The last few days it has been sunny and hot all day, then raining at night. Consequently, all of my recent transplants are doing just fine thank you very much (except for the zucchinis I broke - 2 out of 3 are gone).
A girl couldn't ask for better gardening weather.
And today is supposed to be 32 degrees celcius. Bye bye blackflies!
5/30/06
5/29/06
Weekend Warriors
I never got around to writing about the evening I weeded my brother's garden. I showed up and got eaten by blackflies. After spraying myself with so much DEET I worried that my skin might melt off, my mother joined me in fixing up a bed running the length of his house. Turns out, he's got some lovely gardens in place, once all of the weeds wer removed.
Then his girlfriend came over, and that's when the plan went awry. She brought with her a bunch of annuals and some pots and soil, and since planting up colourful pots of flowers is much more fun than yanking out dandelions and mint (oh, the mint - he's got a serious infestation. I hope he likes mojitos), that's what we ended up doing. We did weed some areas, but at the end of the evening, his pots and the raised strip by his door looked fabulous. He was very appreciative. I also managed to scam a small piece of his very-eager clematis, and will go back for some hosta; he has this variety that seems to spread quite a bit.
This past weekend was stellar - amazing weather, a huge garage sale, plants, sun, beer, barbecue - everything a girl could ask for. On Saturday morning, we went to the Great Glebe Garage Sale. This chaotic annual event is about 10 x 10 city blocks of garage sales, and the entire city seems to go nuts. One of the best aspects of it is that there are so many nice gardens in that neighborhood, which I get to examine at close range, and many people are selling off parts of their plants. I picked up the following:
- 2 japanese painted ferns
- 3 pots of variegated perennial grass
- a geum (don't know what colour - oops)
- something else that has little white flowers on tall stalks, don't know the name of it.
I also got a great old galvanized tin pail, which now has 6 holes drilled into the bottom of it and holds a bunch of pretty annuals.
On Sunday my mom and I made a pilgrimmage to the local garden centre and bought a whack of annuals. I got $45 worth of annual flats. That's a lot of flowers. I spent the rest of the day potting up colourful containers, weeding, flipping the rest of my veggie garden, planting out all of my vegetable seedlings, trimming the edges of the yard, planting the new perennials that I bought Saturday, installing my soaker hose in the veggie garden, transplanting another fern for my shade garden from the woods, cleaning up the deck and doing minor outdoor-decorating tasks. The place looks terrific now, and in a few weeks when the flowers start to go nuts, it will be beautiful.
I am worried about my hanging baskets. I bought 4 of those black iron and coir things, and then four big hanging baskets of: profuse hot pink mini-geraniums, trailing purple petunias, bright yellow drooping strawflowers, and blueish-purple scaivola, as well as a flat of bright orange and pink gazanias. I split each of the hanging baskets into four and made four mixed baskets, with the gazanias added into the dirt in the top to keep the baskets looking full, not flat-topped. Well, now they're all a bit droopy, either from the trauma, the sun, watering badly or all of the above. I hope they pull through - I may put them in a shadier spot for a week or so just to let them establish themselves, and then put them back into the full sun. The one that gets the most shade at the moment seems the happiest.
I ended up hardening off my tomatoes and peppers and squash for a couple of days under the deck. I put the tray out into the sun for a few hours on Sunday and when they didn't turn white and crispy, I figured they'd be ok to put into the veggie garden. I planted them, put the sprinkler on them, and then what do you know but it rained overnight. So with all that water I think they'll be ok in the sunny 29-degree weather today. Keeping my fingers madly crossed. I was also an idiot and tried to carry everything to the garden in one load, and in so doing, I managed to break the stems of three of my zucchini plants. I just planted them very deeply, we'll see what happens. I have 8 or so of them so it should be ok.
I had to buy a flat of cucumber seedlings. I know, I am ashamed to admit it, but the ones I direct-seeded were eaten by something. Only one survived and it doesn't look too hot. From six, I ended up with one, and I am mourning my losses. But the new seedlings have a bit of a head start and were at least started by the nice ladies at my local garden centre, where you can see all of the little shoots growing away in the greenhouses. I love that place, I've often thought of getting a part-time job there just for fun. Hoping perhaps that it would satisfy my garden urges and save me some cash, or at least support my plant habit. But when? I am too busy on the weekends maintaining my own yard!
At any rate, the initial work for the 2006 version of my garden is pretty much done. After this, I will need to plant beans, mulch with straw, build up the soil and mulch my shade garden, and then just mow and weed and deadhead as required.
Phew!
Then his girlfriend came over, and that's when the plan went awry. She brought with her a bunch of annuals and some pots and soil, and since planting up colourful pots of flowers is much more fun than yanking out dandelions and mint (oh, the mint - he's got a serious infestation. I hope he likes mojitos), that's what we ended up doing. We did weed some areas, but at the end of the evening, his pots and the raised strip by his door looked fabulous. He was very appreciative. I also managed to scam a small piece of his very-eager clematis, and will go back for some hosta; he has this variety that seems to spread quite a bit.
This past weekend was stellar - amazing weather, a huge garage sale, plants, sun, beer, barbecue - everything a girl could ask for. On Saturday morning, we went to the Great Glebe Garage Sale. This chaotic annual event is about 10 x 10 city blocks of garage sales, and the entire city seems to go nuts. One of the best aspects of it is that there are so many nice gardens in that neighborhood, which I get to examine at close range, and many people are selling off parts of their plants. I picked up the following:
- 2 japanese painted ferns
- 3 pots of variegated perennial grass
- a geum (don't know what colour - oops)
- something else that has little white flowers on tall stalks, don't know the name of it.
I also got a great old galvanized tin pail, which now has 6 holes drilled into the bottom of it and holds a bunch of pretty annuals.
On Sunday my mom and I made a pilgrimmage to the local garden centre and bought a whack of annuals. I got $45 worth of annual flats. That's a lot of flowers. I spent the rest of the day potting up colourful containers, weeding, flipping the rest of my veggie garden, planting out all of my vegetable seedlings, trimming the edges of the yard, planting the new perennials that I bought Saturday, installing my soaker hose in the veggie garden, transplanting another fern for my shade garden from the woods, cleaning up the deck and doing minor outdoor-decorating tasks. The place looks terrific now, and in a few weeks when the flowers start to go nuts, it will be beautiful.
I am worried about my hanging baskets. I bought 4 of those black iron and coir things, and then four big hanging baskets of: profuse hot pink mini-geraniums, trailing purple petunias, bright yellow drooping strawflowers, and blueish-purple scaivola, as well as a flat of bright orange and pink gazanias. I split each of the hanging baskets into four and made four mixed baskets, with the gazanias added into the dirt in the top to keep the baskets looking full, not flat-topped. Well, now they're all a bit droopy, either from the trauma, the sun, watering badly or all of the above. I hope they pull through - I may put them in a shadier spot for a week or so just to let them establish themselves, and then put them back into the full sun. The one that gets the most shade at the moment seems the happiest.
I ended up hardening off my tomatoes and peppers and squash for a couple of days under the deck. I put the tray out into the sun for a few hours on Sunday and when they didn't turn white and crispy, I figured they'd be ok to put into the veggie garden. I planted them, put the sprinkler on them, and then what do you know but it rained overnight. So with all that water I think they'll be ok in the sunny 29-degree weather today. Keeping my fingers madly crossed. I was also an idiot and tried to carry everything to the garden in one load, and in so doing, I managed to break the stems of three of my zucchini plants. I just planted them very deeply, we'll see what happens. I have 8 or so of them so it should be ok.
I had to buy a flat of cucumber seedlings. I know, I am ashamed to admit it, but the ones I direct-seeded were eaten by something. Only one survived and it doesn't look too hot. From six, I ended up with one, and I am mourning my losses. But the new seedlings have a bit of a head start and were at least started by the nice ladies at my local garden centre, where you can see all of the little shoots growing away in the greenhouses. I love that place, I've often thought of getting a part-time job there just for fun. Hoping perhaps that it would satisfy my garden urges and save me some cash, or at least support my plant habit. But when? I am too busy on the weekends maintaining my own yard!
At any rate, the initial work for the 2006 version of my garden is pretty much done. After this, I will need to plant beans, mulch with straw, build up the soil and mulch my shade garden, and then just mow and weed and deadhead as required.
Phew!
5/24/06
My Brother's Pushy Big Sister
Woo hoo the sun is out!
For those of you in this area, in case you haven't been counting, it rained for 12 days straight. And it was cold, but you knew that already. What that means for us gardeners is that May two four weekend, (Victoria Day weekend) was a total wash-out, as that is traditionally peak gardening time.
Yesterday I came home from work a bit early, and we managed to pack a ton of yard work in before dinner. DH mowed the lawn, and removed all of the coverings that I'd put on my little annuals and veggie seedlings two nights before. I made up my hanging baskets. This year, I bought 4 of those black-metal-with-coir-insert hangers for $4.15 each (a steal!) and then bought 5 hanging baskets of flowers. I split the baskets up and re-assembled them into my metal ones, so that I now have 4 mixed baskets. I will take pictures so you can see what I mean. However I think I did some major damage to the plants chopping them into pieces and reconstituting them. We'll see. But they look fabulous!
Tonight I'm going over to my brother's house to perform a wee favour. My baby brother is a new homeowner, and as a 24-year-old bachelor, he'd much rather be fishing and tooting around on his ATV than gardening. But he's started a bunch of vegetables and fully intends to have a veggie garden, the foundation of which is already in place from the previous owners. He just hasn't gotten around to cleaning it out and flipping the dirt, etc. and doesn't even really know what he's already got in there. So I have volunteered to put in a couple of hours of weeding because I love it so. Yes I said it - I love weeding. I will don my best bug hat and yank all of those little suckers out, and perhaps label the plants that he should keep so he knows what he's got.
Then i will put my seedlings outside for their first night out. I'll put them under an overhang of my house, so they are in the shade. I haven't hardened them off properly, and I want to plant them all this coming weekend, so I had better do something. Last night I compulsively stuck my cathedral bell vines into the garden, and this morning they looked a teensy bit shocked. I think they'll be ok though.
Tomorrow I'm going to wander down to the Byward Market at lunchtime and buy a whack of herbs. 3 for $5 - I'll get basil, a few thai basils, rosemary, more chives, and maybe just maybe I'll get some for my brother as well, just to kick-start him. I am a pushy big sister.
Ironically, his girlfriend works at a major garden centre here in town (thank YOU brother!). She loves to garden. But because he stubbornly won't give her a key to his house, I think she wisely refrains from putting too much investment into his yard. Plus she works crazy hours and goes to school on the side, so she's probably too pooped to manage two gardens (she has one at her place too). I feel it's OK to step in, to a point. He's taking DH fishing this evening, so I will fix up his garden. Mmm I can't wait - the first sunny day in two weeks and I will be out until dark!
For those of you in this area, in case you haven't been counting, it rained for 12 days straight. And it was cold, but you knew that already. What that means for us gardeners is that May two four weekend, (Victoria Day weekend) was a total wash-out, as that is traditionally peak gardening time.
Yesterday I came home from work a bit early, and we managed to pack a ton of yard work in before dinner. DH mowed the lawn, and removed all of the coverings that I'd put on my little annuals and veggie seedlings two nights before. I made up my hanging baskets. This year, I bought 4 of those black-metal-with-coir-insert hangers for $4.15 each (a steal!) and then bought 5 hanging baskets of flowers. I split the baskets up and re-assembled them into my metal ones, so that I now have 4 mixed baskets. I will take pictures so you can see what I mean. However I think I did some major damage to the plants chopping them into pieces and reconstituting them. We'll see. But they look fabulous!
Tonight I'm going over to my brother's house to perform a wee favour. My baby brother is a new homeowner, and as a 24-year-old bachelor, he'd much rather be fishing and tooting around on his ATV than gardening. But he's started a bunch of vegetables and fully intends to have a veggie garden, the foundation of which is already in place from the previous owners. He just hasn't gotten around to cleaning it out and flipping the dirt, etc. and doesn't even really know what he's already got in there. So I have volunteered to put in a couple of hours of weeding because I love it so. Yes I said it - I love weeding. I will don my best bug hat and yank all of those little suckers out, and perhaps label the plants that he should keep so he knows what he's got.
Then i will put my seedlings outside for their first night out. I'll put them under an overhang of my house, so they are in the shade. I haven't hardened them off properly, and I want to plant them all this coming weekend, so I had better do something. Last night I compulsively stuck my cathedral bell vines into the garden, and this morning they looked a teensy bit shocked. I think they'll be ok though.
Tomorrow I'm going to wander down to the Byward Market at lunchtime and buy a whack of herbs. 3 for $5 - I'll get basil, a few thai basils, rosemary, more chives, and maybe just maybe I'll get some for my brother as well, just to kick-start him. I am a pushy big sister.
Ironically, his girlfriend works at a major garden centre here in town (thank YOU brother!). She loves to garden. But because he stubbornly won't give her a key to his house, I think she wisely refrains from putting too much investment into his yard. Plus she works crazy hours and goes to school on the side, so she's probably too pooped to manage two gardens (she has one at her place too). I feel it's OK to step in, to a point. He's taking DH fishing this evening, so I will fix up his garden. Mmm I can't wait - the first sunny day in two weeks and I will be out until dark!
5/18/06
Are you kidding me?
Where does the time go?
It's been a month since I lamented my raking injuries! I can't believe it. I'm the world's worst blogger. I am not cut out for regular updates.
In the past month, I've made some nice progress on my gardens but it's really been, overall, a bit of a disappointment. Due to some renovations and minor disasters, I never got around to terracing the other half of my hill as I'd promised myself I'd do this spring. Perhaps I will get started on it this weekend, but the weather's so crappy that I'm not inspired. It's a lot of physical labour, and colour me daunted.
But I have got the veggie gardens ready to go, been taking care of my seedlings, and purchased a few new perennials. I have big plans for next weekend as well - annuals, hanging baskets, vegetables, you name it and it's going into the ground. We've mowed our lawn once, and I've been dutifully weeding even though it makes the blackflies hot to take chunks out of my flesh. My new 'look' is smeared in mud with dead blackflies smooshed into my hair. It's very sexy.
So you've been waiting with baited breath to see what happened with my renovation project, haven't you. Well, it's mostly done. There's still some trim to install, etc., but we bought it, have cut it to size, and it can go in this weekend after we stain it the right shade of faux-maple. Here's a nice shot of the new spare room/t.v. room:
In the middle of the project, after we'd finished off the floors in what is now our office, we shifted our giant aquarium into its new office home. A day later, I heard burbling, and lo and behold, the aquarium had cracked. Both of my back rooms were flooded. All the laminate flooring that we'd already installed - a day's worth of work because it took us awhile to figure the stuff out - had to be torn out. I had to put fans and dehumidifiers in the back for 3 days. Oh, and it all went down, so flooded the basement too. So that was a setback. But a few days later a friend came over and we finished it. Needless to say that ate up my holiday, and the terracing of the garden was last on my priority list.
Next - On to the bathroom!
It's been a month since I lamented my raking injuries! I can't believe it. I'm the world's worst blogger. I am not cut out for regular updates.
In the past month, I've made some nice progress on my gardens but it's really been, overall, a bit of a disappointment. Due to some renovations and minor disasters, I never got around to terracing the other half of my hill as I'd promised myself I'd do this spring. Perhaps I will get started on it this weekend, but the weather's so crappy that I'm not inspired. It's a lot of physical labour, and colour me daunted.
But I have got the veggie gardens ready to go, been taking care of my seedlings, and purchased a few new perennials. I have big plans for next weekend as well - annuals, hanging baskets, vegetables, you name it and it's going into the ground. We've mowed our lawn once, and I've been dutifully weeding even though it makes the blackflies hot to take chunks out of my flesh. My new 'look' is smeared in mud with dead blackflies smooshed into my hair. It's very sexy.
So you've been waiting with baited breath to see what happened with my renovation project, haven't you. Well, it's mostly done. There's still some trim to install, etc., but we bought it, have cut it to size, and it can go in this weekend after we stain it the right shade of faux-maple. Here's a nice shot of the new spare room/t.v. room:
In the middle of the project, after we'd finished off the floors in what is now our office, we shifted our giant aquarium into its new office home. A day later, I heard burbling, and lo and behold, the aquarium had cracked. Both of my back rooms were flooded. All the laminate flooring that we'd already installed - a day's worth of work because it took us awhile to figure the stuff out - had to be torn out. I had to put fans and dehumidifiers in the back for 3 days. Oh, and it all went down, so flooded the basement too. So that was a setback. But a few days later a friend came over and we finished it. Needless to say that ate up my holiday, and the terracing of the garden was last on my priority list.
Next - On to the bathroom!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)