Tag Archives: vegetable gardening

Garden Update: one agapanthus down and tomatoes in!

symetrical pathMuch progress has been made on the front garden.  First of all – those red flowers are ones that Max picked out for me on a trip to Harmony Farms with his Aunt Tara.  I put them in the walk so everyone can see them as they walk up the path.  Those two containers have bay laurels in them.  It’s considered (by pagans and maybe ancient Romans) good luck to plant bay laurel at the entrance to your house.  It keeps bad luck and witches from coming in.

I honestly don’t think it’s working that well.  But I still like the way it looks and the bay is great in soup.

another view of spider condoLet’s revisit the before.  Spider condo, aggressively evil agapanthus, lots of pea gravel in the soil.

kind of winningSpider condo went first, then I started hacking away at the evil.  In the end it was hurting my feet (I have very delicate flowers for feet) and after I got 2/3 the way through that clump I had to get Philip to finish it off.

agapanthus is my bitchAhhhh!  Look how much room there is for good stuff.  I do have plans to get rid of that other sprawling bush.  But not right this minute.

new garden canvasFirst I needed to get some fresh soil.  We really could use a couple of yards of soil but we aren’t committing to such purchases until the house situation is resolved.  So I just spread a few bags of soil.  It will have to do for now.

new soil and tomatoesNext up I planted Max’s flowers, situated the bay laurels for maximum dramatic and witch-deterring effect, and planted my tomatoes.  I can’t tell you how tempted I am to stuff a few more in there.  I have a tendency to cram things tightly in my garden.  I’m resisting the urge pretty fiercely.

the path to happinessUp close shot of the pretty Max flowers.

More Max flowersSome more of them.  That little bunch of daisies were also chosen by Max for me.

Max picksCause you know you want to be flogged with pictures of flowers my son chose for me.  Next up I have to plant more flowers.  I have rudbeckia, red valerian, echinacea, two different penstemon plants, chard, sage, chives, and lettuce.

Hopefully I’ll find the time to get all that in soon.  I can’t wait to see this space fill out.  Oh – the bare patch near the lion is still in need of much digging – the agapanthus roots are thick in there.  My poor feet are finally recovering from their many ridiculous problems so I’m hesitant to get out there and abuse them some more.  One thought I had was to cover the area with thick cardboard and then top with dirt but then it will make planting more difficult unless done with seeds only.

What are you doing in your gardens right now?

August 2011 Garden Update

 

Thanks to my mother our garden is doing great.  She’s the one who’s been watering every other day (manually) and mulching and planting.  While I’ve been working and writing and preparing for my trip she’s been out there working hard.  These are Romano beans (Helda) and they’ve become my favorite now.  They can get quite big and still not be tough or develop beans inside too fast and they taste wonderful.  I’m done growing Blue Lake or Kentucky Wonder, both of which have performed poorly for me in the last few years.

I actually know a few people who don’t like tomatoes.  I’d be devastated if I became allergic to them.  I look forward to them every year with the same fervor some teens look forward to seeing Justin Bieber in concert.  (I know all about Justin Bieber because my ten year old son mocks him at every opportunity)  Everyone in my area keeps saying this summer is even colder than last summer but I don’t believe it.  I have lots of tomatoes and there’s plenty of time still for them to ripen.

Bee balm.  It’s such an outlandish flower.  We already had quite a lot of flowers to attract beneficial insects but my mom has added a lot more.

I don’t care what Oregon says*, Buddleia is gorgeous and definitely brings the butterflies and hummingbirds around.  I didn’t buy my  buddleia, I got it as a volunteer from the neighbors.  I will concede that it’s a bit pesty the way I keep finding more sprouts which get woody and dug in really fast if I don’t rip them up at first sight.

Squash!  Everyone jokes about it but for us it isn’t growing so valiantly that we must share it with anyone at this point.  The two crookneck squash plants died.  One of our zucchini plants is a little yellow and small and that leaves just one trooper that is giving us some promise but the delivery has been nothing to brag about yet.

Thank you mom!

*Buddleia is considered a noxious weed in Oregon and it is illegal to buy it.  One of those ridiculous laws that defy sense since nurseries are allowed to sell it.  Maybe the law is that you’re not allowed to grow it.  You can buy it but not grow it?  In the Master gardening program I asked some very keen questions about it but naturally the answers just went in circles.