And on to the winter crops

Hard to believe in 90 degree weather that I am planning my winter crops, but apparently this is the time of year to do so. A few weeks ago I planted parsnips in my yard in an area that will need to be dug up in spring anyway, so I figured 'why not?'. I also planted some over in the V-yard (victory garden) - 4 or 5 rows, I can't really remember now. I have them protected w/ the oh so famous chicken wire in the hopes that the birds and squirrels don't harvest the seeds.
Today I transplanted the ripbor kale into both my yard and the V-yard. I am hoping that I placed mine high enough up on the hill that the dogs won't trample it - you never can tell with the three amigos! I direct seeded some more kale along with some spinach over in the V-yard. The spinach only takes 40 days (give or take) and I have plenty more seeds, I just ran out of room. I am hoping to find some more space somewhere to plant more.
I added a bit more of the salad bowl here and valamaine lettuce over in the V-yard. Both are hardy in the summer heat. And with the weather we have been getting lately it is hard to tell if it will be hot and dry like a typical August or rainy and cool like it has been the majority of this growing season.
I think that this is the first and last growing season for the V-yard. The bank came by earlier this week and they are putting the house up for auction (again). I am not worried about any of the winter crops that have been planted. The inside of the house needs so much work that if the house is bought the outside will be the least of their worries.
Although the place is an eye sore. I am hoping it goes unsold. With all the trial and error that Tom and I have gone through this year with that garden, I think that next years will be stellar. Let's just hope no one buys it!

How do geraniums bloom in the dark?

Now that is the question!?! Every year I dig out the geraniums, shake out the excess dirt and hang them upside down in my basement. For the past 5 years all has seemed normal. In the spring I take them outside and cut the dead branches until I reach live, green growth, put them back in their pots and watch them bloom all summer. What is going on with these geraniums?

You can see the new green shoots, some new leaves and of course blooms! They have not seen more than 1 hour of daylight since October, have had no water and they aren't growing in anything. Crazy I say!
Oh and speaking of crazy yesterday while out walking Max I saw a forsythia bush already in bloom! We had a foot of snow on Monday, yesterday it was 60 degrees - it's no wonder the plant world is in a state of confusion. Typically I put down my corn glutton when the forsythias bloom but that is hard to do when you still have several inches of melting snow covering the lawn.
I did notice this morning that the tulips are now coming up along with the daffodils/jonquils. There are a few crocuses peeping up too. I planted over 40 bulbs last fall but forgot to squirrel proof them with chicken wire so I lost the majority of them but thankfully the naturalize pretty quickly so all is not lost.
It is expected to be another 50+ degree day so hopefully the rest of the snow will melt and I can get back to the butterfly bush and hack it to the ground!

The planting continues

A little behind in my blogging here so I will keep it short and sweet. Basically planting, planting, and more planting. The weekend of the 13th I planted upwards of 200 bulbs – primarily Katherine Hodgkin irises and Little Princess and Little Beauty tulips – both only 4” high so none of that unsightly vegetation growth waiting to die back! I had a handful of giant Hyacinths added to the mix as well as Kalidescope and Jimmy tulips (20” and 24” respectively) and the last 6 of the tradescantia. It’s been two weeks and I must say I think I have succeeded in keeping the squirrels away. I planted the bulbs at the required depth and once in the trench I added a bit of soil and then on top of that I placed chicken wire then I covered with the rest of the soil! I have seen some holes around where I planed but as soon as the chicken wire showed up the digging stopped. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it keeps them away for good. I also added some all-natural bulb fertilizer called Bulbs Alive that I ordered from Garden’s Alive. A little extra love never hurt anything! And as an added bonus I had some extra chicken wire so I cut that and placed it on top of the irises and tulips. It is very trashy to see this all on my front lawn but it is only temporary until I know the squirrels have stopped their efforts to populate the word with oak trees!
This past weekend I planted 6 tall phlox in ice blue and 6 astrantia plants. Those all went in the back along the deck. The astrantia were rather sickly looking when they arrived but hopefully they will bounce back.
The rock garden got a few extra additions too – three magic carpet thyme that (hopefully) will have pretty pink flowers and a nice scent throughout the summer and I also dropped in 3 fescue blue grasses. They were sooooo cute when they got delivered – only about 1” high but they are expected to grow to 18”.
I am still waiting on a few more things – 1 gardenia bush, 9 hardy pansies and 3 snow in summer. After that I will be officially done with the fall planting. The winter months are going to be long….what am I going to spend my weekends doing now?