Summer 2008 Garden Update

It has been a bit since a garden update, so here you go. It is a little sad.

Pumpkin, one of two.

Volunteer sunflower - check out the size of that head!

Sad, wimpy, tiny, broccoli.

Finally, bean flowers!!

"Spring size" zucchini.

Carrots - you can see them, right??

Weeds, ...uh, I mean, green onions. You can see those, too, right??

Lettuce, and can we count those dandelions there as

a planned garden salad product?

You know, that super trendy dandelion green salad??

No?

Oh, sad.

Guess we'll have to mow again.

Bummer.

The lone radish.

And, the Master of the Garden, surveying his domain. Such as it is this year, poor guy!!

But just look at those new beds in front of the garden. They will be great for getting the squash out of the garden for more space next year. ...or how about a cutting flower garden out there??? Hmmm, that is my vote! ;-)

Summer 2008 Garden: The Expansion

So the garden is in the process of being expanded. I know, I know, we can't seem to work on just one project at a time, we must have a few going at once. Anyway, here are some pictures of the additions:


D is expanding to the outside of the garden, tilling outside the fence probably for squash and pumpkins next fall (I think). Left side.

Here is the right side and you can see the beginnings of the gate to keep the deer out.

This is one side of the gate, just need to ensure the post is square, then build the second gate and hang. Then we won't be unrolling the fencing roll every time we go in/out of the garden. Those pesky deer. This year, as well as last, the bunnies have been staying out, it isn't a bunny fence, but maybe a deterrent?

Here is the bean pole.

This is B's pumpkin seed from preschool this year. Besides the sunflowers and the one volunteer green bean, it is the best performing plant out there!

So, as if this wasn't enough space for this year, here is the additional "tillage" done by D this summer. It was the "old garden" from our first year here before our newer fenced one. This is much more in the shade so should be better for spinach, etc. The cut up straw was from the bales we had insulating the chicken tractor this winter. Need some strong manure to break that stuff down quickly.

The Helenium flower is blooming! It's other name is Sneeze Weed, but it doesn't smell bad to us and hasn't made us sneeze yet. I love the vibrant colors it has. Hmmm... more orange!

How frustrating! (Garden rant)

So I am making a new perennial flower garden bed and I am looking up some additional plants online to fill in the gaps for the plants I already have. I am having no problem finding lots of flowers, but that is all they give me for a picture of the plant! Argh, is not the whole plant what you see in the garden? Is not the shape and form of the whole plant just as important as the shape and color of the flower?? What if the plant had purple leaves and you wanted light green? What if the plant was spiky and you wanted low and rounded?

Granted, I know enough about some plants to make a general guess as to its shape, but some I really don't know yet, and really can't tell anything about the leaf or plant structure from the picture or info.

This is also frustrating for me because all of my garden books (which have all this info) are packed away in the storage unit still. I can't wait to get rid of that storage unit! We don't have that much "extra stuff", but what was considered "extra" (like gardening books in winter) went to the unit when we were going to be moving and selling the house. We haven't brought the "stuff" back yet because we now are going to do a little remodel for a new family room where all this "stuff" will go back to (books, craft items, etc. - and if you don't think I miss that craft stuff...) I'm just ready to pile the boxes in our bedroom and walk around them for several months just to have my "stuff" back! (But I think D already nixxed that idea.)

Summer 2008 Garden: The beginning

Here it is, the start (finally!) of the 2008 Summer season garden! Note the dear fence. There are two volunteer sunflowers, one volunteer string bean and a leftover onion. An OK start.

It works really well to have the mounded soil with hardened paths down the middles. It keeps the paths defined and the beds super soft.

Also, note the horses in the background. They are boarded here by some friends and provide the garden with lots of great manure compost!

Here are some pictures from the 2007 Summer garden. D was ambitious, God was faithful and the garden was fruitful!!

My Newest (borrowed) Garden Idea

So I have been perusing a couple different garden blogs and found a lady (toni) who was implementing a "Birthmonth Garden." What a great idea. It was going to have the birthmonth flowers in it from their parents, their children and themselves.

Looking into this a bit more, I discovered "Memory Gardens" and the special meaning they can have for people as well, including remembering a passed loved one or a meaningful day such as an anniversary or event. Something else that comes to mind is a "Memorial Day" type garden that is red/white/blue commemerating our troops. Another idea here was to use plants with special names (instead of the flowers of the month) like a rose named 'Sweet Freedom' or Hosta 'Remember Me'. There is a list of these types of plants as well.

Or, what about using the birthstone color as a starting point for a garden?

If you're curious or can't remember them all, here is a list of the plants considered the birthplant of each month:

January - Carnation/Snowdrop
February - Violet/Primrose
March - Daffodil/Jonquil
April - Daisy/Sweet Pea
May - Lily of the Valley/Hawthorn
June - Rose/Honeysuckle
July - Larkspur/Water Lily
August - Gladiolas/Poppy
September - Aster/Morning Glory
October - Calendula/Cosmos
November - Chrysanthemum
December - Narcissus/Holly

They have meanings as well and can be found here.

So our immediate family garden would include:

Gladiolas/Poppy,
Chrysanthemum,
Violet/primrose,
Daisy/Sweet Pea,
Larkspur,
and eventually Calendula/Cosmos.

Hmmm, an interesting combination. I guess I will have to work on this. Good thing I have time. I'm off to refill the hummers food again.