Personally, I spent the weekend planting a few more perennials in the bed that was destroyed last winter by plumbing problems. It is good and thick now, with a variety of bloom times.

I got my cold weather seeds from Territorial and used plangarden.com to lay out and keep track of what is planted where. I got cauliflower, pac choi, beets, arugula and more peas planted. My spinach and lettuce aren't up yet, but my first pea planting is coming up nicely.

I got the lawnmower started very easily for the first time, and ran over all of my "rough" garden waste from last year, making a nice fine material, which I will still compost, in case there are seeds in it. Oddly, lawnmower wouldn't stop, until I tapped it with a light weight hammer, but it started up again, so I may have a good year mower wise.

I spent Sunday helping my organic gardener friend pull weeds out of some of her beds. I find it very meditative, and my weeds only take a few minutes every few days to pull, so it's sort of fun to do this with another person. I collected some wild iris, very hardy geraniums which aren't cranesbill, and feverfew from her, but couldn't plant them until this a.m. so am a little bit worried about the feverfew.

I built bean pyramids out of very long bamboo stakes and built trellises for my hardy kiwis, which I will plant in large tree pots. I used the bent bamboo trellis posts for the kiwis, which are going to be planted in about 10 minutes.

I cleaned out all of my annual pots.

Watering the veggies now to try to help the seedlings along, using an old fashion round sprinkler with a very fine spray. Also watering the front flowers with a sprinkler. Just a few days ago we had snow, and everything is bone dry again because of the wind. While playing in my veggie patch this weekend, though, I did note that the ground is still very light and friable, which is very nice.

I have a few daffies flowering, some creeping phlox, some creeping speedwell, a panda strawberry here and there, and the grape hyacinth. Most of the perennials look sooper, but one of my lovely blue red hot pokers had about 2/3 rotten hubs and just two growing.

My very mature plum tree planted in deep shade which never fruits is covered with blossoms this year, more than ever before. My nanking cherry looks great as usual. The elberta peach survived, but not so sure about the plums I dug up and replanted last year, after deer ate all the growing tips on the new branches. They are still very fragile and may or may not come back. Blueberries look dead, but I'll give them time. Blackberries coming up, marionberries I planted this year were damaged by snow, but still alive. Pixwell gooseberries look great.

Nature is the one with the green thumb in my garden. I just do what I can.

Maggie

Wow MaggieZ, you were busy!

I dug up 4 big chunks of coreopsis that were overtaking everything else, and also dug up a big box of sundrops that were moving in from the other side.

Put mulch (chopped leaves)in the dug up areas and watered everything.

Put wire cages around my daylilies to keep the deer from eating them.

Called my Master Gardener sister for advice on what to plant in my new lasagna flower garden.

And just walked around the yard and looked at everything coming up!

Friday when it was storming I was in town and the gal at K-mart thought I was nuts for going out in the weather to get flowers out in the garden center. But I REALLY wanted some pansies to put in. So I got them in Sunday afternoon. I don't normally buy flowers at Kmart, but the locally owned place I usually go wasn't open yet and I just HAD TO HAVE flowers.


I'd had some purple coneflowers started indoors and have been hardening them off. Got those planted Saturday. The bed they went into drains pretty fast so it wasn't too muddy.

I've so been enjoying all the tulips blooming. Just looking at them makes me smile. Purple, yellow, white, pink, red, oh my!!

Today I set out three columbine plants that I started from seed. They're not very big, but I think they'll do alright.

I've overwintered two nicotiana plants inside and I planted those in the flower bed today. When we have the next frost, I think they'll be protected enough to survive.

Wild plum tree is in full bloom and just LOADED with blossoms.

I repotted some tomatoes today. I had a bunch of seedlings still growing 4 to a pot so I split them up. Still have a few more to do, but ran out of pots. It's at least 3 weeks before I can set them out.

I didn't loose near as many perennials to winter kill as I thought I might. Actually I think everything made it thru the winter except for a sage plant and the carnations. I think the rabbits got the carnations. There is one plant left out of three or four.

Today I finished mulching the vegetables with straw. And now I've started on the 3 citrus trees: pick up the old leaves, fertilize and apply iron chelate, water deeply, add a layer of compost, put Tangle Trap on the trunk to get rid of the leaves, prune off the dead twigs and branches.

The first flush of roses is over so that meant lots of deadheading.

The tomatoes are flowering but not setting. Frustrating! The first pepper appeared. The eggplants have buds, and we need to harvest sweet basil and make more pesto. The first female yellow squash has appeared and should bloom soon. The beans are climbing, no flowers yet.

Sprained my ankle very badly a week ago last Friday, so I'm just starting to get back into things. I can only go an hour or so and then must stop. I care for two sets of gardens--mine and my Mom-in-law's.

Mine: Mulched around base of Holly Tree and in two smaller front beds. Mulched half of slope below the front-yard gardens.

Hers: Redug border of front flower bed. Pulled out peonies that weren't working there. Set in new bird feeders. Set in new rock border she'd bought at Lowe's (really pretty, actually) and mulched in Hemlock mulch.

Mulched around new blueberry bushes. Watered baby grass and baby blueberry bushes. Spent some time weeding the front lawn. Distributed beneficial nematodes in the portion of the lawn most infested with mole cricket larvae and white grubs. Prayed for rain to help with that.

The above was spread out over Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday.

I spent Sat morning helping with a Master Gardener plant clinic at the local farmer's market. Picked up some nice herb plants and some heirloom tomatoe starts I didn't have seed for. In the mean time DH finished off my new rose bed and started tilling 2 more veggie beds. We are behind the power curve here,sigh. Just not been able to catch up it seems. Put in 8 new rose bushes last evening, did a little weeding the the front beds and treated some lovely quack grass with a painting of Roundup. It didn't looks so good this morning. I went out early this morning did a bit more weeding and re potted some of the herbs I bought. I want to pot them this year so I can bring them in in the winter. Pollen count must be out of site, because my allergies started to flare up and I had to give it up and get some meds down. Now I'm sleepy, sheesh! Golden years my aunt fanny! LOL

Doccat - the roundup is a real dillema sort of thing, as it isn't organic but sometimes...

18 years ago when I first moved in here, I had nothing but sod and canada thistles and the thistles got the treatment. After the first two years, we only got a few coming back and we could dig them out.

Even my organic gardener friend who runs a business is thinking about painting some invasive weeds with r/u. I'm just glad I no longer have to deal with that particular dillema.

M

Roundup has caused some pretty heated discussions both here and at the "organic gardening" forum at Garden Web. In general it's not considered to be organic. Here's an example of some research available at Beyond Pesticides, a useful website:
Some effects of Roundup

Organic gardeners use pulling or smothering with cardboard or plastic instead of herbicides. It may be more work but it's a lot safer, both for us and our families, and also for the planet.

Yeah, Jennifer, have to say I am very glad I never have to use that stuff. Now, 18 years later and without the spouse, I don't think I would under any circumstances. I guess we have all erred at one point or another, so it's hard for me to judge.

M

I think my garden woke up over night. We had plenty of rain yesterday and I watered this past weekend. I have lettuce, beans, peas, garlic and onions growing.

I tried a few times to get some of the thumbnails to show up. You can view full size photos at my site below.




Thanks for looking

I don't know what people pay for Round Up, but a nicely placed rock will do the same job. I have a few rocks that get moved around to sit on stubborn or thorny weeds.

Here's a couple pics from today. The geese are standing in a hay field covered with Camas. Does it grow anywhere else besides the northwest? It sure is pretty.

My purple irises started their show today

Not exactly Monday, but as of today I have lots of things planted. Eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, tat soi, lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, beans, lots of flowers (from seed), sage, oregano.

It's a bugger to start over from scratch! Hope to never do it again....

So many thing I miss from the old place. Not the house, but the gardens.

Finished the garden expansion (to about 900 sq.'), put up th deer-proof (I hope) fencing, took off the wild grass, let it dry out a bit and shook all the topsoil out of it. All the seeds are in the ground now, and a few transplants in WOW's. It'll probably be another week before the rest of the transplants go out. Picked and used the 1st spinach and mustard greens this morning. 85 pea plants up, and bush beans are now popping up.radishes, beets, and several greens are up along with a few carrots.
I'm taking the summer off from grad school(1st year over and done), and with working part-time, I should have plenty of time to spend in the garden. By the time the rest of the transplants are in, I will have used up all 4 of the trash cans I filled with compost from last year--one big pile cooking now.

Almost Monday of the following week report:

Lots done this weekend. Added compost to the in-ground garden bed, planted the edemame, put up some bamboo stakes, trellis,etc and transplanted the dipper gourd and started some cuke seeds. Mulched this bed.

Checked out the compost - not happy about the fruit flies. Added more leaves.

Potted the 3rd blueberry shrub, transplanted 2 of the 4 tomatoes, transplanted the butternut squash, still waiting for the other veggies to get a bit bigger.

On the flower front - amazed that the red wing glads are coming up and freaked out on DH when stepped on one. Staked the 2 existing clematis, planted a couple of new clematis, weeded a bit more out front, planted a salvia, planted the flower boxes (a few days ago), ordered a great new and cheap trellis.

Did some all-around clean up of the back yard.

...and had time to get a manicure/pedicure too!