Gardening Journal, May 6, 2015

Gardens from April 28, 2015 to May 6, 2015

I have been so busy and not had the time to write this last Saturday and here is is Wednesday already!

We did lots to our gardens last weekend and I have to show you what we have done.

VEGETABLES

We got some lettuce and spinach plants and planted them on April 28.  This may be a new one for me as I didn't get the right lettuce plants.  I wanted Bib lettuce or loose leaf but instead I got Head Lettuce.  I do not know of any way to put it up or preserve it for later.  The spinach was slow in getting started in the garden here.  I added this cremline fabric so that it keeps the bugs from feasting on my food.  They have lots of food in the woods that they do not have to go munching on mine.  

I also got a couple of different Tomatoes this year.  I got some Yellow and Roma tomatoes and then I also planted some seeds of the Beefsteak tomatoes that should be sprouting any day now.  My neighbor was done using his tomato cages and he gave them to me to use and so I put them over the tomatoes here.  Since April 28 they have doubled in size and the cool nights have gone away now and the warmer days are making these grow like weeds (they were weeds when they were first found in peoples yards).

Peppers are in the bright pink raised garden and I got Green Peppers and some hotter ones.  I am planning on putting them in the sauces that I am going to be using the tomatoes for.  I also want to take some and freeze them for the winter foods that I will be making. These are a bit slower to start.  They have only grown about a inch since I planted them on April 28.

I also planted some cucumber seeds on my front deck to grow on the banisters.  No pictures just yet, but they have finally started to peek out and sprout up.

FLOWERS AND GARDEN BEDS

This was hard work but it looks so good after it is all done.  Oh I have more bulbs coming to plant here in the fall.

About halfway done.  We had to rake all the leaves out of the area that we were going to be planting the transplants here and the bulbs that are coming in the fall.

From about three sets of Daffodils I got about 10 new bulbs to plant. Deer do not like these so I had to plants them around the Hostas that you see in the next picture.

These Hostas were planted in the front garden with my Hyacinths, but did not do well there.  This is as high as they have gotten and they were planted there for about 4 years.  So we moved them and I also got 2 new plants of of each one.  They look really super there int he wooded area with the Bleeding Hearts.

End product, at least for the summer.  Gorgeous!

We may be putting up more of the red boards later, but we much get more paint first.

OTHER AREAS OF THE YARD

My Lilac bloomed this year and this is the first cutting off of it.  They smell so good!  For some reason my lilacs only get blooms every other year.  So when they bloom I have to take advantage of the flowers.

We moved the water pool under the front deck for Duke and the cats to be able to drink from and maybe Duke will get his paws wet when it is sweltering hot outside.  One can only hope!  That is Mikey drinking out of the water hole.

There was a extra Rose stick coming up from the Bigger Climbing Rose on the trellis that we made for it on the left side of the house.  I had an extra large container and we planted that extra Rose in it on the right side.  It is doing really well there right now.  I thought it was a shoot from the other Rose and thought that I would have a problem removing it.  When I dug down into the soil, it was on it's own and not connected to the other Rose at all.  Strange, but things are strange around here anyway.  I added some Rose food to that bigger Climbing Rose as well as added and mixed in with the new Climbing Rose container. 

First mowed lawn of the season!  It smelled so good and I loved the smell of newly cut grass.

Our sign had fallen apart and we were waiting to get more paint and a better board to replace the old one.  So I took one day and made this pink sign and this time I screwed it into the yellow board instead of hanging it.  Yeah hanging it was very pretty but the wind would always knock it off the hooks.  Finally the board just rotted and literally fell apart.  So here is the new and improved sign.  I just love all my bright colors in my yard and gardens.

Do you like bright colors too?