinced here in Upstate NY. I will definitely be WS'ing more seeds come January / February time and I hope that this method really takes of

For a thorough look at the principles of Winter Sowing please, please visit http://www.wintersown.org. Here you will find illustrated instructions, testemonials, photographs of seeds emerging in February (Zone 4!) and lists of seeds that have proved successful using this method

Give it a try, you won't be sorry

Wednesday, June 15th

2005-06-15T12:36:00.000-04:00

Temperature:c7am - 70F, 12pm - 82F
Weather Conditions: Mostly overcast with some sunshine and the odd shower

Well, compared to the last few days, today is wonderful! The humidity and temperatures seem to have dropped and there's a really nice breeze all around, hope it lasts a while!

Have been out front ALL morning where I have been raking the weeds out of my neighbours front bed to make it look all nice and presentable, unfortunately there isn't any mulch that I can put down. I have put some Snapdragons (I think!) which I had WS and that were in pots in the space immediately in front of the Holly Tree, hopefully they will get nice and big and bloom beautifully - SOON! I also sowed some "Gold Dust" Alyssum like I have on my side which will present nice colour with the Tulips next spring. I also transplanted some Sweet Basil into the front bed as I didn't want it to go to waste, hopefully I'll end up with a nice crop for the winter!

I have just found out from my Garden Talk buddies what my two mystery flowers / plants are:

This first one (above) is a "Siberian Wallflower" (Cheiranthus allionii) which turns out to be a "native" plant

"These are evergreen, semiwoody plants from the Canary Isles, Madeira, and the Mediterranean region. They belong to the Mustard family, Cruciferae. Cheiranthus (Wallflowers) have vertical, branching stems, 1/2 to 3 feet high. In the spring they bear spikes of beautiful and often fragrant flowers. Though they are perennials, they are often treated as biennials and are raised from seed every year......The Siberian Wallflower, C. Allionii, may be orange or yellow and are produced abundantly in April and May. Even though the Siberian Wallflower is usually known in gardens as C. Allionii, botanists have the opinion that it's actually an Erysimum. They consider it a product of E. asperum, a native American species. The Siberian Wallflower is hardier than the English kind. The Alpine Wallflowers may be yellow, orange-yellow, or purplish. These are great for growing in well-drained, light soil in the rock garden....."

Taken from http://www.botany.com/cheiranthus.html

This second one is "Crown Vetch" (Coronilla varia) and as beautiful as I think it looks its actually very invasive, being compared to Creep Charlie, Barrenwort etc...

"Crown vetch is an herbaceous perennial legume with creeping stems 2-6 feet long, and leaves consisting of 15-25 pairs of oblong leaflets. This species has a reclining growth habit and rhizomes that can grow up to ten feet long, thus contributing to rapid and extensive vegetative spread. Flower clusters range in color from pinkish-lavender to white, occur in umbels on long, extended stalks, and bloom from May through August. Flowers produce long, narrow pods containing slender seeds. Crown vetch (also known as "trailing crown vetch") is an exotic perennial frequently used as a ground cover for erosion control and as a green fertilizer crop. It is used as a bank stabilizer along roads and waterways. The plant's original habitat includes Europe, southeast Asia and northern Africa. The plant's distribution in the U.S. encompasses most of the northern U.S. east of South Dakota."

Taken from http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/invasive/factsheets/crown.htm

Monday, June 13th

2005-06-13T22:39:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: AM - A bit overcast, PM - Sunny. Humid all day

Didn't really get a chance to do very much today as I've been running around. Only thing I really did was feed most of my plants with Miracle Grow water

Darn Wabbit!!!

2005-06-12T18:15:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: Overcast and Humid!

Well, it it SO hot and sticky today, we really need a good rain storm to get rid of all this humid air!

Returned from the weekend away to find that the Rabbits have been making a meal out of my smaller plants, thankfully they have stuck to the Baby's Breath and Snow-in-Summer, none of the Lily's have been demolished! I went round spraying with the Liquid Fence stuff again and that should keep them away like it did last time

Was able to collect my first lot of seeds from the deep purple Johnny Jump-ups, white Forget-Me-Not's & blue Forget-Me-Nots. I'm hoping to collect more of these and of other types then I can start seed swapping when the time comes, I'm sure the girls on the Garden Talk forum will start doing it eventually. Now I'll be prepared

The Snow Queen Clematis from Wal-Mart seems to have grown a bit over the weekend, which is good. I'm contemplating moving it into the back full-sun bed so that it can climb on the fence and the each year intertwine it with Hyacinth Bean Vines

Fangia Fandango

2005-06-10T14:05:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 7am - 75F (VERY humid!), 11am - 90F, 2pm - 95F
Weather Conditions: Early AM - Hazy Sunshine, Lunchtime - Cloudy and threatening storm

Its very warm and humid today, apparently there are storms around which are causing it, I hope we get some rain from all these storms! Although the sun is going in and out behind the clouds that looks like storm-clouds still we have no rain!

My big project today was to get my "Down the Garden Path....." website up and running, its a photographic journey through my gardens, concentrating on what's in bloom as the year progresses. Its still very basic but will definitely develop as my gardens develop, I'm hoping that others will enjoy my photo's and journal as much as I do!. Check it out at http://www.claireturner.com/GardeningPhotoJournal/index.html

My daily walk around my gardens has shown that there are many things starting to develop buds for blooming, most noticeable is the WS Forget-Me-Nots, but also the WS Cosmos, WS Petunias and more WS Baby's Breath

The thing that surprised me most about this mornings wander though is that one of the "Fangia Lily's" I brought at Wal-Mart has started blooming in full, strange because the whole plant is less than a foot tall!??

Thursday, 9th June

2005-06-09T12:33:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 7am - 62F, 11.30am - 88F
Weather Conditions: Overnight - Rain, AM - Sunny with some cloud cover

I seem to be having a bit of a bug infestation! First of all it was the Aphids, which I seem to have got under control by spraying the plants with soapy water. NOW, I have these mottled brown bugs that look a bit like a Rose-thorn, they are about an 1/8 - 1/4 inch long and have wings. I have no idea what they are and whether they do any serious damage, hopefully I'll find some answers

A couple of things are blooming for me though.....

Perennial Baby's Breath

Snowmound Spirea

The neighbours Rose bush is hanging over the fence in the back garden and is also blooming, I hope it continues to bloom all season as its very pretty and looks great hanging over like that

Transplanting Continued!

2005-06-08T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 7am - 60F, 9am - 85F
Weather Conditions: AM - Sunny, Late PM - Thunderstorm with a small amount of rain

The Nasturtium that I planted between the stepping stone out front has poked its head up through the heavy mulch and is starting to gain leaves. This I didn't expect as I thought I had probably disturbed it to much during my weeding and mulch laying the other day, I am very pleased though, should look great as it grows in and blooms. The ones in the pots are also doing well, no idea where I'm gonna put them yet but I'm sure I'll find space!

All the things I transplanted yesterday seem to be doing well this morning. The two Coreopsis plants have gotten over their limping stage and are standing upright again which is promising. All the little seedlings are standing to attention and I should see growth soon. The Sweet Potato plants are looking great in their new home and for some reason look much more "sprightly" than they did yesterday in their individual black pots, maybe they just needed company and mulch?!

I have noticed out back that I am starting to get some flower buds on a few of the "Winter Sown" (WS) plants - namely the Forget-Me-Not's, Bachelor Buttons, Petunias and the Cosmos from Bluegrass Girl. I have also noticed that the Becket (hanging) Geranium has flower buds on it so I will get blooms from that. Its so exciting, I can't wait to see them all bloom

Transplanted the Wal-Mart Cosmos into more permanent homes, hopefully they will grow as well as the ones Bluegrass Girl sent me. I have give my surplus seedlings to Pam across the street as I just can't bare to throw them in the trash, I know she'll love them as much as I do! She gave me one of her dark Coleus, hopefully this will grow better that the ones I have started from seed which just don't seem to be growing at all! She tells me that there is a new "trailing" Coleus which grows well in full, harsh sunlight - I'll have to check that out

A Day of Transplanting

2005-06-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 7am - 60F, 9am - 85F, 4pm - 92F
Weather Conditions: AM - Sunny

Well, what a wonderful day it turned out to be! The weather people were saying that it was going to be a bit drizzly this afternoon but no where near as bad as the thunderstorms yesterday, instead we get beautiful sunshine all day long

Spent the morning transplanting some of the last seedlings into more permanent homes. Many of the bicolored Coreopsis and the Basket of Gold Alyssum are now in the front bed where they will have room to spread their roots and grow up nice and strong. I also put some in the shade bed to see how they will do down there. The Sweet Alyssum was also dotted around the various beds so that it can start to grow and put on a good show. I also transplanted a couple of the more established "Winter Sown" (WS) Coreopsis plants into the centre of the sun bed to balance things out a bit better. They look a bit droopy at the moment (should know better than to transplant in the middle of the day!) but they should bounce back in a day or two

Brought a new plastic pot and some Miracle Grow soil and transplanted the two Sweet Potato plants as they didn't seem to be doing to well in the "heavy" compost soil. I paired them with some Sweet Alyssum and put them out back on the pedastal plant holder that Pam across the street gave me. They look pretty good there and I reckon it won't be long before I start to see some good growth on them

Ken's mom gave me a plant she rooted, I have potted it up in a container and its outside on the hot-tub steps. I have no idea what it is, guess I'll have to ask my GT buddies!!!

Also, climbed the ladder and put up some more netting for the Sweet Autumn Clematis to climb. Now it can go almost to the roof line which will make the front of the house look great when it blooms. I hope that its strong enough to support the weight of the vine, I'd hate for it to grow and drag the trellis of the wall. I'll find out soon enough, I can always attach a 'proper" wooden trellis to the front of the house next year

Let's Talk About the Weather

2005-06-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 7am - 68F, 2pm - 95F, 7pm - 72F
Weather Conditions: AM - Cloudy with Rain Showers, PM - Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Effect + Tornado Watch!!!

Woke EARLY this morning to the sound of rain & thunder, it was wonderful!!! Hopefully it will continue (the forecast says it will) and the ground will get a good drink

Well, a few hours later and the National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the entire area, not to mention there has been a Tornado Watch!!! They reckon that its gonna continue like this well into tomorrow and then be back again for Friday and Saturday

Did learn something interesting today from Kate, apparently when there is going to be severe weather the leaves on Oak Trees start to turn over to show their silvery undersides. It takes about 12 hours for them to turn over so you should get plenty of warning

Getting Rid of Grass!

2005-06-05T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: Hot!
Weather Conditions: Sunny with the brief threat of rain

What a back-breaking day!!! Took it upon myself to clean out the area under my front "shade" plants to create a more defined bed which meant digging out ALL the grass which just seems to take over the planet!!!

This is what the area looked like before.....

And, this is what it looks like now!.....

The bed looks a little bare at the moment but as the Red Ground Clover grows it should take over a nice portion of the ground around the Rhododendron bush, I am also thinking of adding some Creeping Jenny to that area for a contrasting green. I'm going to have Ken bring home some more stepping stone's so that I can put them behind the Spirea so that if the utility guys need to get in there they can do it without ruining my plants!

I spoke with my next door neighbour (Kate) about tending to their bed right outside the front door, she said I could do pretty much what ever I wanted as she has a "black-thumb" and isn't interested / doesn't have time. I'm basically just gonna keep it weeded and lay down some of these wood-chips so that it looks like one continuous bed and makes my side look better. I may add some plants later on but for now it will get the bare minimum!

Mulching the Beds

2005-06-04T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: 11am - 90F, 4pm - 95F
Weather Conditions: Sunny

Very warm out today, the weatherman said it was going to be a bit rainy! Can't complain though, the temperatures are finally heating up which means the plants are finally starting to grow! So are the weeds though....

Ken has said that there are a whole bunch of chipped tree's on his job-site, so we are gonna head over there and grab a load to use as mulch on our beds. This is great news as I thought I would have to buy bags slowly over the summer, hopefully with this stuff the ground won't dry out so quickly and I can stem the growth of weeds!

Well.....We did it, we went to the site and brought a whole truck-load back with us. I've spent all afternoon out in the baking sun using a hand-rake to pull some of the weeds, "fluff" up the soil from any compaction that has occured and then cover every square inch with the newly aquired wood chips. I have to say that it does look really good now, looks much more finished - hopefully the soil and plants will agree. I gave them a GOOD watering to get them nice and moist, hopefully it will stay that way for a while as i don't want worry that the ground is getting to dry

Back beds.....

Front sun bed.....

Friday, June 3rd

2005-06-03T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: ??

Well, I've been pottering in the yard all week doing little things here and there. I'm very pleased with my velvety red Iris, they are AWESOME, albeit a little crowded. I'm also REALLY excited because the Rhododendron bush has bloomed even though I moved it earlier in the year. Its beautiful white flowers opening from pink buds, I think it might be one of the "Yaku" Rhodo's which actually stay quite small. The Snowmound Spirea is also starting to bud out and should get blooms sometime soon

I sowed a whole bunch of seeds a little while ago. The Cherry Tomatoes have appeared, I only seem to have lost one, which is good. The Wal-Mart Cosmos have germinated and are growing strong. My Nasturtium are just starting to emerge. I think next season I am going to start growing my seeds MUCH earlier in the season, like February, so that I have good size plants earlier in the season. I'm a little disappointed that the WS seedlings haven't gotten REALLY big by now. The Hollyhock is growing strong but everything else is still tiny

I brought a small "Snow Queen" Clematis at Wal-Mart which has been planted in the metal tub container with the Wild Rose, it'll look great when it grows in. Ken's mum also brought me a quart pot of Red Ground Clover which I divided into two and planted out front either side of the Rhododendron

Monday, May 30th

2005-05-30T23:00:00.000-04:00

Temperature: ??
Weather Conditions: ??

Memorial Day

Well, what an AWESOME surprise. We went away on Friday with the Iris budding out and looking like they were going to be a beautiful DEEP purple. We arrived home today to find one FULLY open with more on the way and much to my very pleasant surprise they are a DEEP, velvety burgandy red colour. They are so beautiful. They deinitely need digging up and dividing but at least now I don't have to find a space out back for them!

Also, the Rhododendron looks like it will bloom in the next few days. The opening buds are a very pale pink. All but two of my Lily's have poked their heads above ground. I can't wait to see them all in bloom. The Liatris have really started to grow although they still have a ways to go until they start flowering

My Cherry Tomato seeds look like they have germinated and I have seven little seedlings. Now they are up they should grow quite quickly, it'll be nice to be able to eat something I have grown. The Cosmos seeds I brought at Wal-Mart have also germinated. If they are anything like the WS ones then they'll grow quickly