The Good, Bad and Ugly of Gardening

Starting with the good. The new white clematis is flourishing. Huge white flowers! Wow. So happy. I am kinda crazy about clematis and now that we have four, I am pretty darn excited. My sister's new husband just sold his old house and moved all the garden supports and trellises to their new house where they might have languished were it not for me swooping in to 'borrow' them for the duration. Nearby is the opening peony. Sweet! The first of many to open in the coming weeks. I am so glad this is not a super multi-petaled version. No caging for this one. 

 On the north side of the house, which is supposedly the shade garden, except for strong morning sun, are two more light lavender clematis. One was half price because it had some broken stems, but the majority was doing fine I so I bought it. In this bright sunlight it is difficult to see the subtle light purple of these blooms. In this bed we have just started to mulch, so it's looks will improve by the end of the day if my managerial skills hold up. I am having Dave do the mulch spreading. 

 The Bad. My darling new Ostrich Fern was bitten by our recent frost, which also hurt a lot of the new annuals I have planted. Pooh! Still, this will survive, alto it may look awful for some time. 

 The north side bed with bags o'mulch ready to spread. Lotsa Hosta, and heuchera, one brunnera, the fern and the clematis is at the end. I really love shade gardens, and hope this one will fill in over the coming years. I had to make myself space the hosta far enough apart so that there won't be crowding and I won't have to transplant them for a long while. 

More Bad. I am losing confidence with the baggy garden, or maybe the pools, I can't decide. Actually it is the cold nights and uneven watering that may have killed off some of my tomatoes and peppers. Some, but not all. In fact one pepper is doing amazingly well, but the frost may be why my bean seeds rotted in the bag. O well. I have many more. But the slope of the yard means all the water runs to one edge and the bags get either too much or not enough water. Grrr. So...I am moving the whole thing in the coming days. And I may just fill the pools with soil and use the bags only for tomatoes, garlic, onions and peppers. Well two big bags have potatoes in them, so maybe I will keep using those too. O I just don't know...but suddenly it got hot, even at night so it's a toss up what may work now. 

 

In the meantime, I made another bed from landscape bricks and will plant my green beans in this one. It is less deep than the pools but sits on the ground so the roots may have a place to grow. We can only hope. 

So if you sense a bit of disappointment, yes, I am. Plus my front porch/deck was supposed to be started yesterday and nothing happened. No one showed up and no one called to say why. Typical. So I took out my feelings on the inside of the house and really cleaned, washed floors, vacuumed and even washed the slip covers on the couch. Satisfying!

OK off to buy more dirt! Yay!

 Hurray!! Help has arrived. They were supposed to show up Tuesday but came on Friday. Can't complain because they did the job and made me so happy. 

The job, part one was to fit the metal edging around the driveway peony bed. 

Part two, fill the holes left from moving the peonies. One could easily fall into those holes and break an ankle. 

  Part three, amend the soil, get rid of the Houttuynia cordata and clear the debris from the north side of the house, the site of my shade garden. This would have taken me all day, and yet they were done in 45 minutes. So thankful! There is nothing so delicious as an empty bed of dirt, with plants at the ready to fill it. That will be my job today, with Dave's help, I hope. Hosta, heuchera, one big brunnera, one big ostrich fern and two flats of impatients. Yay!!

 These are hyacinth beans growing under a trellis on the south side of the house. Watch this space. They will get HUGE. I was first introduced to this plant from a blog reader, who sent me seeds. Wow! Lucky me! Here's an idea of what they can do.

 And our first opening white clematis. Thrilling.

Pre-Sprouting Seeds

Sometimes I like to pre-sprout my seeds before putting them in the soil. These are French fine green beans, my first time to grow them and I am excited. There are a ton of seeds in a packet, but which will sprout? What if it is too cold to put them in the dirt? I've had seeds turn to mush if they are cold and wet. Not this time. It is already warm enough and I decided to give the patch a head start with this tried and true method of pre-sprouting. Get two small plates, a wet paper towel and pour on the seeds. Cover with the second plate and place near a sunny window, or just in a warm spot.

In two days lift the top plate and see what sprouted.

Pretty cool huh? Ready to pop in the dirt and cover and let the growing begin.

 I'm at the local Walmart super store almost daily and have to check out what has come in and looks enthusiastic. I call this rescue gardening. Can't let sprouted bulbs or roots sit in these bags for long, knowing they will die if not immediately given refuge. I brought home these potato starts and they have been sitting waiting for me to plant them, growing greener in the bag ever since. Shame on me. But they are going in today, since I now have more composted manure for their home. But while I was searching the floor of my pantry in hopes of finding some Kosher salt, I found this stray potato tucked behind some bags of rice. Musta fallen out of a bigger sack. Talk about enthusiasm! Theorhetically potatoes are sprayed with something that is supposed to prevent eyes sprouting. I guess this one didn't get the memo. Into the garden it will go.

Super huge grow bags, which I ordered before I got my Walmart blue bags. I tried to cancel before they got shipped but was minutes too late. They are 20 gallons each and I have ten. Wha? 

 Here's a size comparison.

Of course they do not need to be filled to capacity, just deep enough for the plants that will be in them. The soft sides can be rolled down to let in more light, so perfect for things like green beans. So I am glad to have them. 

Today I am expecting my garden guys to arrive, actually hoping to see them any minute. They will prepare the beds on the north side of the house, removing clay and adding composted manure. I am anxious to begin my shade garden there with these Heuchera (Coral Bells) and Hosta. Not nearly enough, I know. 

I've harvested and eaten some of these lettuces already. One of the romaine was pulled out by a squirrel, even on the porch we are not immune. grrrr. So in it's place I put a sprouted nasturtium which has yet to emerge. 

My patience has been rewarded in this set of six packs. A cucumber and sugar snap pea have shown themselves. I know you can't see them, but I am recording their debut for future reference.

OK, I am going out right now and digging a spot in the peony bed for these perennials. Four Hardy Geraniums. Yay!

Bursting into bloom

Both of our cherry trees are in full bloom and it couldn't be more gorgeous. What a blessing! To think we just got to have these as part of the house deal. Wow. I saw some sapling versions of these trees at Lowe's for $249 a piece. Gulp. So thrilled to have them grace our yard every spring. 

In the kiddie pools I have planted some peppers, Grand Marconi, Big Bertha, and Coolapeno. I've grown all of these before and have had good yields. I still need Poblanos, but will have to wait until the weather gets hotter. In the same pool is the half price Gerbera Daisy. 

 

My friend Patsy has had hers overwinter, and she lives up on a mountain top, so I guess they are hardier than I expected. Great! I'll keep my eyes open for more, greedy little gardener that I am.

In another pool I have four tomatoes in the bags, plus some extras that I will share. German Johnson, Black Krim and two Celebrity.  The extras are all Celebrities. I'd rather get them as 6 packs than bigger plants, and  in a few days they are all the same size anyway. I am using Patsy's shredded newspaper as mulch. 

The my new shade garden plants arrived and I am so happy to have them all. Hostas, heucheras, heucherellas, and hardy geraniums. And one oddball. Jack Frost Brunnera. 

 Here's a special newbie, Wu-la-la a sport of the humoungous Empress Wu which I had take over my last garden. This one is slightly different in the leaf, with a lighter green edge, not all that visible in this picture.

 And finally I am so happy to have Boom Chocolatta Hardy Geranium to add to my collection. The flowers are blue (my fave) and the leaves will darken to almost black. So dramatic.

I've also planted Hyacinth Bean seeds, cucumber and Sugar Peas. In the front garden in the peony bed I planted two Baptisia varieties and a Black and Blue Salvia one of the most vigorous and floriferous members of the sage family. Here's an example: It gets this crazy in one season. Woowoo!

Hold everything!

 

I saw this on Pinterest (sound familiar?) and I fell down the rabbit hole. So many gardeners are getting into this grow bag idea. I spent hours on Youtube watching all kinds of variations on this theme and decided I had to give it a whirl. 

Today I went to Walmart and got the following:

9x12' tarp with landscape pins to secure it to the ground

4 48" kiddie wading pools for sub-irrigation (already have drilled holes 2" up from the base for drainage after a rain storm, thanks to my friend Charly)

20 Walmart bags at $.50 each!!

20 liters of Perlite to lighten my compost mix

40 pounds of all purpose fertilizer

4 54" heavy duty tomato cages

I already have six bags of composted manure to mix with the perlite and fertilizer, so I can have an instant garden.  This video really got me. Corn grown in bags?

I didn't buy any veggies in pots, yet, just seeds, but got the following:

Black Beauty Zucchini

Sparkler radishes

Sweet Corn: Silver and Gold, and Early Sunglow

Bush Beans: Bush Blue Lake, Royal Burgundy, and French Filet

Super Sugar Snap Peas (edible pod type)

Bush Champion Cucumber

Darrk Opal Purple Basil

Lettuce Leaf Basil

Mammoth Basil

Sparkler Radish

White seed potatoes

Summer Harvest Garlic

white onion sets

I'll buy tomatoes and peppers in 4 packs and maybe a watermelon. I love the leaf on watermelons if nothing else. I did grow them before but the flavor just wasn't there. 

I think this idea is so much better than my concrete block garden and so much less work. I love planting but hate watering after a while and with these pools I have the opportunity to fill them with an inch deep of water and let the bags wick the moisture up, directly to the roots. That's better for the plants anyway. 

I've placed the tarp/pools/grow bags in view from the house back windows, so I can watch the progress each morning. And I put the whole thing inside the doggie enclosure to keep the nasty rabbits away. 

When the bags are filled and in place I will take pictures. After my nap...

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It took 2 hours, start to finish, including clean up. 9x12' and 20 bags almost full. I have one more bag of composted manure, but I think I will wait and let these settle and warm up before topping off each one. 

 Dave came out to admire my handiwork. It looks so tiny, but I am thinking it will be more than enough. Here's how I did it. I put one bag of composted manure into the wheelbarrow and added 4 cups of all-purpose fertilizer and 8 cups of Perlite (as if I really measured!) and mixed it all up, sitting down. Then I scooped the mix into the bags and transferred them to the pools. Then I turned down the edges of the bags so they would stay open and round. The area stayed in full sun til about 6pm, and this is on the east edge of the yard, so the morning sun will reach it at about 6am, providing at least 12 full hours of sun. I haven't had a really sunny garden like this in years. The cost? Under $100 complete with seeds. ha!

I am surprised that there is a lot more room in the pools than I imagined. Which is fine since the bags are moveable and when the plants get big, I will need to separate them for aiflow and accessibility. I was gonna cut off those white barcode tags but the backs are plain so I will use a permanent marker and write what is planted in the bag, with a date. Getting smart in my old age. 

The view from under the cherry trees.

The two cherry trees are just now starting to open. The blossoms are like little rose bouquets. I am so blessed! 

Ordering Plants: Part One

Despite a promise not to go overboard on gardening at my new house...I do have a few plants on order that are just plain necessary for my mental well being. I went to our local $$$ Nursery and saw that while they are stocking lots of things I would like to have, the plant I simply must have was not there.  Which meant that I had to go looking online. Luckily I found a site in Michigan which was full of fabu stuff, on sale, and ready to ship to moi. 

First of these: Baptisia, aka False Indigo, is a plant that I have cultivated since gardening in Illinois, and it never disappoints. I got two varieties, Purple Smoke and Baptisia Australis. I assume they will look exactly alike, but so what? What I love about this plant is that it is tall, bushy and has beautiful foliage and wonderful seed pods after the flowers are gone. And for heaven's sake it is BLUE. I love me some blue in the garden. It stays put, doesn't flop, isn't bothered by bugs, or deer, or rabbits, and has a deep taproot, which means, put it in and leave it alone. A must have plant, as far as I am concerned.

The bed along the north side of our house has been cleared of stuff that had no chance of living, as it is always in shade, which is wonderful news to me. I love shade gardens, because I can grow hosta, another plant that always succeeds, making me feel like a champ. And there are tons of different varieties to choose from, and here is a new one called Sun Power, a bright chartreuse speciment which I can place at the very eastern edge of the shade garden where it will get the most sun. It is likely to get as wide as five feet at maturity, filling that space easily. 

  Sagae Hosta, a vigorous midsize specimen, which will multiply nicely, giving me lots more of itself to fill in the gaps. Gotta love the enthusiasm of a plant like this. 18" tall and 3 feet wide, until it gets too big and has to be divided. My pleasure!

 Another biggie, or gigantic variety is Wu-La-La, a sport of Empress Wu, said to be the biggest hosta ever. I planted two Empress Wu's at the last garden and they did really emerge to be giants. But alas I left them there. Now this sport is slightly different, and more interesting because it has an apple green edge on its blue leaves, so I am glad to have it. At maturity, before I die, I hope, it will reach 4 feet tall and six feet wide. Stand back!

 This cultivar is called Halcyon and is a lovely blue with thick glaucous leaves and an upright habit. All good attributes to keep the leaves off the ground and mulch underneath to discourage slugs. We have slugs here, for sure. I'll place this one next to Sun Power for contrast. Oooh, pretty. It will grow 18 inches tall and 36-42" wide.

 Krossa Regal, which as you can see is upright and proud of itself. As you would be if you were so tall and strong. Its height allows for smaller plants to be placed at its base and I have plans for that too. Stay tuned. 40" high and spreads to 6 feet. I have a big space to fill and each of these hosta will do the trick.

 

Sum and Substance Hosta. Is this photo doctored? It does get this big, but it takes a long time to achieve, so I am not bothered by its dimensions. The color is the best part, a really lush limey green. I've grown this variety in a pot and in the ground and it just kept on living no matter what. Big stalks of white flowers erupt in mid summer. I hope the owner of my last house enjoys it, as the big pot is still there. 

 And lastly, a smaller variety, Loyalist, a bright wide center makes this glow in the shade. It will grab the limelight even tho it is a shortie, but with that varigation, it deserves the attention. I admit to being a hosta nut, but they have served me well in every garden I have had and I expect they will do the same here.  The front porch deck that I am having built (when????) will have planter boxes surrounding it, and I will have a shady spot for more of these in the future. 

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We had a hard frost last night, arrgghh, but thankfully none of these plants have yet to arrive, so no worries. The peonies and Asiatic lilies didn't seem to care, and I brought in my patio planters of lettuces just in case. April is the cruelist month.

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Flowers!!!

Another absolutely necessary plant is the hardy geranium, or Cranesbill, which gets it name from the seed pods which look like a crane's bill. Obviously. Here's what's on order:

 Boom Chocolatta has darker bronze leaves in contrast with its blue flowers. A clumping mass of yumminess. Hardy geraniums usually are real stalwarts in the garden and there are tons of varieties. I like this one especially for its darker leaf color. 

 New Hampshire Purple. Dense foliage with great bright flowers emerging in the spring. Dependable and vigorous and will rebloom if cut back. The leaves are just a beautiful red-green in the fall. 

 Johnson's  Blue. How could I not have this plant in my garden? In the past I have grown it in near full shade and while it got leggy, it still continued to bloom. In this new garden it will get hard full sun and I expect it will thrive. The flowers are on long stalks making it easy to cut for a bouquet.

 Perfect Storm Geranium, what a name. A long bloomer with intense purple centers. A good example of the variety of colors in these long lived perennials, and I can't wait to see it in my yard.