Heather's Garden

UM YEAH, THEY'RE IRISES

As several people wrote to tell me (thanks, ladies), the plants with buds that I thought were day-lilies turned out to be Siberian irises.  Much to my and my friend Mary's surprise:

 

They're beautiful and a darker purple than they appear in the photos:

I still have to mulch the patio garden, but it's looking pretty good:

These petunias are almost obnoxiously pink and I'm not sure if I like them or not: 

 

But I'm loving these, a double petal flower?  I had no idea when I bought them:

 

And I liked the colors and textures of the bud on the perilla:

 

I stopped into Joann Fabric for a ribbon of all things and their garden stuff was 50% off.  I couldn't resist this adorable wind-chime for $9.99.  I can even drill drainage holes in the bucket and stuff a little plant in there.  Now what plant and where am I going to hang it:

 

It took visiting 3 different stores to find small tomato cages for the other 4 dahlias here:

 

The sunflowers along the wall are popping up, but something's eating their leaves:

 

I have Royal Purple Bush beans and nasturtiums in the planter table, but one of the cucumber seedlings didn't make it:

I'm pretty excited about all these carrot seedlings:

 

I wonder what today will bring?

I HATE WHEN WORK CURTAILS GARDENING

Once upon a time I worked a job that kept me out of the house from 7:00am to 7:30pm.  This evening I arrived home after an unusually long day at the office at 7:30pm and was reminded that there was a good reason why this is only my 3rd season gardening.  I'm not the kind of person who could only garden on the weekends.  I feel for those of you who have to squeeze in a few minutes in the morning or evening and do the bulk of your work on the weekends.  I don't know how you do it!

Over the past few rainy days (you can always tell a non-gardener when they complain about a rainy day after a week of beautiful sun), I've found a few minutes to run outside and snap a few pics, though not many minutes nor many pics.  No idea what this pretty little flower was, but it made me smile:

  

The scarlet runner beans are coming up:

 

As are the Kentucky wonder beans:

 

Lots of radishes, but what do I do about thinning them?  Really, tell me:

 

Some little, tiny carrots:

 

And I think the buds were prettier than the flowers:

 

Still have to mulch and get that damn shed up.

HERBS!

We met some friends on Monday for a picnic (a lovely day and great company), and when we got home in the afternoon I just couldn't take the herbs sitting around the potting table unplanted any more!  I decided I would have three containers this year.  One grouping in a hanging basket, one in the funky blue glazed pot, and one in the 1/2 wine barrel, so I started to divvy up the plants:

I tried to include some yellow and purple in each container:

But when I got to the wine barrel I was out of purple plants:

So I ran over to the nursery around the corner and $2.12 later, problem solved.  It's Red Rubin basil for those of you keeping track:

Starting at 12 o'clock and going clockwise we have: rosemary, garlic chives, golden sage, creeping thyme, hot and spicy oregano, and the Red Rubin basil in the middle:

Same drill: Red Rubin basil, rosemary, sage, chives, creeping thyme, lemon grass, and in the middle golden sage (there's also plenty of space for basils as my seedlings mature):

And lastly I may have overcrowded this one a little bit: garlic chives, purple sage, golden oregano, thyme, Red Rubin basil, and Big Leaf Italian basil in the middle:

This is exactly how I imagined it would look here:

So pretty:

I bought a new bird feeder this weekend.  It is supposedly rust and squirrel proof.  I'm interested to see how the birds will get the seed out:

I also purchased 3 butterfly stakes.  VPH thought they were tacky (and that was before he knew they glow in the dark), but I think they look very nice in among the day-lilies in the patio garden:

 

Very subtle against the grass:

 

The day-lilies should be blooming any second now.  Could they possibly be purple?  We should see soon:

 

I was in love with the way the sun was hitting the heuchera:

 

Two firsts...first fire of the year and first Red Stripe chilling by the fire on my patio:

 

We were sitting quietly enjoying our patio when all of a sudden...well you have to hear it. And this was the best thing we heard, by far!  They finished at 8:00pm, but by that time we had long since given up and fled to the relatively quiet indoors. 

I did, however, take a few minutes to ponder the little shed and what we'll do with the space when the new shed goes up and don't need it anymore.  It's also pretty full of holes and not so functional anymore.  VPH suggested a hot tub, which isn't going to happen, but a kiddie pool very well might:

I'll share some photos of what's under the shed and measurements when we finally take it down. Someone out there might have an awesome inexpensive idea that hasn't occurred to us.

#@$^@$# THING STRUCK AGAIN

And this time I'm really upset.  What ever the fuck it is broke off two fiddle-heads in the largest shade container (now full of plastic forks, but too late):

And it went for the hosta in the upper container again (which now has even more forks):

Further annoying me, the loud, trashy neighbors put up one of those self-supporting blue pools today while we were out.  This is not good, not good at all:

 

But we do have two flowers on the rhododendron, so that cheered me up a little:

 

And man, those radishes do pop up quickly:

 

Whatever is attacking my shade containers had better stop.  I am getting really pissed.

A MARAUDER!

I walked outside on Friday afternoon, looked up at my container on the stump and gasped:

  

It was even worse up close.  What interloper would have the gall to dig up my hosta:

 

I replanted the hosta and filled in the other small holes.  I had clear plastic forks on hand and really hope they 1.) prevent any further attacks, and 2.) don't hurt any animals in the process:

 

You can't even see them from below:

I never tire of the fiddle-heads on the ferns.  Should I ever do a vertical calendar (doubtful) this would be calendar-worthy, I may even print and frame this pic I like it that much:

 

I suddenly realized on Friday morning that the tomatoes in the pretty blue pots by the fence on the side of the house weren't getting enough sun.  The sun hits the top of the fence around 9:30am, but doesn't get down to the bottom until nearly 11am and then the shadow from the house covers the whole side of the house by 2:30pm, so they had to move to the gravel patio. 

Friday afternoon we went out to Old Saybrook to visit Carole at Maynard Greenhouse.  After a pleasant but short vist (Carole was working and I had VPH in tow and he's not endlessly patient), we headed towards home with 2 Cherokee Purple tomato seedlings (you didn't think I could visit a greenhouse without buying something did you?).  We passed two Ocean State Job Lots on the way home, so of course we had to pop in to see what containers they had left.  Success! 

 

The two blue square ceramic containers on the ends were only $37 each.  Look at the size of the those things!  They each took 2 cubic feet of potting soil and a Cherokee Purple tomato:

 

I really like the splash of color they give the patio.  I asked VPH if he thought we should get a blue umbrella now.  He laughed and said we could put a white tablecloth on the table and celebrate the 4th of July all summer.  Note that the containers of beans are now inside the trellises:

 

The patio garden is growing like mad.  See the lupine in front?  I think it may actually flower.  The herb pots are all planted up now:

I love this photo.  If I had planted the cilantro and dill and taken this photo on Friday, I would have entered it into the GGW photo contest:

I have a feeling that variations of this angle will be a frequent subject this summer as the herbs fill in.  But I include another here so you can see all the herbs growing on the corner.  Back row left to right -- spearmint, basil, rosemary, lavender (goodwin creek); middle row left to right -- lavender (I gave this some fertilizer today, it has growth, but it's taking its sweet time to come back), fernleaf dill, lemon thyme; and at the front right -- cilantro (I picked up this pot on Friday too...hey at only $8 how could I not?):

And while I'm in the patio garden...the moonflowers are growing nicely with a new set of leaves and I was shocked to see the clematis growing down at the bottom of this photo (sorry it's out of focus), I thought for sure it was dead.  Now if I can just get it to grow towards the trellis:

We're still trying to get the grass to fill in before we put the chairs back in their normal spot, so for now we'll relax here:

 

The greenhouse went back into the basement today and the containers and furniture are in their rightful spots:

 

I'm quite pleased:

 

All of the dahlias are really taking off this year.  Small cages will go on each of these containers as soon as I can find 4 more:

This is essentially my to do list now.  The hose has to go on the fence so I can get running water to the vegetable garden, fresh mulch needs to go onto all the mulched areas, and the plants all have to be potted up (though I'm still not sure what to do with all the impatiens):

 

The new shed needs to be assembled and then the rest of the mess will be stored away out of sight.  We're close now.

GGW: PICTURE THIS PHOTO CONTEST

I love that Gardening Gone Wild is hosting a photo contest.  I just wish I was allowed to enter more than one photo.  I had the hardest time narrowing it down between two photos, but VPH and I both liked one a little bit better for this particular contest. 

My official entry is of my favorite container grouping from last year.  This is also the site of my potentially favorite grouping this year, but alas Gardening Gone Wild decided to have a container photo contest in May, a little early for us northeastern gardeners.  In another month my containers will stop traffic...well, foot traffic at least.

Can you spot all three containers in this photo:

 

I really liked this one too, but in the end there were more interesting textures in my entry above:

 

Of course, dear judge, if you like the second one better, feel free to pick it!

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN IS DONE!

I started Tuesday's efforts by planting the sunflower seeds I'd been soaking since Sunday.  I planted a single row using three different types, Mammoth, Honey Bear, and something.  I worked out a little pattern ahead of time so they were evenly spaced and I used bamboo stakes to work out the proper spots for the holes:

 

The moonflowers are in:

 

Zinnias in this pot on the corner of the patio again this year:

Then I turned my attention to the now completely planted vegetable garden:

Because I love moving from left to right...Burpee's Tenderpod beans, 2 pots of Burpee's Green Pod beans, and Little Finger carrots: 

 

I had no where else to put these two pots and I'm not entirely certain I'm going to be able to deal with them just sitting there.  White is Early Scarlet Globe radishes and green is Beauty Mix radishes: 

 

The wooden troughs will be turned sideways and the beans will grow up netting on the fence.  The one on the left has Scarlet Runner beans, the one on the right has Kentucky Wonder beans.  The large container on the left is full of Danvers Half Long carrots, the one on the right is Nantes Half Long carrots:

I was astounded by the size of the Scarlet Runner Beans (that's the tip of one of my gloved fingers):

 

I took photos of the plant tags as I went to help me remember what was where for this post and I really liked the way this one looked:

 

Two containers of French Filet beans: 

 

Did you notice anything odd about the photo above?  I was inside supposedly done gardening and flicking through my photos when I noticed that I hadn't covered these beans with soil, so I ran back out to finish up:

 

The round gray container on the back left has Scarlet Runner beans, and the one on the back right has Kentucky Wonder beans.  Some day I will lift up the trellises and get those containers back in the middle of them, hopefully before the beans are looking for something to climb.  The front edge of the gravel patio gets good light and while the table of annuals was pretty the last two years, I felt it would be better used for an edible crop:

 

The planter table has a cucumber (grown from seed) on each end, a row of Royal Purple Bush beans down the center and a row of nasturtiums down each long side of the table.  We'll see how it turns out:

 

You may remember that zucchini doesn't fare well in my garden.  I don't know if it's the containers, not great sun (though I manage just fine with tomatoes), bad luck with squash vine borer one year and a swarm of cucumber beetles the next, but I haven't much success with zukes.  And of course they're my favorite green vegetable!  So this year I'm trying to grow two (also grown from seed) in the patio garden and maybe they'll even disguise the fading daffodil and tulip foliage as they grow (one at bottom right of photo, the other at the top of the photo in the same spot): 

Now I need your help...which of these two photos is more calendar-worth?  #1:

 

Or #2:

 

The day-lilies are getting exciting:

 

I'm 90% certain this is a Japanese painted fern and I'm very excited to see more fiddle-heads coming up on the left there.  So looking forward to seeing this plant develop!  And doesn't the huechera look great this year:

 

Other things I'm looking forward to...strawberries.  I read in the course of my on-line research that you should remove the buds and berries from ever-bearing strawberries the first year.  Screw that!  The 6 plants (1 of which I gave to a neighbor) were a grand total of $2.00, will I care if they don't come back next year...not at all:

 

I still have the herbs to take care of, but I'm pretty damn close to having everything planted:

Mulching later this week and maybe I will finally be able to get VPH and SS2 to tackle building the new shed with me.

DELAY OF GAME

Well I'm freezing.  The rain brought some rather chilly temps with it.  I am now waiting for it to warm up some before I plant the beans and sunflowers that I've been soaking:

 

There's 2 varieties of beans in a few of the cups (and 3 types of sunflowers):

 

But I'll refrain from boring you until I actually plant them.  There will also be carrots (3 types), radishes (2 types), nasturiums, zinnias, and more moonflowers.  Stay tuned, Tuesday's supposed to be a beautiful day.

THREE PEOPLE GET A LOT MORE DONE THAN JUST ONE

VPH and SS2 joined me in the garden this afternoon and started by planting my Mother's Day gift of an azalea, my recent hosta purchases, and passalong hostas from my friend Mary:

 

VPH dug up the rescued hosta from the bastard garden and I set all of them out in sort of a two line arrangement.  I went off to do other stuff and was called back to view the finished project, which will henceforth be known as the Mother's Day garden:

A little bit tighter grouping than I would have done and a little strange from above, but when I walked down the hill, which honestly is how I will normally see this garden...I like it!  Pardon the slightly blurry photo, the only one I had from this angle:

 

Can you see it all the way out there on the right:

I was right, the Elijah Blue Fescue (a perennial!) is perfect in that new container:

 

The "Oriental" eggplants went into the large container together, but I think they'll have plenty of room.  Two ever-bearing strawberries went into each of the two tall containers, and one in the little one.  More on the herb container later:

When I rearrange the furniture I may move the Green Zebra tomato pots.  They're shoved against the bench because the cages are just missing the petunias hanging on each post:

 

And as you can see, I should be putting the greenhouse away any day now and rearranging the furniture:

 

Oh, and I finally figured out what to do with the bee balm that Layanee gave me last year when I visited her garden.  I was concerned about what I read on-line concerning the propensity of bee balm to spread like mint, so I was hesitant to put it in the ground or one of my herb containers.  So I settled on a smallish container in the frog sculpture because I will always think of the frogs when I think of Layanee's garden:

Once VPH and SS2 finished the Mother's Day garden, I set them to work on the project that had been keeping me from planting the vegetable garden.  I asked them to take soil out of the containers leaving them two thirds full, mix in tasty tomato and veggie natural fertilizer to the potting soil in the wheelbarrow, and top off the containers.  I don't know if that's the best way to do it, but that's the method that we came up with.  All I can say is thank God they are so helpful.  I was dreading doing it myself.  The veggie garden is mostly planted now:

From left to right I planted habaneros in the hanging planters and Brandywine tomatoes in the trellis planter (note the new larger cages this year):

Lilac bell peppers:

 

Purple bell peppers in the green containers and Black Russian tomatoes in the trellis planter.  The trough planters to the left and the 2 brown containers are all prepped for beans, but since we're expecting lots of rain on Sunday, I didn't plant them yet:

 

This last container is new to the veggie garden.  I planted 2 Perfect Plum tomatoes and 2 habaneros in it.  I think there's enough room: 

 

Two Bandywine Pink tomato plants on the gravel patio again this year and the planter table will be full of bush beans and probably a cucumber growing from each end (again holding off on planting until after the rain).  You can just see 2 large round gray containers in back.  They will have more beans in them, but I was just too tired to lift up the trellises and place them inside:

 

You may have noticed that I didn't show an individual photo of the really big containers in the middle of the veggie garden.  I'm about 80% sure they'll have carrots in them, but I haven't actually sown any seed yet.

I've had VPH saving his coffee grounds for about a month to fertilize the hydrangea.  I'll throw mulch on top when we get to doing that in other portions of the garden, but it looked pretty like this:

 

I finally bought longer screws so if you're driving down a road in Branford and see this, you've found Heather's Garden:

 

I am quite pleased with these containers by the front steps:

 

Don't they just say welcome, a gardener lives here:

 

Walk around the corner and you'll know for sure that a gardener lives here:

But at least my potting table is nicely organized:

Speaking of organizing, I need to decide what is going in the herb barrel and what's going in the blue ceramic container.  I have creeping thyme, sage, chives (half of that huge clump is going to Mary), golden oregano, thyme, hot & spicy oregano, garlic chives (3), golden sage, lemon grass, golden oregano, basil, rosemary (2), and purple sage:

The problem is, I'm growing a bunch of herbs from seed and they're not big enough to throw into a large container yet.  The Cilantro will go into a small pot on the retaining wall, but I need to find a spot for the fernleaf dill and fennel:

 

Sweet basil, Purple Ruffles basil, and Cinnamon basil:

 

Two of the cucumbers will go in the planter table and two of the zucchini will go in the front of the patio garden to grow over the fading daffodil, tulip, and crocus foliage:

 

The marigolds will be planted in with the tomatoes and if the coleus ever gets big enough to transplant, I'll find a spot for them on the shady side of the house:

 

The shallow trough by the trellis will be home to more moonflowers, but isn't the rest of it looking good:

 

So Sunday will be spent examining seeds for about the 80th time, soaking beans and sunflower seeds to ready them for planting, and probably diagramming herb plantings, because yes, I am that obsessive!

FAILURE

A complete and total failure to achieve my objective of having everything planted by May 15th.  Mother Nature and the corporate overlord conspired to keep me down.  It poured on Thursday but it didn't matter, I had so much work to do I couldn't get away from my computer.  Then it was absolutely gorgeous on Friday, but I had promised to stuff invitations at that non-profit arts organization for which I serve on the board of directors.  By the time I got home, the gardening day was over.  I did however, make some time this evening with VPH and SS2 to stop by a few locations that sell plants.

The green hostas are a passalong from my friend Mary, but I bought the white tipped ones.  I also had to buy the golden oregano, it's next to the one that over wintered and I'm just not doing a great job waiting for it to grow:

I'll be reading up on ever-bearing strawberries because I came home with six of them, along with a golden sage and a lemon grass:

I bought a blue fesco grass for a theoretical pot to complete this trio (remember it from the other day?):

 

The pot selection at Ocean State Job Lot was rather slim, but I was pretty happy with the 4 pots that came home with me (the 3 small blue ones will be used for strawberries) and the blue fescue grass will be perfect in that container:

 

You may have noticed that the shower is gone in the second photo.  I didn't use it at all last year.  Yes, a hose pointed up in the air does exactly the same thing.  So I threw it up on freecycle tonight.  If you're a local reader and would like it, send me an email: 

On the to do list:

• Plant azalea and hostas in new border garden (this is VPH's job)
• Plant the vegetable garden
• Plant zinnias
• Plant sunflowers
• Go through the gazillion seeds I have and see what I'm forgetting
• Plant up herb barrel and blue pot of herbs
• Get new shed up

I'm still behind where I was this time last year in terms of seed-sowing, but ahead in terms of planting.  My new goal is to have everything in by Memorial Day.  Fingers crossed, all!

YOU CAN GET A LOT DONE IN 3 HOURS

I was getting pretty sick of stepping over all of these pots:

 

Three hours later I'm down to:

I went simple and easy with the dahlias and emptied about half of the soil out of each container (the old soil went into large containers that will be used for vegetables), examined the dahlia tubers as I went, and then I topped off the containers with new Miracle Gro potting soil.  The five pots along the cellar doors went right back over there:

This container had annuals in it last year, but this year I decided to put the Ebony Star dahlia in it.  It was a very late bloomer last year, so I decided to put some calibrochoa in there too for some visual interest while I'm waiting for the dahlia to grow:

I like this pairing, but I really think I need a third container here: 

 

Looks good with three, but not this purple one...it needs a green (and I'm not sure what to plant in it once I buy one):

 

I can't really arrange these containers until I put the greenhouse away and the furniture goes into the proper location:

 

I even planted two dahlias in the patio garden amongst the irises -- a platinum blond and this hootenanny.  We'll see how it works out:

 

I also planted 2 calibrochoa in a hanging planter: 

 

Yet another addition to the shady side of the house.  This was the last container with a dahlia in it and the tubers had rotted.  Perfect vessel for the 3 tiny ferns I had growing on the kitchen table (on the left):

I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way things are looking over here:

And lastly...the first tomato has been planted!  A Green Zebra heirloom plant in a matching large ceramic pot on each side of this bench:

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

ROLLING RIGHT ALONG

I'm still terribly behind in getting the garden going, but I put in another 3 hours in today.  Of course, not all of it was spent gardening.  Like the time I spent trying to photograph the fattest bee ever in the azalea.  I missed him, but I thought this photo was cheery and it captures the true color of the azalea a little better:

 

The seedlings are doing great.  I probably should have started them a week or two earlier, but if I'm ever going to get serious about growing my own seedlings, I'm going to have to get a grow light or six:

 

In fact, I thought the moonflowers looked so good, it was time to get them in the ground.  Plus if they fail after transplanting, I'll still have time to direct sow seeds:

Can you spot all four seedlings I planted in the patio garden?  Hint...they're in front of the trellises:

Lemon thyme joined the herb pots, leaving space for only one more herb.  I wonder what it will be?  Cilantro's still leading the pack:

 

Since I'm over on the shady side of the house, let me update you on this section of the garden.  I wish the hillside would look this good all summer, but alas, the marsh marigolds will die off soon leaving only struggling vinca.  Two hanging planters of impatiens will brighten up the area a little:

I plopped a fern in the empty spot in this container (you can see the rather large fiddle-heads).  It's either a Japanese painted fern or a cinnamon fern.  I guess we'll see which shortly:

 

The bare-root astibles are really coming along here, but I added a lamium (the label said pink flowering):

 

And I added another here, though I did find that the hostas I put in this container are slowly making their way to the surface.  I'm guessing I planted them too deep:

 

I added some dark salmon colored impatiens to the two containers flanking the front porch.  Don't you just love the cinder blocks under the porch?  I'm too scared of spiders to start pulling them out of there and I'm not sure where I'd put them anyway: 

 

More impatiens, but I need to charge the drill to rehang the planter hooks that were on the 3 trees that were removed and I was just too tired to walk the blue pots to the other side of the house:

 

I'm getting there slowly, but surely.  There's not that much left in the greenhouse (well lots of tomatoes, but I'm not ready to do those yet):

 

And that was my afternoon.  Back inside the lilacs are pretty much done and the wind and rain did a number on the bleeding hearts, so I trimmed off the bent/broken stalks and stuck them in a vase.  Certainly not the most conventional flower arrangement ever, but I like it:

  

If I can put in 3 hours every day this week I just might get all my seeds sown and seedlings planted by May 15th, which has been my goal all along.  Do you have a gardening goal that you're working toward?

NOW THAT WAS A SPRING DAY

I can't imagine a nicer way to spend Mother's Day than finally working in my garden -- can you believe we went 24 hours without rain?  The rain and Sunday's wind really did a number on the tulips:

 

But there are still some beautiful tulips blooming:

 

With the wind I had a hell of time getting this one in frame:

 

The birdbath is back in the patio garden now that I'm reasonably certain there are no more irises lurking under the mulch:

I've found that nothing grows really well in the ground in this spot.  Too much competition from the tree roots I think.  So this year I'm going to take advantage of the sunny spot and grown a bunch of herbs in small pots here.  Front row from left to right is lavender, rosemary, basil, and spearmint.  Back row will be cilantro and dill (both are still tiny seedlings), and all the way on the back right is the other lavender:

I like this visual representation of all that I planted on Sunday:

The husky cherry tomatoes are in: 

 

I purchased 2 "plants," but one of them had 2 tomatoes growing in it (chosen specifically for that reason), so I carefully divided the roots and planted them each in their own containers.  If you look very close, you can see all three containers in this photo:

I've started the side garden.  3 petunias in hanging containers and 2 large ceramic planters are done:

The large container on the right above may turn out to be my very favorite this year.  It has purple fountain grass, coleus, and sweet potato vine and that seemingly blank spot is actually the micro-mini dahlia:

But I like this one a lot too!  It also has purple fountain grass, sweet potato vine, perilla (very similar to coleus), and Marguerite daisy:

Here's another example of VPH saving a plant I've given up on.  This hosta used to be in the perennial shade garden, but I pulled it last year for an astible.  I told VPH to compost what I thought was the dead plant, but apparently he planted it on the hillside near the bastard garden instead:

 

Can you see it all the way over on the left:

 

My friend Mary is giving us some more hostas and SS2 gave me the best Mother's Day present ever!  So this azalea will shortly join a bunch of hostas on the hill:

I've still got all these dahlias and herbs to get organized.  All the herbs are either going into the 1/2 wine barrel or the large blue ceramic container like last year.  I have no clue what I'm going to do with all the dahlias:

All in all a great start, but OMG I still have so much to do!

IT SMELLS LIKE A WHOREHOUSE IN HERE

I don't have any lilacs growing in my garden, but my friend Mary does and she shares!  As a result it really does smell like at least a florist shop in our living room:

 

Especially with a second arrangement on the other side of the room:

 

And whose bathroom couldn't use a few lilac blooms?  Ours does for sure:

 

I would plant a bush or two, but I imagine that some day we'll leave this rental, no idea when, but I don't think we'll live here forever.  Add another item to the list of reasons why I love Mary!

WASN'T IT SUPPOSED TO BE APRIL SHOWERS?

Despite a brief break in the rain today (which was nice, but frustrating because I couldn't garden), we expect two more days of this:

 

But the rain's bringing great growth all around, even the bare-root astibles are finally doing something in the containers on the shady side of the house:

 

Saturday's supposed to be nice, but we have to go move SS2 home for the summer.  I am spending all of Mother's Day in the garden!

WHY I NEED TO HAVE A CHAPERONE ON SHOPPING TRIPS DURING THE MONTH OF MAY

Because I apparently cannot pass a plant display without buying something.  Only $25 more dollars, but still:

 

And I really needed those 2 hosta, 2 husky cherry tomato, 2 large leaf Italian basil, 2 rosemary, 1 lavender, and 6 wee little habanero peppers plants.

And if it ever warms up, I will actually plant something in soil!

THAT SMELL

The scent of tomato plants and herbs.  OMG, I'm swooning.  My friend Mary and I assaulted North Guilford Nurseries Saturday afternoon.  $119.78 will buy you:

 

Aren't they pretty:

 

The greenhouse is in full effect:

 

VPH brought the dahlias up from the basement today.  Three had significant growth including this one:

 

The others aren't so growy:

But you know what is: 

 

More details to follow on the specific plants as they go into the soil, but oh the scent of those tomatoes and herbs on my lap during the drive back to Mary's house from the nursery.  I missed that smell over the winter.

TGIF Because Tomorrow I Garden

It's been a hell of a work week -- I spent the whole week prepping for a meeting that got postponed after I sent out materials for it at 5:30pm today.  Oh well, it's not wasted work because the meeting will still take place, I just don't know when. 

The few minutes I did spend outside on Thursday were a welcome respite.  I'm so pleased with how strongly the heuchera in this container is coming back.  I'm thinking a nice torenia for that empty spot:

 

At least one of the bare-root astibles is growing nicely:

 

The patio garden is everything that I had hoped it would be:

 

The double daffodils are finally blooming as the singles fade, and there's all hues and shades of tulips now:

 

This weekend will be all about gardening.  A trip to North Guilford Nurseries and transplanting all the herbs that successfully overwintered (including the bee balm from Layanee which I still haven't found a home for...I'm afraid that it would take over the herb barrel, so I'm thinking a nice container of its own):

 

I don't think the seedlings are getting enough light on the kitchen table and not that our evenings are warm enough, they'll be going out to the little greenhouse (VPH promised to get the shelves and cover from the basement for me tomorrow morning):

 

But oh the promise of all that basil:

 

I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt again!