And still more photos

Remember that spindly little butterfly bush from an earlier post? Well here she is in all her glory! After only one year she is now about 6' high and 3-4' wide. The older stems are flowering first but today the tops have blooms too.
And this is an up close and personal shot of one of the many coneflowers I planted. Other than the green envy and these two that is all I have for now.

the double deckers have buds and I cannot wait to see them come up. The weather has definitely been in their favor. It has been crazy hot for days now probably going on a week. I can't get enough water into my garden it is so dang hot. Thank goodness for the rain barrels other wise my water bill would be sky high!

Picture time

Whoever heard of pansies still blooming in July?!?! I got these from Michigan Bulb and they are growing like wildfire!!!

These two of where my garden is now - holy zukes and cukes! I still have to train the cucumbers to grow up the trellis as opposed to growing into my neighbors evergreen bushes. The zukes and tomatoes are doing well too. So far I have cut two zukes and two yellow squash and hopefully more to come.














This is the first to bloom green envy coneflower - there is another one but it is being completely consumed by my butterfly bush.

These are the wildflowers that I got for free for joining the National Home Gardening Club and I must say they took nicely to this spot - it somewhat hides the neighbors unsightly yard.

Who said morning glories were annuals - these suckers have reseeded themselves and are making a very good home in my backyard.






These blackie sweet potato vines were from last year! They were in the window box never really doing too well and I brought them in this year and BOO-YAH I have a mini sweet potato shrub!

The season has begun!

So here is the first zucchini of the season! I let it get a little too big totally by accident. I didn't even realize it was there! The plants are growing out of control and it is hard for me to see under those massive leaves, but today it was rescued!

I also have a few sugar snap peas which I think are ready to harvest, but what do you do with 6 peas?!?! I have never grown these before so have no idea what to expect.

The tomatoes and cucumbers are doing pretty well, the Thai hot peppers are a complete wash. I guess peppers are just not my thing because last year the red and greens didn't grow well either.

Now the front yard is a different story. I bought 12 tradesentia from Spring Hill Nursery and only 5 have come up. The front walk looks absolutely ridiculous! Not to mention the unsightly daffodil foliage that refuses to die. And that is just salt in the wound because they didn't bloom either!

So my next stop after this post is to contact Spring Hill and take them up on their life time guarentee. Will let you know how that works out!

Not so Blue Girl Rose

This is the first bloom that came up on my newly purchased Blue Girl Rose. Blue? I think not! It has a bit of a lavender-ish color but this isn't even close to what I thought it would be. It does smell absolutely heavenly though. It has a rose scent but with an underlying scent of lemon - sitting on the back porch I can smell it even without a breeze blowing.

Now this beauty here is growing in the back! What a vibrant pink. Now if everything else I plated would pick up the pace.

The Salvia Plumosa is doing well and has started to spread. The dragon flower is growing like crazy - I just hope it flowers. I have blooms on the double decker and green envy coneflowers and a gajillion morning glories growing all over the place!!! Talk about an annual re-seeding.

The veggie garden is doing well. I have flowers on the cukes and zukes. Of course the zukes are all male right now, but I do see some females coming up shortly. I have four very small cherry tomatoes and two roma plum already coming up and even more blooms. They don't seem to bloom heavy, so I am hoping that I am going to get more as they grow. Right now they are only about 2 feet high - and still plenty of growing time!

Holy Heatwave!!!!!

Starting on Saturday it has been 90+ degrees!!! This from on Thursday being 50-60 - what a crazy climb in temperature. My tomatoes and cukes are loving it - but not so much for the lettuce. You know it is hot when the Rhodies start to droop! My roses started to bloom and MUCH better than any other year. Here is a picture of the two that are on my side yard. The one on the left was a spindly little thing last year and look at her now - almost the same size as her neighbor! I guess a little love and some "roses alive" from Garden's Alive really does the trick!


Even the rose bush out back that came up with only one bloom last year is doing well.


I wanted to capture my garden now while it is still in the infant stage. I did have to trash the sugar snap peas - they just didn't cut it. Only one survived and instead I plated a number of different bush and pole beans.



The first photo captures my cukes, lettuce (both romaine and buttercrunch) edamame, and beans. Keep in mind that I just plants the bean seeds yesterday so there really is nothing to see yet.



The second photo is of my Thai hot peppers (to deter the critters), yellow and green zucchini and tomato plants. I added some marigold seeds throughout the garden as well as in pots to hopefully help with the critters. I also planted some Nasturtium plants that will hang along the fence again in the hopes to keep the thieves at bay.

It's been a long time

I have been crazy busy in the yard that I have forgotten to write! Anyway, since my tulips have bloomed I have planted all my vegetables - and I think some a bit early - the edamame didn't really make it so I cut it back but it looks ok now - I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
I have planted my scallions and chives (grown from seed) out in the garden and around my rose bushes respectively. My window boxes and hanging baskets are all planted and this year I went with purple and white - hanging petunias, calibrocha, dusty miller and a few others. So far they are looking pretty good and it is only May!
The back garden is coming up nicely. The edelweiss took and bloomed though I though I would get more than one flower per plant, but maybe it is because they are newly planted.
I seem to have lost a few columbines, as they haven't come up yet, but maybe those three are slow to grow. The other columbines I have are looking pretty nice. One of my Christa's already has a bud.
I started using Neptune's seaweed fertilizer on my garden plants. I added it just this past weekend and will do it, as directed, every 2-3 weeks.
I was getting some serious leaf eating on my rose bushes so I applied some Crop Guard that I bought from Arbico. The spray is made with garlic and yucca and you mix with water to rid aphids, mealy worms, cut worms, etc from plants. So far in the past week since applying it I haven't seen one leaf damaged - and I have TONS of blooms!
I cannot wait for everything to come up to share the pictures.

Tulips in bloom

This is the first year that my tulips actually came up and I am so excited!!! Typically I have gotten a bunch of sterile tulips with lots of greens and no buds, but this is a new year - I just wish you knew what color the bulbs were before planting. The orange-ish one are called jimmy tulips that I got from Brecks and the other two are what are considered kaleidoscope and I believe I got those from Brecks as well.


The ones that are majority of red are on the right side of my front lawn and the purple ones are on the left. Like I said it would have been nice to mix them up a bit but maybe they decide in the ground what color to be?!?!

Before the magic

I wanted to post some of the before pictures now that I have everything planted. All the bare roots plats have already started coming up and any that arrived as plants have settled into theri new homes nicely.
The first two are of the semi-rock garden - everything right now is so small but at least they are growing! I think in the next 2 years or so it will really be a beauty.
There are a few from the back yard with my bird and butterfly houses and again it looks like I am growing popsycle stick becasue nothing is big enough to see - but just wait until the full bloom season.
The last one is of the weeping cherry tree out front with the giant hyacinths. I just ordered 24 more bulbs the other day so that I can complete a ring around the tree.

Perennials a plenty and seeds a starting!

So I have planted all the perennials - with the exception of my coneflowers - they haven't arrived yet. I got in the three shrubs - the willow, the weigela and the beautyberry along with some additional purple wintercreeper under the sad looking forsythias.
This weekend I started my edamame, sage, lavender, and oregano seeds in the greenhouse. Last weekend I started the moonflowers and they are already a good three inches! Hopefully they take this year and I can add them as an annual ground cover in my rock garden.
I also planted some romaine and butter crunch lettuce seeds that I got from the garden last year. I covered them with a floating row cover just in case. I heard lettuce from seeds is not an easy task. I will wait a few weeks to see if anything comes up and if not, off to the nursery for plants I will go!
The past three days it has been over 60 degrees and close to 70 yesterday so hopefully we have shaken off the winter weather and spring has finally arrived.
Have lots of Spring bulbs blooming too - giant hyacinth, daffodils, and jonquils. The tulips are coming up and thankfully the new ones I planted aren't sterile, I can see the flower bulb inside the leaves. There are still plenty of sterile ones around the yard that I need to dig up. I heard if you dig them up and plant them with ones that actually do bloom they will not be sterile anymore. I have to remember that in the fall!
Pictures of the blooming beauties to follow. I was on vacation for the past week and have so much to rake, weed and basically take care of the pictures will just have to wait.

Perrennial Planting and Weed Control

So this weekend I put down my WOW Supreme to control weeds and also fertilize the lawn. I used 20 pounds for the front and side yards and I still need to take care of the back yard, but it really needs to be over seeded which is something I cannot do with the corn gluten that is in the WOW because it kills all seedlings, including grass.
I also got all of my plants in the ground - all 32 of them. I am still waiting for plenty more but I am headed out for vacation and needed to get them planted sooner rather than later. I finally got my pentasemon that I ordered last fall and I planted those out front as well.
I also started my rosemary and moonflower from seed indoors. Last year the moonflower did horribly - it never grew more than 2" and I think the squirrels dug what little I had anyway. Hopefully this year they will take.
I brought out all the painted bird and butterfly houses. They look really cute in the back. If it were even remotely sunny out at any given time this weekend I would have taken a picture to show - but it was overcast and misty the whole weekend - maybe when I get back!
The Katherine Hodgkins irises came up on April 1- they are so small and cute - again the picture will follow.
I also got a lot of outdoor decor the spruce up the place, and even without the sun or any blooms it really has helped!

Arbor Day is early this year

So I joined the Arbor Day Foundation and as a gift for joining I just received TEN trees!
2 Sargent Crabapples
2 Eastern Redbuds
2 Washington Hawthorns
2 White Flowering Dogwoods
2 Goldenraintrees
And as an added bonus I also got a fragrant lilac shrub. I have no idea where these are going to go, but my sister expressed interest in the crabappples and I am thinking of giving one of the dogwoods to another sister. Other than that, I am stumped (no pun intended) as to where the others are to go. I do have about two years to figure it out though. The foundation recommends planting them in a 'tree nursery' to get them started for a year or two and then transplanting them to their permanent location. Now I just need to find a spot to plant this nursery : )
And lastly - it snowed today. Ugh - when will it stop?!?

My lawn is #1 on the To Do list

Today I spent the day focused on my lawn. I aerated the front and side yards with my "Hound Aerator" that I just bought at Home Depot. There were so many ugly plugs all over the lawn which makes me think I did the right thing at the right time! After walking the Hound across the lawn I raked the HELL out of it to get up old growth and thatch (keeping in mind I held my core muscles the whole time for an extra work out)! The lawn looks better already - amazing what getting rid of the brown can do.
I also dug up the new portion of my garden, tilled the soil and added some compost. I am hoping to put in some scallions and lettuce seed within the next few week.
Yesterday I planted my Blue Girl Rose bush and am hoping that it isn't too early or cold - keeping my fingers crossed on that one!
The best thing I did today was help my neighbor (aka Mr. Scotts) order the organic material that he needs to take care of his lawn. I cannot even express the joy that I have that he has decided to go organic. I am really so proud of him because it takes a lot to get off of the 'drugs' to make this planet a better place. He is ordering from Garden's Alive and went for the WOW Supreme and some grub control. He is now so into the organic way that he is also ordering a tea composting kit! I LOVE IT! Now I have to hook up a system for tea composting too. I am looking for the 'passive' way which will require some stirring and manual labor because I don't want the thing sucking up the electricity for the aerating pumps.

Sping is SPRINGING!

You know Spring is on its way in New England when the crocuses make their appearance - and here are the first of mine to show their happy faces


The ground is nasty, tons of old mulch and fallen twigs but still they have arrived! Now keep in mind, I didn't plant these and they were not in this location last year! The nearest crocuses are in the front yard some 50 or so feet away, so I really have no idea how they got there, but whatever, they will be gone by the time what I did plant there shows up.
The kaleidescope and jimmy tulips I planted are coming up as well - we'll just have to wait to see if they really bloom though. My tulips are notorious for being sterile - lots o' green, no blooms. Hopefully the bulbs alive I sprinkled in the holes will help the blooming process!

Ah-Hah - so that's what that is!

So I went to the New England flower show today - the theme was Rhapsody in Green and it was all about organic gardening - right up my alley. I had quite the ah-hah moment while I was there when I saw this:
I have two of these in my yard and I had no idea what they were! I cut the heck out of one last year because it was way too overgrown and the other one sits next to my front porch steps. When I Googled it every site said it was a slow grower so I am assuming the ones I have growing have been around for a while. And it also says 'slight fragrance' HA! I think not those little white flowers smell like cat urine. I hate both of them! I would love to do away with them but I have so much going on right now they will receive a pardon for this year!
Oh - and before I headed off to the flower show I pruned my blueberry and rose bushes. They have both been here for years and never pruned! There was so much dead wood it's no wonder I never get berries or flowers! I am hoping that this was a good time to do it. Typically I have read late winer early spring so I am pretty much banking on this is that time!

Move in ready

How cute are these?



I figure I am making a friendly garden for my fine, feathered, friends I might as well give them a safe place to rest and digest. The purple one on the left is actually a feeder. Behind/under the orange part is a screen where you can add the seed of choice. I am actually going to go for mealworms or grub, something a little different that what I have in the other feeders. I really don’t think anyone will be setting up home in the yellow one, but it still really cure and although you can’t see it, the sides are painted magenta which will blend in nicely with the new flowers.
I also got a butterfly house – MUCH bigger than I imagined. I have only gotten around to painting the stake, but will definitely post the finished product – whenever that may be.
And before anyone starts posting about toxic paints I used a water-based, non-toxic acrylic from Folk Art meant to withstand the outdoor elements. Right on the label (and also on the cap) is a picture of a birdhouse – so I am taking a chance and believing their marketing techniques that it is safe for my little friends.

Lots of planting in my future

Holy Cow - have I ordered a lot to plant in the spring! I am always so overzealous when it comes to ordering stuff – I think I have an online ordering addiction. I have 42, yup forty two, plants coming in the spring to plant!!!! I am going to be a busy little bee for sure. To add to my butterfly/hummingbird extravaganza in the back I added both white and pink dragonflowers, Nora and Christa Barlow Columbine, sedum emperor’s wave, more coneflowers, pentesemon, some salvia and oh how I hope it grows edelweiss! Someone please stop the catalogues from coming – they are without a doubt my downfall!
Today I just order my bags of corn gluten to keep on top of that nasty weed grown on the lawn. Four 20lb bags from Garden’s Alive will do the trick I am sure.
I am interested in this new zyosia grass plug craze that seems to be inserted into every catalogue and magazine lately. It seems to good to be true. I am going to look into it and most likely try it out – hopefully with good results to report!

Spring planning continued

So now that I have gone through all of my gardening catalogues I have ordered a number of perennials to add around the yard and have made the decision to make the back portion of my yard a butterfly/hummingbird friendly area. I am going for annuals and perennials that will attract both of them as well as some beneficial insects to assist with the rest of the yard. Typically I have laid out the section of my yard in the same color scheme, just adding foliage and texture for interest but the backyard is going to be a cacophony of colors and species.
Already established back there is a butterfly bush and some black eyed susans but I am adding in some coneflowers – green envy which is a stunning green species that fades to crimson in the interior as well as a “grab bag” of other colors. I also added in dragon flower. Everything I have thus far is at its lowest height 18” so I definitely need some friendly lower growing plants so that it doesn’t look so top heavy.
I am really interested in buying the seed kit that is stated to attract butterfly and hummingbirds, but as seeds I have no idea what they are or what size they will become, so the whole area could become one big mess if I am not careful.
I planted an astantia mix in a separate area of the yard just because I thought they were very interesting looking and found out later that they are butterfly magents so I have been looking at the “Moulin Rouge” version which is BEAUTIFUL! Being the penny pincher gardener that I am I have earmarked all the catalogues that offer it and am now just comparing prices to get the best deal.
My last news to note here is that I have joined the National Home Gardening Club as a member and am receiving a new pair of pruners for my efforts. If you are interested in becoming a member please visit gardeningclub.com to join!
My indoor seed in my newly receive electric greenhouse will be planted shortly so stay tuned for the results!

New Year - and can't wait till Spring!

Welcome 2008!
I have been pouring through all the gardening catalogs that I have been receiving and just can't wait till Spring. I laid out my newly enlarged garden and this year I am going for edamame, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, scallions, garlic, romaine and buttercrunch lettuces, yellow and green summer squash (maybe some patty pan too) and thrown throughout the garden some nasturtium and marigolds as critter deterant. Outside of the garden I am going to plant mini pumpkins to see how they do. Last year the watermelons were a bust. 20 feet of vines and I got three extremely watery, low tasting melons. Just not worth the effort for me.
I have earmarked a number of flowers, both annual and perennial, in the Park Seed, Burpee and Gurney catalogs. I am even looking into a seed starting electric greenhouse because I only have one small, 4 tiered outdoor greenhouse and last year it was jam packed with seedlings and with my over reaching vision this year I am going to need much more growing power!
Here in Boston we had a very close to record breaking snowfall (1" short of beating it) and loads more than last year - 24" versus 7" so I am hoping all my newly planted perennials will make it through the season. Just the other day the snow started to melt along the edges of the lawn and much to my dismay I saw weeds!!!! What is that all about?!?! It is much too cold for weeds and I did put down the corn gluten so things should be under control. Wait till I get my hands on those little suckers come Spring.
There are 5 long more months until I can really start to plant and start seeds but as I said earlier I have a list of must haves for the garden so stay tuned for the next installment of what I ordered.
Enjoy your New Year!