Now that it has cooled off and we’ve gotten some rain, my garden is looking better than ever.  The only failure is the day lilies. There is a whole line of them, but they are under some pine trees. Our peonies were there also and last year I performed a rescue mission to move them since they were not getting enough sun. The same thing is happening with the lilies – and someone has been snacking on the leaves. There was one flower, but I didn’t get to it with my camera soon enough.

I was excited to see my black-eyed Susans up and awake. We’ve had trouble with these over the years. Twice people have tried to pull them out, thinking they were weeds. I’m happy to see they are making a comeback. They always make me think of a restaurant on Nantucket of the same name!

My hydrangea is out of control as usual.

Now that it has cooled off and we’ve gotten some rain, my garden is looking better than ever.  The only failure is the day lilies. There is a whole line of them, but they are under some pine trees. Our peonies were there also and last year I performed a rescue mission to move them … Read more →

Despite the heat wave, parts of my garden are thriving and I wanted to share them. How is your garden faring?

 

Despite the heat wave, parts of my garden are thriving and I wanted to share them. How is your garden faring?  

Two pieces of exciting news in our garden. The rose bush we planted flowered and looks great. And (drumroll please!) our apple trees have little tiny apples on them! This was simply thrilling for me!

Two pieces of exciting news in our garden. The rose bush we planted flowered and looks great. And (drumroll please!) our apple trees have little tiny apples on them! This was simply thrilling for me!

Once a year we have a gardening weekend, when the beds get cleaned up, mulched and each year I plant some new things. I have about a 75% success rate it seems, but I keep trying. The butterfly bush I planted last year didn’t make it. Some flowers didn’t make it and the deer were after my tulips. The good news was the peonies we transplanted made it and some came up from the spot we moved them from, so we’ve moved those too. The apple trees were my biggest success from last year – both made it.

You may notice in the photos that the side of the house is a mess – we’re in the middle of having it re-sided.

I’ll post photos later in the season once everything is flowering.

The herb garden has some new additions this year. I planted lemon grass and watercress (I am doubtful that will make it, but I’m trying). I didn’t have to buy parsley this year – it came up itself. My oregano has always come up on its own, but not this year, so I had to buy some.

I’ve still got some problem areas. We had a bush in front of our front porch die so there’s a big gaping hole I need to fill and we’re slowly trying to fill in a giant oval shaped garden at the side of our front yard. It’s so big and the deer eat a lot from it.  We have a problem area along one line of our property where it was just horrible overgrown shrubs. We cleaned it out last year and this year planted two things there so maybe it will start to look decent soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once a year we have a gardening weekend, when the beds get cleaned up, mulched and each year I plant some new things. I have about a 75% success rate it seems, but I keep trying. The butterfly bush I planted last year didn’t make it. Some flowers didn’t make it and the deer were … Read more →

We (ok, my husband) has been working hard at keeping our gardens from getting away from us. We are determined not to let weeds get the better of us this year. A big problem has been how dry it has been. We have not had any real rain for weeks. We’ll get thunderstorms rolling through, but end up with only a sprinkle, yet enough noise to freak out our dog Merlin who now has an anti-anxiety prescription for it!

Things are looking really good in the gardens. I only have a few things that are flowering right now, so I thought I would share those as well as

one major disaster we’ve had.

We (ok, my husband) has been working hard at keeping our gardens from getting away from us. We are determined not to let weeds get the better of us this year. A big problem has been how dry it has been. We have not had any real rain for weeks. We’ll get thunderstorms rolling through, … Read more →

We joined a CSA this year so we could get local, organic vegetables. So far it has been spectacular. I am rarely able to use it all up in one week. We’ve enjoyed many types of greens (tat soi, vitamin greens, arugula, spinach, kale), lots of lettuce, cukes, kohlrabi, squash, broccoli, scallions, chard, turnips, and more. This week something new started: u-pick. You can help yourself to as much as you want in the u-pick fields that is ready for picking. They put little signs with labels so you know what is ready. This week it was herbs and cutting flowers. I planted my own herb garden this year (which is much handier because I can just pop out the back door and grab what I need for dinner each night), but I don’t have any dill, so I picked a bunch of that and some flowers (daisies and black-eyed Susans).

It was so fun to walk back into the fields and cut what I

wanted.  I’m already wondering what will be ready next week! And in the meantime, I need to roast the beets I picked up today so we can use them in a salad.

Heading back in the fields made me think of my grandfather, who was a farmer and built a successful greenhouse business with his brother, now run by my uncle.  By the time I came along, everything was grown in the greenhouses, but I did go with my grandfather to pick corn in his brother’s field a few times. The CSA fields aren’t far from my grandfather’s fields. On the way home I was wondering what he would think. I can hear him saying “Why cripe, why don’t you just plant it in your own backyard?”

We joined a CSA this year so we could get local, organic vegetables. So far it has been spectacular. I am rarely able to use it all up in one week. We’ve enjoyed many types of greens (tat soi, vitamin greens, arugula, spinach, kale), lots of lettuce, cukes, kohlrabi, squash, broccoli, scallions, chard, turnips, and … Read more →

If you’ve been following along, you might remember The Great Garden Debacle of 2009. Martha convinced me I needed to garden. I started seeds inside and planted them and had them all wiped out by frost. Then I bought some plants and had an invasion of creatures and ended up not getting much out of my garden at all. It was a sad Martha attempt. We do not have green thumbs – or maybe we just don’t have the time and patience needed to grow a garden. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to have fresh produce at my fingertips. My dad plants a huge garden and I am always thrilled to bring home what it produces. I’ve also had success in the past with container gardening.

One of things I am determined to grow is my own herbs. Martha has sold me on the value, flavor and necessity of fresh herbs. I do have a small herb garden near our deck, but seem to successfully grow only chives and oregano in it. And that is only useful during about half the year here in Buffalo.

Mr. MarthaAndMe bought me one of those aquaponic growers for Christmas. You fill it with water and nutrients and it will grown a variety of herbs and vegetables under UV lights. To get started, he got me an herb assortment. We set the equipment up right after Christmas and now there are a few things sprouting (although I am getting worried – only some of the 8 things seem to be poking their heads up!). I’m hopeful I’ll get some fresh herbs at least and I’ll be very grateful to have them too, considering how expensive they are to buy in tiny little packets in the produce section. Will our black thumbs extend to basement gardening too? I hope not, but please tune in to find out!

If you’ve been following along, you might remember The Great Garden Debacle of 2009. Martha convinced me I needed to garden. I started seeds inside and planted them and had them all wiped out by frost. Then I bought some plants and had an invasion of creatures and ended up not getting much out of … Read more →

Last weekend we planted the seedlings I had been growing in the house for over a month. And immediately we had a serious frost. Almost everything died.  I know Martha has all sorts of frost-prevention items – little paper hats she puts over things, etc. If I had known it was going to have  a frost I would have at least tossed a blanket over the garden, but I had no idea.

So, yesterday we were at Walmart and I grabbed a few replacement plants so we could try again. I have to say this gardening thing is already quite discouraging!

It’s definitely much easier to buy the plants already started than to do it yourself from seeds – sorry Martha!

Last weekend we planted the seedlings I had been growing in the house for over a month. And immediately we had a serious frost. Almost everything died.  I know Martha has all sorts of frost-prevention items – little paper hats she puts over things, etc. If I had known it was going to have  a … Read more →

I’ve committed to spending more time on the gardens this year – flower and vegetable. Here is a before photo of a horrible disaster of a flower garden that has become overrun with weeds. It was just out of control. Now, I am sure Martha would be able to give me exact instructions about how to take control of it. Instead, we did what Martha most likely does – pay someone to do it for us!

Our lawn/garden guy came with a rototiller and tilled it and raked out the weeds, after we dug out the  plants we wanted to save. He mulched it and then we went and replanted the plants and bought a few more. I’m hopeful that it will look decent the rest of the year.

As for the vegetable garden, I started my seeds indoors about a month ago and this weekend we moved the plants outside. We dug up a small part of the yard, covered it with a biodegradable paper and put a fence around it (we have aggressive deer and rabbits).  We’ll see how it does. Part of our problem in the past has been that we take very good care of it but then go on vacation at the end of July/beginning of August and it all goes to hell.

I’ve committed to spending more time on the gardens this year – flower and vegetable. Here is a before photo of a horrible disaster of a flower garden that has become overrun with weeds. It was just out of control. Now, I am sure Martha would be able to give me exact instructions about how … Read more →