Can you Teach an OLD Gardener some New Tricks??

Winter. .

Spring. .

Winter. .

Spring. .

We're calling spring around here. .

Finally!!

We were still getting freezing nights nearly a week after our average frost free date. .

Guess that's why they call it an average??

But. .

We've had moisture. .

So things are green and flowers are in bloom!!

Hooray!!

Here's a great photo of the Blue Flax. .

All you hot southern Kansas garden mamas. .

You NEED this plant. .

It has been phenomenal. .

AND you can probably sneak into my garden when I am not looking. .

Steal some for yourself. .

Steal some for your neighbors and friends. .

And I still wouldn't notice the gap!

You can see how the 4 original 2 inch potted plants 3 years ago have spread. .

I love it!

But don't look for it in the afternoon. .

Or even the evening. .

For the only way you will know which plant is IT. .

Is if you sneak in during the morning!

You've all heard my woes about the drought and the hideous garden plot full of Johnson grass. .

a NOXIOUS WEED!

So, while sitting in the waiting room New Year's Eve during Grant's surgical procedure. .

as I browsed one of my endless supply of gardening magazines. .

I found THESE. .

Gardening boxes. .

Grow the perfect tomatoes. .

along with other miraculous, intriguing claims were made. .

So, I researched and ordered. .

Six of them!!

These will be our 'garden' this summer!!

I had to be a little choosy about what to plant. .

And Grant helped me set them up and plant them. .

We have 2 Beef Steak tomatoes (red slicers), 2 Kellogg's breakfast tomatoes (yellow slicers), 2 Tomatoberry tomatoes (grape tomatoes that are shaped like a strawberry and super sweet), 1 Mater Sandwich (leftover seed from last year, a red slicer), and 1 Brandywine (leftover seed as well, an heirloom that supposedly has fantastic flavor). Each box was good for 2 tomato plants. .so that took 4 boxes. One box contains 5 pepper plants (1 jalapeno, and 4 colored sweet) and 3 basil plants (1 green sweet and 2 purple). The final box contains 6 holes that will consist of cucumber plants, 3 holes with pickling and 3 holes with slicing seeds. .I noticed today that there are sprouts in both sides (we planted on Saturday) These containers are self watering. .and they have GINORMOUS water reservoirs in the bottom!! I think they will work great!

We also planted some round self watering planters I found at walmart. .

2 pots have carrot varieties (cosmic purple, which we love. .and tendersweet, an orange variety) The other one has watermelon seeds. .I also intend to get one more pot and plant cantaloupe in it. You can see them perched around the memory garden. .

they will not stay on the sidewalk. .

you notice the small sliver of dirt you can see at the left edge of the photo. .

that is now a small piece of yard that is surrounded by sidewalk on the east and south and new patio on the west. .

It will be the perfect location for these pots, once we put down a thick layer of newspaper and straw.

If you want to read about these little grow boxes. .

you can find them here. .

http://www.agardenpatch.com/

I have also been pretty nervous about our little potato tower experiment!!

Over 3 weeks now with no potato vines in sight!

I stuck my hand into the tower last week to see if I could fish out a spud to see whether they were rotting or what. .

Dumb!!

I took a stinger to my middle finger that I'm sure went straight into my BONE. .

And the next day I got my long hand trowel and started again.

I found a few of them sprouted reaching for the sky. .

I was concerned that they may never reach the top. .

And lo and behold. .

2 little potato sprouts peeking out of the bottom of the tower. .

Just like the Internet said they would!

And finally in veggie news. .

We (mostly I) put in 10 asparagus crowns. .

I used the cedar fence along the back edge of the memory garden as the guide for their spots. . 

And planted some on the east side and some on the west side (if you scroll back up to my zoomed out photo. .they would be right about the location of my Yukon sitting in the driveway). .

4 of the 10 plants have emerged as of the last few days!!

I think this will be a better spot for them then the area in the garden that I tried a few years ago. .

And it will definitely be a better "permanent" spot for them!

Our favorite "special" way to eat asparagus is grilled with a little olive oil. .

or better yet, shoved in a slice of prosciutto stuck together with a little goat cheese. .

and THEN grilled!

YUM!!

In other gardening news. .

The lilacs were sparse. .

but fragrant. .

and pretty!! Hopefully next year will see more blooms. .

I enjoyed these from afar, but never took a bouquet to the house.

My aunt Jane shared some yellow water iris with me before she moved last year. .

It was loaded with blooms this week!

The regular iris are starting their show too. .

Yellow has been open for a couple days. .

The peach one is also about ready to go. .

There are several other colors that are starting too.

Last year I barely had a single iris bloom. .

and I was a little nervous about why they didn't bloom!!

So I was really thrilled to see them all performing like "business as usual."

Wondering if anyone else had that experience too?

I love columbine. .

but they haven't loved me much yet. .

I couldn't resist this purple one. .

And planted it near the pond, where I have tried to recreate a moister soil by leaving some of the pond liner under the soil with just a few holes poked in. .

So far it has worked for the hostas. .

And I am hoping the columbine will take to it too!

The Cardonna Salvia and Walker's Low Nepeta (catnip) from High Country gardens are expanding and looking radiant!

The pink penstemon in the same area and the Jupiter's beard will also join the color parade soon.

I tried another new trick I read about. .

 for a little Japanese painted fern that I wanted to add around my pitcher pump water feature when I get it put back together. .

I used an old hanging basket with the fibrous coco liner in it. .

I dug a hole out of the soil that was in the pot. .

Used an old pull up diaper from the stash of about 10 leftovers I found when we tore apart Cami's room. .

Opened it up and laid it in the bottom. .

Piled some more dirt on top of the diaper. .

and planted the fern in it. .

The diaper will hold the extra water and release it slowly to the root of the fern. .

Which I could NEVER hope to keep in total shade and get watered enough on my own. .

With this method, I think I can manage both. .

I'll keep ya posted!!

I dug this old bucket out from under my honeysuckle vine over the weekend too. .

And used it for a creeping jenny. .

which I also hope to add in a pocket when I put the pump feature back in on the new patio edge!

A few containers got some attention. .

like this old wire basket that got two pots of spicy fragranced petunias. .

Purple and yellow (or orange) is one of my favorite color combos of summer!

And we sat on the new patio this weekend and enjoyed the scent of them as it drifted by!

Another "out on a limb" purchase for me was this fuchsia.

I tried one last year. .

And the cats laid on it. .

Not to mention it dried up QUICKLY!!

And lasted like. .

A week!!

I found this little self watering hanging basket at Walmart for around $7. .

That fuchsia has sucked it dry twice a day since I got it. .

No wonder I killed it last year. .

But so far, nearly 2 weeks in. .

It is looking really nice!

And finally. .

I was TOTALLY surprised to find this little clump of Star of Bethlehem blooming right behind my little stone cross. I have transplanted these several times and never had them bloom. .
I don't EVEN remember transplanting this clump. .

But I love 'em. .

My daycare provider has a yard full. .

but me. .

always just a clump of stems!!

They are so sweet!!

So. .

despite my total lack of interest in gardening after 2 years of drought and incredible heat. .

I find myself adapting. .

learning new tricks to improve my success!

I am hopeful that the tricks will be successful come September. .

Guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!!

STOP. .

And smell a flower. .

on the side of this super busy highway we call. .

LIFE!!

Glad you stopped by today!

April Gardens

It's the middle of April. .

How does that happen!!

Kansas can't decide on winter. .

or spring!!

Last week, after some very SPRING like weather. .

We had a rainstorm. .

with hail. .

and sleet. .

That ended up icing everything over long enough to delay school by a couple hours the next morning!! This week also forecasts rain AND snow!

The daffodils were nearly spent already. .

but the tulips were really starting their show. .

They have been so much prettier already this spring than last year.

I was so burned out on drought gardening last fall. .

that I hadn't ordered any bulbs. .

I have identified some locations that would really benefit from having some planted next fall.

There are quite a few clumps in the memory garden that I had forgotten were there! And some gorgeous ones (that I haven't gotten photos of) near the waterfall that I don't even remember planting there. .

I wonder. .

Maybe I have a Fairy Garden-mother. .

Ya think?

My little clump of creeping phlox is blooming. .

It looks so cool snuggled around the boulder. .

I think I will dig it up, and make several new little plants out of it.

Here is the fence of the memory garden. .

We are going to start doing a little food gardening in there too. .

Along this fence, on both sides, I planted some Jersey Knight asparagus crowns. .

I HOPE they come up!!

Do you see the buckets of sheet rock mud that the guys have used up and cleaned out. .

LOTS of that going up right now!! And painting to take place in the next few days!

My most exciting find last weekend. .

Clematis stems. .

Since I planted this one probably 5 years ago. .

This was the first time I have ever had anything coming up from the root. .

The same stem always gets green leaves on it and a few blooms. .

 but never any more vines. .

I hope it really goes to town this spring.

Some little anemones near the waterfall. .

as well as the little pink flower on the living stone succulent plants.

Not sure whether it work or not, I dug out the old fragrant honeysuckle I had planted by the boy's bathroom so it wouldn't get demolished in the construction.

I put it in a big pot and it is growing new leaves already. .

Not sure where it's new home will be. .

somewhere I can smell it for SURE!!

I never really thought that I would have to be the one who would need to relocate ALL the limestone I had hauled in. .

And more than once, we have joked about the next owners of our home having to doze them all out if they decided they didn't like 'em. .

BUT. .

The boys and I had to move all the ones from the east and north sides of the house. .

It turned out to be a large and messy pile. .

NOW. .

to get them all put back before the rattlesnakes take up residence!!

The possibilities on design should be pretty endless. .

I hope that I won't start a project that will call for another trailer load of them. .

I'm afraid that Jeremy's patience will be pretty thin with me and my ideas by then!

The greenhouse is FULL!!

The purple salvia seedlings in front and the love lies bleeding starts on the left side are all promising blooms already!! It is supposed to hit 25 again at night this week. .

so that will delay their new home placement for a bit yet.

                                     

The lemons are growing. .I think there are 7.

Another fun project is this little pomegranate plant. .

complete with a little fruit. .

I was disappointed after I bought it to read later that very few plants like this will bear fruit to eat. .

So far, this one seems to be enlarging and looking like the real deal. .

I will have to keep you posted on whether we get any harvest from it or not!

Even if it doesn't. .

the plant has gorgeous little flowers and really interesting leaves.

Not able to wait for non-freezing weather. .

I planted some gladiolus bulbs in containers to get them a little earlier start. .

I should be able to lift them out easy enough and put them in a final resting place later. .

I still have plenty left in the sack to put out as well!

Still harvesting tomatoes. .

big and small!

Here are the summer starts, awaiting planting time.

There are also several peat pots of chives. .

I did plant 3 little pots into the area that will be planted with perennial herbs. I had to transplant my sage into the area, which only has a huge rosemary plant in it right now. .

I also rescued a couple starts from the tarragon plant and put them into nursery pots and buried them in the ground. .

That is how I grow the sage too. .

so it doesn't take over.

The tarragon was given to me years ago by Grandma Pat. .and it overran it's little area, that will soon be buried under a concrete patio.

The cucumber Diva has provided us much winter enjoyment. .

and I seeded a few more plants in the existing setup to get us through until the summer crop starts. We ended up with 3 cucumber vines. .

And next winter I will easily double or triple that amount I think.

The Carmen peppers have been sluggish. .

but the peppers are really sweet and yummy. .

We've picked more of them than any other pepper I've grown in the greenhouse. .

so they will likely be on the winter list for next fall again too.

I've been rooting lots of stuff. .

including a couple small honeysuckle plants from the vine we moved. .

several pots of different succulent plants. .

The red sweet potato rooting hung out in the greenhouse this winter waiting for spring with the rest of us. .

I've also repotted some lemon grass starts that I germinated from seed a few months ago too. .

It's been fun to look through the gardens, seeing what has reseeded and what is peeking through the ground that survived 2 drought-y, hot summers and is ready for another chance to live.

My favorite part of spring is just that. .

the promise of new life and a second chance at growing. .

For flowers and vegetation. .

And for my own soul and life!

Have a GREAT weekend!

New Blooms Every Day!

Greetings from southwest Kansas. .

We have enjoyed cooler temperatures this week. .more seasonable for sure.

We have, so far, escaped storms. .which also means that we escaped the rains. .unless you count a few minutes here and a few minutes there. .maybe a tenth of an inch! But we had about 1.70 inches last week. .and compared to this time last year, we feel like we are livin' in the rain forest! And lovin' it. .I might add!

We had a great Easter. .and the weather was perfect for hanging out in the great outdoors!! I took a few photos Sunday, when I was photographing the chicks first afternoon out. .and I'm glad I did. .the colors are prettier with a bit of sunlight!!

Looking at the house from the veggie garden. .We put a smaller Bur Oak tree near to there last weekend. .and I couldn't help but stop and admire the view of the spirea on my way back from watering.  Those three bushes were taken from my mother in law. .she has an enormous hedge of them around her house. .We snuck some small ones out, and could never tell where they had even been. They have been thriving here and become progressively more beautiful every spring. .The blooms have been going for about a week. Directly on the other side of the spirea bushes is the pond. .I really like the seclusion aspect of it. .and people don't see the pond when they drive up, even though it is in the front yard!

This tulip came from a blueberry and cream mixture from Brecks. .I'm likin' it. .A LOT!! It reminds me of a peony bloom. .which, I noticed in the drizzle this afternoon, are beginning to show some color on their flower buds. .they will be in bloom soon too!

I spent a LONG time weeding out this patch. .I am thinking that watching the goldfinches cling to the sunflower heads wasn't quite enjoyable enough to warrant ALL this work to get rid of the seeds they missed!! Yikes! I did plant a little patch of four o'clock seeds in that mess. .Hoping I will be able to ID them when they sprout!! The number of Spinx moths that are attracted to those in the evenings is incredible. .and reason enough for me to have some. They generally reseed once they get going, which is nice, unless you are referring to sunflowers. .and now I think their reseeding ability is a less than attractive quality.

I had to add this photo. .first because it shows everyone. .in one place. .at the same time, which is becoming more rare. .and second. .because it shows the relation of the pond from our dining room table. I LOVE sitting where Cami is standing, and looking out the window. .sipping java. .watching birds. .or contemplating life! If you were wonderin' what Grant was doing in the background. .the chicks moved from the bathroom to the kitchen after the first day. .and Grant was busy watching them. They made the move to the yard a few days ago. .and are doing well in their tiny little chick house with the heat lamp in it. .today they even came out into the little caged in pen to see the outer world! They have lost a lot of fuzz and gained a lot of feathers. .even in the course of time since yesterday!!

I'm pretty excited to see how the pond looks by the end of the summer. I am amazed at how much all of the pond plants have grown just this spring. .they already seem so much bigger than they were at the end of the summer. Two small hostas and a heuchera that I thought were goners last summer have made appearances in the flower bed under the tree. It has pond liner under the soil to hold the moisture in for these water-loving plants. Must be working!! My biggest issue with the pond is that it turned out too round. .I am working things around in my mind. .which may entail pulling up some of the rock and adding some plantings closer to the water to change the shape. .Hmmm!

There is new growth on all of the spruce trees. .including the Blue Atlas I planted last August. .That's always my sign that things truly are "alive and well!!" The spruce trees took the drought. .but barely. I have one of these dwarf spruces that may be lucky to make this summer. It is a little closer to the elm tree, and I wonder if the roots are competing for moisture. But, he also has some new growth though, so I am hopeful!

Now joining the dwindling parade of bulbs. .some of the cottage garden faves are showing. .Enter Lineum

or blue Flax. .I am noticing some mild reseeding in the bed these are in. .but they are such an unusual color of periwinkle blue, that I just can't bear to pull them yet. They only bloom when the sun shines. .so on these cloudy days, their buds have been closed up! They have really cool foliage too, so even when not in bloom, they are nice to look at.

The larkspur has also started blooming. .but there is a SEA of this stuff coming up. .and I know Jeremy's customers must wonder why I let so many tall weeds exist in the bed right alongside the driveway!! In another little bit though, I think it will be quite stunning!! 

I did a little transplanting the other day. .from one bed to the next. .and this cloudy, cool weather has been just perfect for that!! Not much transplant shock happening, and I'm glad!! I planted the first pot of winter-sowed seeds this week too. .I had some carnival morning glories that I threw in a pot just cause. .(they are quite easy to start in the spring too). They got a spot near the new cedar fence. .to crawl up the posts and add some color. I have several pots of winter sown seeds that have sprouted and a few that are starting to sprout. .but because of my organizational mishaps. .and the dry erase pen I used to mark the pots. .I have NOT a clue. .what any of the seedlings are. .just what they could be. .a mishmash of about 8 kinds of seeds. .none of which I had ever tried growing before. .except for the morning glory. .I knew which ones those were :-) Sometimes my brilliance is baffling. .even to me!! 

We're looking forward to a weekend full of this and that .a little family time. .a little gardening. .a little socializing. .and a little antiquing (for me anyway:-)

Stay out of trouble. .

and drop by again soon!!