Another Monday

I wish I had more to say lately, but I just don’t. Everything is hanging in limbo and I am trying to have patience. I kinds of feel my garden babies are feeling the same way. So many are still hanging around in pots, eagerly awaiting a new home. Without breaking into tears and regaling a sob story, I just am ready to move. Having to spin back and forth is making the week days really suck, and general motivation to get the everyday things done is becoming a hard thing to muster.

Until then, I and the plants will just have to stay watered and appreciate the sunshine. My poor peppers and tomatoes are having survival confusion. One day, they look great, and I even have some peppers and tomatoes harvesting now. Yet, some days they look as if they are ready to hand themselves over to the wind, and bugs. Some really are looking really straggly. I haven’t seen a huge amount of growth with the peppers and one of my poor tomato plant looks done in. Alas, all I can do is be patient and wait.

I guess that is the lesson, isn’t it? patience, patience, patience. Until I find the Impatients, here are some roses.

April 6, 2009April 7, 2009

On Your Mark…Get Set…!

It is Almost Time!

What can be more inspiring on Easter weekend than celebrating life and joy outside digging in the dirt? To me, this is just as much a religious experience as sitting in church. This may sound blasphemous to some, and in no way am I negating the importance of this holiday or church, but I feel closer to God when I am enriching His soil and really connecting with the spirit of nature. I’ve also never been one who felt very comfortable in church, or a church family, but consider myself a very religious and spiritual person. So my main desire this weekend is to create a spotlight of beauty that comes from my soul, seeds, and sweat.

I am already piling my gear up and getting ready to head Dallas way to BFS’s house. The goal for the weekend is to get all the soil ready in the front bed in order to add my highlights and edging plants, and then my specimen at a later date. I would love to plant it all in one go but unfortunatelythe plants on order with the AgriExtension Office won’t be here until the 19th.

In the mean time, Imy plan is to use white as the main color accent. I am usingSweet Alyssum (white) along the border edges and in a few large patches throughout. Alyssum is great because it is a heavy flowering and scented plant. Perfect for sitting on the front porch on beautiful spring and summer nights. When the flowers start to die or look sparse, then simply hedge them back and there is a new burst of growth and blooms fit for a rolling country meadow. Two of my favorite spring flowers are Shasta Daisy and Sweet William. Sweet William comes in a variety of colors but I chose the white variety, and should be fabulous bunched together with mounds of daisies in a wave of white. This may look super magnificent on it’s own without the addition of the other plants.

So much has to be done first, however, to get the dirt ready for new vegetation. The grass that infiltrated the beds has been “dealt with”, and hopefully will not be a problem, and as you can see from the picture above, I have the soil amender and mulch ready to go. Since the soil hasn’t been worked with insome time, I will need to replenish and balance the nutrients in the soil. Amending the top soil with one part organic mulch and one part enriched soil (enriched with organisms, enzymes and other good, growy stuff) should do the trick. Once that is thoroughly mixed in, would be beneficial to let it sit for a week or two to acclimate. But since I’m there, and won’t be back for a few weeks, I wanted to go ahead and get the border and accent plants in. Then, I will put a 3 to 4 inch layer of Red Cedar Mulch down. Red cedar has an advantage that some mulches don’t have. It detracts bugs and roses love red Cedar. Also, the reflection of the red has been theorized to produce healthier and bigger blooms. Side note: Tomatoes and strawberries love red mulch. They have been proven to yield a larger and tastier crop.

Once all this is done, I’ll let the sprinklers do their job and let the flower babies grow. I cant wait to get back around the 19th or so and plant the specimen plants and ornamental grasses (Little Blue Stem, Mexican Feather Grass, and Blue Muhly grass)

Specimen Plants

(From post on 2/27/09 Garden of Delight)

In the perennials category: White Oxalis: These are a fantastically hardy plant that is drought resistant and attracts butterflies. (Butterfly attractiveness is one of the main things I look for in a perennial.) I also ordered passion flower vines. This vine features a super spaceship looking blue flower. I was told to order 2, one for the butterflies and one for me. I also chose Cotton Lavender and Green Santolina. These make amazing ground cover and fillers in a natural landscape.

In the Shrub category: I added a Hardy Flare Hibiscus that I plan on babying in a container for a few years, and an American BeautyBerry. I have heard wonderful thing about this bush and it produces long stems of beautiful and tasty berries.

In the rose category: I chose a few eye poppers and nose tempters. The Antique Cadenza is an amazingly hardy, deep red, climbing rose shrub with an out-of-this-world fragrance. To compliment this rose shrub, I added the Duchesse de Brabant rose. This rose is cream to pink and equally fragrant. Maybe later on I will add some white Knock-Outs to add more ooompf….Phases…phases! I have to learn that I can do things in stages and not all at once.

So that is the plan for now. I am very excited to only have to concentrate my plantings on flowers for now. I have my vegetables safely tucked away for the night in the garage growing in their little buckets because the news said that there was a chance of a freeze tonight. I already have a wee tiny little tomato and the tops of a few peppers are blooming out, and am so excited that I chose to do a container vegetable garden this year. It may take a few years to perfect it, but I’m digging it so far and can’t wait to see how to utilize it in small spaces year round.

March 29, 2009March 29, 2009

Burr Cold Weekend

Weekend frost seemed to have bypassed, and the fruit trees should be fine

To Frost or Not to Frost?

Well, the weekend temperatures were down for sure. I had family in Lubbock with snow in the ground (informed via text-by-text updates) and I had family and friends in the Dallas/Ft. Wort area with ice and rain. I even had Austin reports of hail and thunderstorms. However, we had a very mild and in between weekend. It was cold, windy and bizarrely sunny. My gardening solution was the “be safe than sorry” stick everything inside the garage approach. I kept track of the garage temperature and it got as low as 38 inside. Thankfully, I chose the container route this year and everything should make it fine as long as I can fight the rabbits and ground squirrels that have seemed to flourish in the last few years. Mainly, since the farm across the way took government subsidies for letting the land go natural. Understandable and noble, but a pain in the <beep> for us fighting the critters. Anyway……

The mud finches have returned, another signal that spring is here to stay. So the time is approaching for some serious gardening and flower planting! I’m getting very excited. In the mean time….. This last week I made observations on the blooming status of already established plants are a Go, Go, Go. Below is a pic of the rose tree that I severely trimmed a few weeks ago, It is out of hibernation and ready to thrive.

This week, I am removing everything out of the garage and finding somewhere permanent to place the veggie babies in a safe protective place out of the wind. This will probably be the back patio. I have already observed that the wind might be my major battle this year.

Tomato babies in a different light. safe and sound in the garage.

Let me know if any of you had any serious weather issues this weekend and what your solutions were to protect any plants you are growing were.

March 6, 2009March 17, 2009

Goddess of Gardening Update

Ok! Maybe Goddess is a bit much! But still……….

I included lots of pics in this blog because I just lurv clicking away at my flower babies. It’s all I can do at the moment, since the more I leave them alone, keep them watered and sunbathing the better they will be.

A few observations about my wee little seedlings :

Zinnias planted in first planting are way too leggy. I am not sure if it had to do with amount of sun exposure but I kept them in the same window as Zinnias planted in # 2 tray.
The fennel are not as strong grown indoors as they were when I started them outside last year. I’m going to put a fan on them for a few hours a day in order to develop some strength to their stalk. I’ll just have to keep an eye on the water. I don’t want them to dry out.
So far everything has sprouted beautifully

My mother, being a master gardener herself, brought a few store bought herbs because they were a steal…but can you see how jealous the plant babies are sitting next to them?! Total Performance anxiety; but I told them that size didn’t matter….it’s the ability to photosynthesize that gardeners look for. I think they feel better.

Grow herby babies! Grow! The purple basil looks good enough to eat already. I love to plant purple basil in my show beds for their deep color. It adds a beautiful contrast to the vibrant colors of spring blooms and bright greenery. Also, infusing your beds with specific herbs are a natural pest deterrent. Less chemicals and more smarts peoples. I plants herbs everywhere (outside and inside) The nature woman in me believes in the innate healing properties of herbs just by proximity alone.

These guys are reaching for the sun. I have to rotate my flats so everyone can get enough full sun. I seriously need a green house as big as a house. Currently, I house my seedling nursery/overwinter storage/plant hospital in the south facing utility room. There is a washing area and a huge window that allows for an abundance of light and protection. It’s a pretty smooth operation, but I’m greedy. I want more! I ran out of room for my overwintering facility in the Utility room, so a good portion of my non-winter hardy, containerized plants are in my bathroom. It is literally a jungle in there!

So what’s going on outside?

We’ve got pink buds! Peaches are all set for go. Please, Please, Please no freeze! Last years peaches were amazing. We still have a freezer full ready to go for cobblers and ice cream toppings! The apricot and plums have leaf nodules but since they are only a few yrs old and were planted last year, I’m not expecting a crop. The grapes are budding as are the Wisteria and roses. I am so excited to see the bees out and about and the Mud Finches back. That means Spring is almost here. I won’t officially be excited until after Easter. Then I will let superstition pass and dig like a mad woman.

The sad aspect of gardening this year is the lack of a vegetable garden. I made the decision to not do a veggie garden this year, due to the fact that I will be moving during the critical summer gardening period. I love having a garden and have had one most of my life. So a good way to make me jealous is to talk about how good your tomatoes and onion sets are doing! I am still maintaining and caring for whatever is currently rooted in the ground, but will not be adding anything to this property. I am propagating my seeds for my new residence, family and friends, the buzz garden for the zoo, and plant sale.

Never fear, I have my perennials and annuals on order for April and my seeds are set and it looks like all the cutting back and hedging has done its job and I see more and more sprouts every day.

February 20, 2009February 27, 2009

What is going on In Creative Wenderland

Cameras are clicking, seeds are planted and shoes are running. It has really been a hectic few months. I feel like I am running all the time, even when I am not training for the marathon thingy.

Training Update: Group training is tomorrow and we are set to do 4 miles. Shouldn’t be too bad since Bethlys and I did 4 a few days ago……and didn’t die! Fundraising is crap right now…..Somebody motivate me to ask for money!

Master Gardener Class: Last night was an excellent lecture on rainwater harvesting. I really feel, even prior to this inspirational lecture, that this is something we all can do to preserve our limited supply of fresh water. It’s a drought people. Get those barrels out and collect from the roofs when it rains! So simple and cheap.

Photography: I am so excited about my new camera. Anyone who follows me on Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Picasa, or is unlucky to be Yahoo IM’ing me and Texting me (and the occasional real person I speak to) has heard all about my new camera. It’s a Canon DSLR (EOS Rebel Xsi). In high school, and in college, I used a fully manual SLR, Canon AE-1. In between, I have used Canon Powershots, point and click digital cameras. Not too shabby, but I really wanted something with a little more power and required more skill. The Camera arrived yesterday and my photographer senses are tingling. I’ve only been able to shoot a few shots off since late last night, but I was thoroughly impressed. You can check out and keep track of my past, present, and future skillz if you so desire.