Update - Pt. 3

The Deck

I have confined myself to "container gardening" on the deck for the past several years, due to the fact that it seemed whenever I took the notion to do actual gardening on our property, my husband would get "activated" (when he had no inclination to do so previously) and interfere. I would plant an entire raised bed with seeds, inform him not to disturb that raised bed, and the next time I looked at it, it would have PLANTS planted on top of my seeds! :>( Or, there would be other ways in which we would "butt heads", so I swore off gardening for some time. Now the raised beds have lain dormant for some time, and since he has occupied himself elsewhere (basement workshop, the garage, etc.), I have taken the risk of gardening again. However, I so enjoyed the way my deck looks "planted", that I will continue to do so. I love to sit and read while enjoying a glass of sun tea, the bubbling of the water in my half-barrel water garden, and the beauty of the plants and blooms around me.

I love Mandevilles... they're my one summer luxury

A container mix... and a frog

A Mother's Day basket personalized
by my grand-daughter

This year's "fun" plant!

Update - pt. 2

The Vegetable Garden

Mesclun & Romaine

Green bush beans

Onions

Sugar Snap Peas

Rhubarb & Raspberries

Not pictured: Sweet Spanish onions, chili peppers, carrots, zucchini, leeks, tomatos

Time for an update; I finished planting the majority of my vegetable garden and my deck (containers). The herb garden will be an ongoing project, as it will take *time* to find all that I want, and to sort out what I wish to do with them. I searched all over locally to no avail to find leeks, and then on an out-of-town shopping trip for something completely unrelated to gardening, we happened to stop on a whim at a gardening store and found them! And of course, some of my things got bit by a late, "mild" frost and I'm hoping they will recover. Anyway, I have updated photos to share:

The Herb Garden

The chives are blooming

I added French Tarragon

Lemon Balm (great in iced sun tea!)

The sage has recovered nicely!

The thyme has gotten huge!

I added Summer and Winter Savory

The strawberry bed is back!

And last but NOT least, that Green Envy Echinacea (Coneflower)
is continues to thrive and is growing!

Happy May! I like MAY... I got married in the month of MAY --- 28 years this year, and I always make my husband *pay* by taking me to a classy restaurant. In this case, that means to an establishment that requires the use of silverware (lol). The other thing I like about MAY is, it's my much-older brother's birthday, and I get to rag him about his age. But of course, MAY is really about the nice weather and getting OUTDOORS.

I am not one to jump on bandwagons and run out and purchase new plants when they come along, but when I read about the new "Green Envy" Coneflower (Echinacea) in Backyard Living Magazine, I have to admit I was green with envy. I wanted it! I balked at the price, though... and shipping... and what if it died? Oh bother... Then a few days ago, I was browsing around my local garden store and OMG --- there it was! Should I? Yes, I should... after all, I'm worth one splurge a year, aren't I? (yeah, right, only once a year!) And, doesn't THIS pot look like there are two plants in it?? OY, whoever heard of paying $16.95 for a coneflower?? Ugh... but I did...

I have planted the little baby(s) in my raised bed herb garden where it can be babied and faithfully watered until it matures (and hopefully reproduces!):

In case you haven't read about "Green Envy", it's blossoms start green, but as the summer progresses, they gradually turn magenta pink from the center outwards. Truly a unique plant!

THE HERBS

While there in the herb garden, I may as well share how things have fared over the winter. I transplanted my chives from a large planter on my deck (they come back every year in the planter, which will now be filled with flowers), and don't seem to have suffered much shock:

Then I purchased a rosemary plant:

The rest of these have over-wintered OK:

Sage (looks like it took a hit!):

Thyme:

I have more herbs/seeds started and waiting for planting.

Back in front of the house, the flowering crab is in bloom, although the sun is not cooperating today, I took a few closeups of the blossoms (wish I could capture that smell!):

And I do like coming up with colorful combinations for my containers, and this one is in front of my front porch:

In case anyone wonders, this flu bug going around is a real bugger to get over. It hit me on a Saturday night, vomiting all night... and then the other thing... and I followed up with the usual "good care" of clear liquids, jello, chicken soup --- but it took *forever* to get over this thing. Ten days, and I am still fighting to get my energy back. The lethargy is horrible. Thank goodness my hubby kept up with all of my critters and my seedlings; nothing has been lost --- yet!

I am forcing myself to "get active", and while today was one of those dull (cool, sunless) Spring days, I stopped at the garden center at Lowe's and picked up a flat of cheerful looking marigolds and managed to stick them in the ground along the walk in front of my house. I am so sick of the "dead look" of winter, and was glad for the "instant Spring". Supper was already bubbling away in the crock pot (beef stew), so it was a nice, satisfying feeling to collapse onto the couch with a "big job" done and a hot supper waiting.

Here are some photos of my labors, along with a few shots of other signs of spring already appearing in my front yard:

Muscari "grape hyacinth"

The Seeds are Started!

I hadn't started seeds for many years; with part-time jobs, kids, dogs, rats (yes, rats) and other pets, there just wasn't time to devote to gardening, so there isn't a spare shelf in the house. I had to wait to get my husband's cooperation, and we "rigged" a hanging light from the basement ceiling over a spare table. I really felt our basement was too cool this time of year, in spite of the lights, so my husband put up "walls" of insulation surrounding my three seed trays.

In searching for some seeds I had saved from a few plants from last year, my husband located an old coffee can with some really, really OLD seeds --- like from 2000 and 2003! LOL... just for fun, I planted a few of those and it looks like they are coming up too! There aren't too many bald spots in my seed trays.

I have planted more than enough for myself; my daughter is in process of buying a house, and I have planted "spares" for her to start an herb garden and a few veggies. I think she'll be busy with the interior of the house (and her toddler!), but I think she'll want to get her hands dirty now and then in her own backyard, LOL!

I’m by no means a “professional” gardener — I barely fit into the “hobby gardener” category. I just like certain plants; especially ones that don’t need a lot of care, perennials (come back next year, Hun!), ones that re-seed themselves or easily give seed, and growing my own herbs.
I am met by “certain” challenges… I don’t “do” hot sun — I am fair skinned and can cop a sunburn in 20 minutes; therefore, I am real good at planting things in spring and letting the weeds take over in the heat of July and August. In my 50’s now, I have bad knees, so I have to do a lot of container gardening and sitting at raised beds. And then there is the dh… who will go out and plant bedding plants ON TOP OF the seeds I just planted in a raised bed (and told him where I just planted)…
This year, due to the economy, I find myself unemployed and at the edge of winter, planning a little more gardening for spring. Don’t plan to “can” anything, just hoping for a little fresh produce and dry my own herbs again. thought I would document my progress in this blog, for fun. For starters, here are some photos of my past efforts:

A flowering crabapple that I bought in
Osco Drug's garden section for $4.00

A visitor to my front door that stayed for several days
on and around my foundation shrubs

The "pond" on my deck; complete with 2 goldfish :)