Heather's Garden

WEEKEND WARRIOR

How excited was I to have 2 days of nice weather forecast for the weekend and no social engagements on the calendar?!  I just didn't count on VPH catching a bad cold on Thursday.  My heavy-lifting help-mate was not available all weekend.  I had to haul all the heavy bags of soil around to get those annuals into pots by myself!

I did try to make the huge ceramic pots a little lighter (and save potting soil) by turning a plastic pot upside down inside each of them.  Apparently the annual flowers don't really need all that space for their roots.  If I were planting perennials in these pots, I wouldn't have done this:

Planter #1 which isn't quite doing its job of hiding the ick under our front steps:

I decided that I should keep some record of what I'm planting in each container.  In addition to the Gerber daisy and some leftover petunias this one has:

Container #2 (and my favorite):

This one has a Gerber daisy and:

Dave gave me a call on Saturday morning and said the dahlia roots were ready for pick-up.  I ran out and bought 5 new containers to add to the 3 appropriately sized pots that I had on hand and headed over to Dave and Dottie's house.  I neglected to bring my camera with me, so I don't have any photos of their fantastic garden for you, only pots of dirt with dahlia roots planted in my driveway (nor have I made it back to Kathy's beautiful garden yet -- too much to do in mine!).  I'm not supposed to water these dahlias until they sprout:

Dave suggested that I keep the two dahlias that had already sprouted out of the direct sun for a few days, so this guy is tucked under a chair:

And this one is under a bench:

These planters from IKEA (last year, don't know if they still carry them) will be the new home of my beans in a week or so:

I threw the old white Rubbermaid patio storage bench on Freecycle Saturday mid-day and it was picked up within 60 minutes.  It just didn't do the job I wanted it to, not waterproof, not insect proof, and not comfortable to sit on -- and frankly, it was ugly.  Taking its spot in the center of the vegetable garden are 2 new huge containers that will be home to my zucchini plants.  To the right and left of them along the fence will be the wooden troughs for the Kentucky Wonder beans (you can see the one on the right peeking out) and I'll throw netting over the fence again for them to climb.  In the empty spots between the stumps and the trellis planter on the right I'll put smaller pots with a few Royal Purple bush beans.  Note that the lawn is filling in a little:

The second lettuce planting:

Sweet 100 cherry tomato plant (in Fafard potting soil and Bradfield Organic tasty tomato & veggie fertilizer):

Husky Cherry Red (I'm using the same prep as above for all the veggies):

The planter table all done up.  I'm looking forward to everything filling out.  It looked so thin in spots that I stuck the leftover petunias in there, blue, purple and pink.  I'm not entirely certain that I'm happy with how this turned out:

I photographed all the labels from the plants in the table, but my camera ate about 30 photos (or it was operator error downloading Sunday evening -- I'm tired, give me a break) and I had already thrown the labels out, so I'm going to have to take a trip to the nursery to remind myself of what I planted.  Here's a shot that kind of shows how tall the peas are getting:

As does this one:

I put zinnia seed in the large pot in the front on Sunday.  The 2 lettuces are on the table and the rest of the pots are herbs that overwintered (with varying degrees of success).  I'm hoping that they start growing more quickly or my belated Mother's Day trip to the nursery is going to net 100% herb seedlings:

In the lost photos I showed how I put recycled screening from the destroyed gazebo into the bottom of the herb barrel, anchored it with some potting soil and then layered empty 2 liter seltzer bottles and Coke Zero cans in the bottom.  I did that to keep the barrel at a weight where we can move it if we need to and to reduce the amount of potting soil needed for the barrel by half.  So it only took 2/3 of a 2 cubic foot bag of potting soil.  I am dying to get some herbs in there:

I'm not sure if this one is going to work...I took the forsythia branches that I forced inside this spring and stuck them in a pot of dirt.  Supposedly they'll take root.  Maybe this time next year I'll have a new bush to plant:

The sweet peas are coming along.  They're definitely leaning in the direction of the sun.  I think I'm going to end up with sweet peas only on the front half of the trellis:

I was lamenting that only 3 of the morning glories have come up when lo and behold I have a fourth(in the center):

The wildflower patch is looking better.  They are actually some little seedlings coming up now if you bend over and look closely, however I was too tired to do that for you:

That mystery plant is blooming:

Can anyone identify this one for me:

I almost finished everything that I had planned for the weekend.  I didn't get to putting together the hanging baskets of annuals for the shady side of the house, though I did find time to pick up 4 matching hanging baskets and 2 needed hanging brackets. 

My zucchini and cucumber seedlings are showing signs of developing true leaves (another photo lost) so they'll be ready to transplant soon.  I saw the first Red Peter pepper seedlings on Sunday -- woohoo!  I'm still a little nervous about leaving tomato plants out overnight outside of the greenhouse, but the lowest overnight temperature in the forecast over the next 10 days is 44 tomorrow night.  Wednesday is supposed to be beautiful.  Maybe I'll take a vacation day and garden.

I've placed a to do list on my sidebar (in part to amuse VPH who says I make lists for everything).  What's on yours?

I MAY HAVE A BIT OF A PLANT BUYING PROBLEM

I did the bulk of purchasing my annual plants on Wednesday after I had lunch with my friend Mary.  She mentioned at lunch that she and her husband, Jeff, would be doing their plant shopping the following day.  My Wednesday purchases were made at Van Wilgen's and W-Mart (mostly at Van Wilgen's):

They may not look like much now, but come mid-June, I think I'll be happy:

I definitely stuck to a pink/purple/blue/white color palate this year:

With all that plant buying done, I was free to spend the afternoon on Thursday with Mary and Jeff with my camera in hand.  Our first stop was North Guilford Nurseries.  Family owned and in the middle of nowhere, they are mainly a commercial grower, but they'll let random off-the-street (dirt road) shoppers wander in and buy.  As you go through these photos, keep in mind that this spread is only 10 miles northeast from my house.  We pulled up next to these guys:

We walked into the first of EIGHT greenhouses and it was plants as far as the eye could see:

I was almost giddy:

I loved these organic heirloom tomatoes.  I couldn't resist getting 2 tiny little brandywine pink seedlings:

Even outside of the greenhouses there were tons of plants:

Did you spot the gold metal horse in the background?  The owner and his 2 sons use it to practice roping.  I heard water running as I took this photo and walked to my left to find this brook running by:

I could use one of these:

Would you ever have thought that there was a machine that filled pots with potting soil?  I didn't.  It starts with a huge hopper that you fill with potting soil:

You put the empty pots on the belt and away you go:

I want one:

Just think what we could do with all those bushel baskets:

I've never seen a hanging planter like this before, I didn't ask how much it was because I was pretty sure I would have bought it:

Lest you think it's all pretty flowers, streams, and baskets...it's old school male territory around here:

We regretfully left (I'll show you what else I couldn't resist buying a little later) and headed to:

I cannot find a birdbath that I like anywhere.  I thought this collection was particularly garish:

Luckily it was the only thing about this nursery that was.  I was a little tired after the last stop, so I sat down on a beautiful bench.  This was the view in front of me:

I'm not a little kid, but even I was drawn to this little purple playhouse:

I so want these pots -- they came in a bundle of 3 (large, medium, and small) for $39.99.  It was all I could do not to buy a set.  They're a really dark blue and you never know, I might break down and go back for some: 

Our last stop of the day was the Madison Flower Shop.  Really nice plants, good selection, and beautiful displays:

Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to walk away from this entire row of herbs looking all fresh and beautiful:

I finally know what kind of grass I have in the perennial shade garden (the one we bought last year didn't have a label):

3 hours of plant shopping later we were pretty much exhausted and overwhelmed.  Mary and Jeff headed home and I did too.  I was such a good girl only coming home with this: 

That's 2 flat bushel baskets (future home of our 2nd and 3rd lettuce crops), 2 rosemary plants (because last year's did not overwinter), thyme (it was just so beautiful I couldn't resist), 2 brandywine pink tomato seedlings, a package of zinnia seed, and a package of nasturtium seed -- only $15 total. 

The siding hanger worked and the thermometer is happily hanging on the wall over the wildflower patch:

Ever wonder what $150 worth of annuals looked like?  All tucked up in the little greenhouse because today's forecast called for downpours, heavy winds, and temperatures falling into the 40s:

The birdfeeder most definitely did not work in its former location.  The squirrels hit it hard (too easy to run up the tree trunk we think).  VPH actually watched 2 squirrels scare off birds while they ate the seed, so we moved the feeder to one of the hooks over the vegetable garden:

This will be a very busy weekend with all that stuff to plant.  I can't wait!

MORE FUN WITH SEARCH ENGINES

I have noticed a marked increase in the number of hits per day Heather's Garden is receiving this spring.  I wasn't blogging yet this time last year (though I had started gardening, just barely), but I'm guessing this is a natural result of spring planting questions.  I just hope that some of the folks who stop by via search engine stick around and enjoy their visit.

Some of the wacky searches I've seen lately:

auto plants VPH stats - Apparently VPH means something else altogether in the automotive world.

crazy junk gardens - How did this bring people to me?  Do I have a crazy junk garden?

wheelbarrow garden planter for sell in Connecticut - Now that's not even proper grammar, people, nor have I ever written about wheelbarrow garden planters until now and probably won't again.

walking in a store nude - Was this person disappointed to find a gardening blog?

cinder block vegetable gardens pictures - This sounds so unappealing.  I have cinder blocks, I have a vegetable garden, never the two shall meet!

can spider poop eat through house siding - OMG I'm shaking -- can it?

homer simpson christmas ornament step on cat - This is eldest step-son's Christmas ornament (we each have one of our own that represents our territory).

CT shoreline couple's party - I hope this person did not stick around -- not to be a prude, but ugh. 

why is heather so strange? - Did they find an answer?  I'm sure VPH would have a few things to say on this topic.

i have to poop whenever I'm in Home Depot - I'd really like to know the backstory on this one (totally unintentional pun).

how to grow a good garden in ct - Hmmmm, do everything that I do, or nothing that I do?

How did you find this blog and do you plan to keep on visiting?

HAPPINESS IS 70 PLUS DEGREES

Today was the first really warm day we've had.  We actually sat on the patio in t-shirts and ate dinner al fresco.  I love this time of year!

I'm not altogether pleased with the size and location of the thermometer -- it's just too far away from the seating area to be seen.  Doesn't it look tiny over there to the left?:

Do you remember that I had 6 sunflowers growing along the foundation?  Do you only see 5 now?  VPH somehow managed to step on one when mowing the grass yesterday and smashed it to bits.  Better it than the hydrangea which apparently he was trying to avoid when he stepped on the sunflower pot.  Think I need to hit this area with the weedwacker much?:

I finally have teeny-tiny cinnamon basil seedings popping up joining quite a few sweet basil seedlings:

The maybe chives are growing like weeds:

But still nary a sign of a single marigold.  Looks like I'll be picking up a flat of marigolds somewhere:

I've got MORNING GLORIES!:

The peas are growing gangbusters:

I'm definitely going to have to thin these carrots:

We purchased a bird-feeder and a bag of mixed birdseed at HD.  Does anyone have any advice on how we can help the birds to find it?:

I just love this photo.  The afternoon light, the grill at the end of the walkway that started this whole garden adventure, my perennial plants that came back up like magic this spring, the yellow buds that have been falling from the trees, the pile of weeds on the walkway showing that I've at least started cleaning up the bed, the thriving heather plant, and best of all the knowledge that delicious chicken for my dinner salad was cooking on that grill!: 

Do you have a part of your garden that's making you really happy right now?

GARDENING IN THE DARK

We took a late run to HD last night and by the time we got back it was getting pretty dark in the garden.  I was not impressed by the selection of annuals at HD.  I was hoping to come home with all the plants I needed to get the planter table finished, but I only found some grasses and 2 Gerber daisies:

I did find these 2 huge cherry tomato plants though.  On the left is Sweet 100 and on the right is Husky Cherry Red:

I'm excited about this thermometer and hydrometer (humidity measurement) and I'm even more excited about the push reel mower beneath it:

In fact, after we put it together (silly easy), we took it outside and while VPH held the flashlight I tried it out.  Yeah, he was laughing at me too, but he's going to mow the lawn before I get home today and I didn't want to miss the first attempt to use the mower!

I finally got around to breaking up the hanging herb basket.  The golden sage is actually looking pretty good: 

The creeping thyme (I think that's what it was called) is looking kind of sparse still:

The other thyme has lots of really small green growth around the base, but it hasn't changed much in weeks.  Maybe being alone in a pot will help?:

 

I'll share VPH's review of the push reel mower when I get home.

UPDATE: VPH is reserving judgment until he mows again.  It didn't get the variety of really tall grass (in our lawn of many different types of grass) that was overdue for mowing (6-9 inches tall), but I suspect if we don't put it off again it will do just fine.  It took a little longer to mow because it's not as wide as our old mower, but not an excessive amount of time.  He also missed the neat lines that showed which direction he mowed.  Have I mentioned that he's rather particular about his lawn-mowing technique?