Gardening 101 - Year 2

You would think, that after attempting a garden one year, I would be better prepared (or at least trained) for a second year...

So far, I've planted Dahlia bulbs, yellow roses (mini), pansies (purple and orangey-yellow), geraniums (red and white), three other types of blubs which I can't for the life of me think of what they are at the moment, and a bleeding heart. 

I would like to get a strawberry plant (or two) and a rhubarb plant...

It's been pouring rain (sometimes on and off) for the past week, but it seems to be clearing up (maybe?) today.  Oh, and I revamped the blog after ignoring her for almost a year. 

J
"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."

Garden Update: Mostly Green With a Dash of Red...

cucumbers w/onions and beets...

radishes...

....hanging strawberry plant with lots flowers!

onions...

beets (not growing so well =(

rows of tomatoes

bunches of baby carrots!

...and lots of baby strawberries!

...and the dash of red - the rose in full bloom with droplets from the recent thunderstorms

"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."

It's Alive!!! Mwwwwah...

...or something like that ;-)

I have something growing! Whether it's the seeds I planted, I'm not quite sure (the black thumb/gardening idiot thing at work), but something's growing! ;-)

...carrots perhaps?

...radishes, methinks...

...and cucumber seedlings with mushrooms, of course... ;-)

"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."

Last day of vacation (sigh...)

So why did the very last day of my vacation turn out to have the nicest weather?!  It probably reached high-teens to mid-twenties, at least.  Grrr.

Despite my wanting to lay around and enjoy the sunshine (my legs need a bit of colour!), I did get some gardening done.  Laid down almost all of the soil (only 3 bags left, which I should be okay for) and planted some veggies (and herbs!):

(I sprinkled bits of wood chips from the rabbits so I would know where everything was! ;-)

* carrots - 5 rows (we like our carrots! ;-)
* chives - 1 row
* parsley - 1 row
* tomatos - 3 rows
* beets - 2 rows
* radishes - 1 row (though there are radish seeds in with the cukes - or so the directions of the package suggested...)
* onions - 2 rows
* cucumbers (a small, pickling variety) - 1 long row

I also planted ... (four bulbs) in the shade bed infront of the hostas.  The lungwort appears to be perking up a wee bit (the leaves, anyway).  Maybe all is not lost...

Now I just have to cross fingers that everything survives my black-thumb, the weather, the dog and the squirrels!

"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."

Butterflies...

Went for a walk with Charlie (the dog) this afternoon.  I should have been out planting, but it's suppose to climb to the 20s tomorrow and Sunday, so I put it off until then...

There is an old railway line that's been turned into a nice little wooded path, which is where we went.  As Charlie sniffed and, ah ...watered... everything ;-), I saw 5 (!) butterflies.  I think they were (thanks to wiki!) Milbert's Tortoiseshell, but my butterfly identification is apparently not up to par...

(photo's are from the wiki page, since I didn't have my camera... sigh)

"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."

Weather, weather me not!

I started outside at 8 a.m. (was up at 6:30 for buttercream making - gah! I'm definitely going to need a nap later...) and at that time, it was sunny and warm and nice, with a slight breeze...

Oh, what a small hour can make!  I managed to get in the sweet woodruff (I planted it around the bricks for the bird bath), the fern, the major clump of lily of the valley, and the lungwort (though she looks a little raggy and might not make it! :-(

And then the weather decided to go cold and overcast and threatening to rain.  Grrr!  And I'm most definitely going to need more soil...

On a happier note...

I was out yesterday grocery shopping and picked up a few seed packets (I found my four o'clocks! in two varieties! happy happy joy joy!!), including...

* Moonflower "Giant white"
* Four o'clocks "Kaleidoscope"
* Four o'clocks "Mix"
* Alyssum "Royal carpet"
* Carrots "Chantenay red"
* Radish "Sparkler white tip"
* Chives
* Parsley "Forest green"
* Dill
* Spearmint
* Lavender

...and two books, The Canadian edible garden: vegetables, herbs, fruits and seeds by Alison Beck (2008) and Herb Gardening for Canada by Laura Peters (2005), both published by Lone Pine, Edmonton, Alberta.  As if I don't have enough books, but the pictures are big and bright and the text seems to be black-thumb friendly! ;-)

Cheers, Jenn
"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."

Dirty Hands!

(source: http://www.offthemark.com/main.htm)

There was a frost warning last night and today, but it got nicer this evening.  Thus, I went out and got my hands dirty! ;-)  Emptied about 10 bags of soil into the shade bed - the small one, of course, and I think I might even plop another one on.  Unfortunately, that leaves only 10 for the sunny (and larger) bed - and this is the one that needs desperately to be built up (it was all patio blocks at one point, so the earth is pretty much all gravel).  I think I'm going to need more soil...

Also made a place (with a few bricks) for the bird bath underneath the ash (where the bird feeder lives) in a corner of the shade bed.  The plan is to plant around it (something trailing?) so it covers the base of the bath...

Cheers!
Jenn
 
"...at a certain point in the journey all you can do is laugh."