The Flower Garden

Before we ever bought this house, we talked about the idea of putting in a flower garden in this little back corner of the yard just off the patio.  However, our first summer here Jeff decided that the space would be better utilized as the home of an above-ground pool, so that's what we put in. We enjoyed the pool for two summers, but when we took it down last fall we decided that maybe it was time to consider other options.  After we got our basement room renovation completed, we got serious about doing things for the patio since we were now seeing and using it more. In the process of getting things situated in the garage, Jeff decided that he needed a small garden shed for all his yard equipment and tools and that nice, level corner of the yard was the perfect place to put it. However, that forever eliminated the option of putting back the pool and left us with a decent sized piece of yard that looked quite pitiful. It was flower garden time!

We had some lattice work on the side of the patio acting as a screen between the patio where our table and chairs were sitting and that lovely little corner of yard. When the pool was there it was fine, but since we wanted to put in something pretty we wanted to be able to see it, so Jeff cut three arches in the lattice to serve as window. One of the pieces we cut out was then mounted on the garden shed to add some detail and serve as a sort of background for our fountain. Jeff had bought this long before he ever met me, but never moved it from his mother's house because we never had another place to put it until now.

Then we created the garden itself. We made four beds around the perimeter with two openings that serve as entry points - one to the yard and one to the patio. The beds were lined with pavers and filled in with dirt. The area inside the beds was filled with pea gravel and 4 larger stepping stones. Inside the beds, we chose a variety of different plants and flowers. On the lattice wall, we got a jasmine vine. As it climbs the lattice it will hopefully surround those "windows." We also got a St. Francis bird feeder. (Apparently the chipmunks are quite fond of it because I always see them running past the door when Patches is inside and while most of the bird seed is staying, the sunflower seeds are being picked out!)

In the bed by the fence is a bush that is supposed to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. It is supposed to be a spring-blooming plant so it was on sale. I don't expect it to make it through the summer, but right now it's nice and I'm looking forward to seeing what it draws in next year. We also put a couple of (what are now small) cypress trees in the corners. Hanging on the fence we moved an old iron hook we found in the woods where someone had tossed it with a hanging basket. Right now it has miniature pansies, but I'm sure it'll get changed out periodically.

In the bed by the fountain we put some bushes that are supposed to grow to a "medium" size and will fill in under the fountain. Like most of the beds, it also got some ground cover/filler flowers that will add some color.

The bed by the yard has some flowers in it, although one is about dead because Patches has decided he likes to water that one himself! We'll probably eventually dig it up and replace it with a small statue of a fire hydrant! We put some light fencing on the yard-side of that bed just to keep the dogs from running straight through it and give it some definition. It looks very nice.

We put a small iron bench on the gravel that is big enough for two people. It's the perfect place to sit and think. I just hate that it's so blooming hot now! Still, in the evenings it's a nice place. Obviously it's not in this picture, but you can figure out where it goes.

I love that we can see this area from the patio and the hot tub. The fountain is on a timer so it's not running all the time, but it does turn on in the afternoon/evening which is when we are generally outside anyway. And in case you are wondering about the spare piece of lattice between the fence and the shed, we used that L-shaped area around the shed to make a sort of "play pen" for Cocoa. She now has a secure area outside where I can leave her during the day so she doesn't have to be inside in her crate for hours on end.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

This summer Jeff and I decided to plant some jalapenos in the garden. I put one little plant up near the kitchen and for the most part, that was all we needed. Jeff put several plants down in the big garden and we suddenly found ourselves over-run with peppers. Jeff wanted jalapeno poppers. I made them, he loved them. I like the cream cheese in the middle but am not interested in the pepper outside. So I started thinking about it, and decided to give the dip a try.

I mixed a block of softened cream cheese with about half a cup of sour cream (you could probably also use mayo), one diced jalapeno, and some cooked and crumbled bacon. Then put it all in an oven-safe dish and bake.

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It needed something. I'm not sure what, but I'm guessing extra spices. I have some left over, so I will probably continue to play with it for at least a day or two!

Making a Splash

Today I decided to go for a little adventure and check out the Helena Market Days! It was very small, maybe 10 or 12 vendors, but everything was really nice. I was surprised that, in addition to the fresh produce, there was other stuff like soap, herbed vinegars, goat cheese, and quilted wine carriers! Next week I'll be getting several things. The cooking demo was fun, although I was less than impressed today because all they did was bruschetta! Oh well, I'll be back next week!

While I was there, I ran into a friend with his two boys. The boys had been asking to play in the creek, so they came prepared today with swimsuits and towels. Well, after a little while, one of the boys wanted his daddy to get in with him, but he couldn't because he had a bandage on his foot that he didn't want to get wet so I said I would go with him. The water only came to my knees and I had shorts on, so it wasn't that big a deal until he wanted to get a little closer to the waterfall.

Just in case you're wondering, the rocks get quite slippery and some of them are pretty steep. Needless to say I landed rather un-gracefully on my rear end in the creek. Fortunately I had a wonderful time splashing and playing so it was totally worth having a wet rear end! Note to self- next time wear the workout shorts!

Seriously though, if you are in the area and looking for something to do on a Saturday morning, I highly recommend it! It'll keep going all summer!

Garden 2011

Well, now that it's nice and warm, we decided it was time to get the garden going again.

The first task was the flowers for the front of the house. We got some nice new hanging baskets last year so we filled them with petunias. We also decided we need something for the bed around the mailbox so I got some lavender. Unfortunately, it still looks kind of puny so I'll have to get some other stuff to go out there, too. I also got a pot of African daisies to go on the front porch just because they were pretty.

For the herb garden I picked out some dill and some chives. My rosemary and thyme survived the winter. The rosemary got re-potted (finally!) and the thyme is still hanging out. I am thinking I will get some tarragon or sage, I'm not sure which yet. I may also put some peppers in, but I've not decided. I guess I'll wait and see what looks good the next time I'm out.

For the vegetable garden we got the usuals - tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, and peppers. We also got some cabbage and Jeff is going to start some more pole beans from seed. We'll probably also get a watermelon vine if we can find any!

And I also got my replacement rose bush! I thought I wanted one with big roses since the other one is little pink roses, but this was a really neat hybrid of three colors, so I got it and I'm really loving it. The picture is my "old" rose bush from last year, but it just looks so pretty I couldn't help but share! It's the best looking of anything right now. I'll post more pictures once stuff starts looking better!

Garden Update

Here is a little update on the garden. It's been really rewarding to watch things grow and develop and to be able to cultivate a part of creation.

The herbs look pitiful because they got all dried out and sad while we were in Branson. The cilantro never did take off and we had to just cut it off and hope it comes back next year. If not, we'll get some more and try again.

The mint seems to have some kind of fungus because most of it is sad looking. The basil has done really well, but got sickly when it dried out and lost a lot of leaves. It is coming back, but it will take a while. The rosemary and thyme have done really well and I have enjoyed using them. They seem to be multiplying. I think I'm going to have to transplant the thyme before it takes over! Anyone need any thyme?

The tomatoes in the patio garden did well early, but also dried out while we were on vacation and are coming back, but I don't think we'll get as many as we did last year. The tomatoes in the big garden haven't done all that well for some reason.

The peppers have done ok but haven't really taken off like we expected. We have gotten bell peppers and banana peppers, but not a ton of either which I guess is a good thing. I was hoping for more bell peppers to be able to freeze, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.

The onions never did come up. I don't know if they didn't take or got choked out or what.

The radishes and carrots have done pretty well. They weren't excessive so we will probably do them again.

The cucumbers absolutely EXPLODED. Jeff's cucumber cage did well and gave them a place to climb, but now they are all over each other and it's really tightly wound and actually kind of hard to get into to pick the cucumbers. I'm going to have to make some more pickles again soon!

The pumpkins did pretty well for a while, but because of the pool and being trampled by Patches, they are now dying. Oh well!

The pole beans climbed and did what they were supposed to do but simply haven't produced like we expected (as you can tell by the photo and the one lonely bean in the basket of cucumbers). Since we haven't had enough to actually cook, we are saving them as seed for next year.

The watermelons also exploded. We have lots of baby watermelons so we are going to have a lot more watermelon than we will know what to do with! I haven't had any watermelon yet this summer because I'm waiting for ours, so they better be big and sweet and beautiful!

If you need some produce, please let me now. I'm happy for this stuff to go to new homes. And if you have any tips or tricks for improving what we have, I'd love to hear them! Happy Cultivating!

Veggie Veggie Fruit Fruit

We finally have an honest-to-goodness vegetable garden growing in our back yard. Currently, we have a few different kinds of tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, bell peppers, pickling cucumbers, radishes, carrots, green onions, and pole beans in our raised beds along with watermelon and some kind of squash (we think pumpkins) that are off to the side.

Some of the tomatoes were acquired from Jeff's step-dad and his attempt at growing things in his new greenhouse. Unfortunately, he didn't install a fan and did several things wrong and fried most of his plants so we had to supplement with some purchased plants. The same is true of the peppers. The watermelon and pumpkins(?) came from the greenhouse. We are a little skeptical of the pumpkins true identity because they weren't terribly well marked and Jeff swears the leaves look different. I'm just now getting to where I can tell the general plant families apart!

The cucumbers and pole beans came straight from Lowes. I want to try my hand at making pickles this year and Jeff wants the beans (so I may be canning beans, too!) I also have visions of salsa swimming through my head. I may try to slip in a jalapeno plant, but we'll have to wait and see how our other hot peppers do.

The radishes, carrots, and green onions are seeds so very little is visible so far. I don't really have any plans for them at this point. We'll have to wait and see how they do.

Our garden is going to be a constant work in progress. We are hopeful about adding a "fruit cocktail" tree, a thornless blackberry bush, strawberries, and maybe some other things. I really want a lemon tree but that is still being debated.

As for the patio garden, it is doing well. I have a very healthy bunch of rosemary, thyme, cilantro, basil, and mint. I still want to add sage, tarragon, chives, dill, and maybe some lavender. I'm going to need some more pots...

Roses

I have always loved roses. They are absolutely beautiful and smell great and have a special place in my heart. And not necessarily roses in a vase or an arrangement (although I do like those too!) but rose bushes. Although my dad always had a vegetable garden growing up, we never had flower gardens. When Jeff was getting the house all ready he spent a lot of time and money on flowers for the front - geraniums in hanging baskets for the front porch, boxwood and variegated ivy for pots by the front steps, and impatients around the mailbox to name a few. He has always said he hated dealing with roses, so I was really shocked when he came home with two dormant rose plants.

I was more than a little irritated when he planted my herb garden without any input or help from me and wasn't shy about letting him know this. I appreciated his buying me herbs and wanting to help me get them planted, but that was supposed to be mine. So being the kind and loving husband he is, he agreed to let me help pot the roses. They are easier to manage in pots rather than in the ground, so we put them in a couple of really large (32 qt) pots.

I don't have pictures of this step by step because I was up to my elbows in dirt and it really wasn't all that exciting anyway.

First thing we did was put about 2-3 inches of pine mulch in the bottom of the pot and shake it a little to distribute it evenly (using lightweight pots makes this much easier!)

The pine mulch was topped by a layer of somewhat sandy "organic" soil (translation - containing compost). Not a solid layer, just 2 or 3 good handfuls sprinkled around.

Then dump in a few inches of soil. We used miracle grow flower and vegetable soil, but potting soil would also work well. Mix the sandy stuff into the miracle grow, then dump in a lot more soil. You don't want the pot totally full, just leave about 6 inches below the rim of the pot. Give it a shake to get it approximately even.

Now, make sure your rose plant is pulled from the package. There should be some good, moist soil that falls off as you remove the plastic. This is good because it means the soil is moist and fabulous, not all caked together and petrified. Try not to waste any of that good soil, get it into the pot too!

Dig a hole almost as tall as the root ball and stick it on in there, being careful of the thorns. Pack the dirt down around it so it's very secure. You should need to add some more dirt and pack that down too. Just make sure to watch out for the little place where the plant meets the root. That is your landmark - make sure you can always see that part! It needs to be able to get air. If you got the dirt too high, don't despair, just move it a little.

Now that your soil is all in there and packed down, top it with a bit more pine mulch, particularly around the edge of the pot and then gently spread it inwards. This will help absorb and hold moisture while protecting the dirt from baking in the sun.

Now, move your pot to a place where it can get the recommended amount of sun. Just look on the tag of the plant you bought! Be careful if you put your pot on grass instead of concrete - the root can grow through the bottom of the pot!

Once ours are no longer dormant and we have some pretty flowers, I'll post pictures!

Gardening

I am not a farm girl. I have never really had to work the land or grow my own food. Working outside in the sun and the dirt has never been something that appealed to me. But recently I have discovered the amazingness of watching something grow in a garden.

I'm sure you may be wondering how you grow stuff in a garden when you live in a second floor condo. Well, we received an upside-down patio garden as a wedding gift and planted a few things. We weren't really sure what to expect, but we decided we would just be thrilled if everything survived, we weren't expecting a whole lot to be produced.

We have been amazed by the output from this tiny little plastic tower. We were able to put in one banana pepper plant, one basil plant, one parsley plant, and three tomato plants. So far we have gotten a dozen tomatoes off the three plants, with at least a dozen more still on the vine yet to be ripe. We have gotten more banana peppers than we can count! There are at least a dozen in the fridge and two dozen more on the plant at this moment. The parsley is all over the place, I'll never use it all. And my basil plant has turned into a TREE! We've had to cut off at least half of it and just throw it out because it was choking out everything else. 

I had a small thyme plant but it was kind of sickly looking from the very beginning and the parsley and basil exploded so fast that it couldn't get any sun and it died. Oh well, maybe next time!

In addition to sitting back and watching everything grow, I've actually enjoyed the work of maintaining the garden. Jeff does the watering when it doesn't rain and will spray for bugs if we need it, but I go through and pick off the dead or eaten leaves. And it's actually really rewarding. 

I want to have a few more things when I have some more room. I still want some thyme (I'll just know not to put it too close to the basil or the parsley!) and I would love a rosemary bush, but that would definitely have to go in the ground and not into a pot!