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May 4, 2005 |
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Heavy Frost again this morning. I just hope today isn't as windy as yesterday, so that I can comfortably work in the gardens. I did get some perennials divided and potted, and made up lots of colorful baskets for Mothers'Day. Found a few mushrooms, but didn't really have time to look except in the Shade Garden as I was working. My deck garden at home is fabulous. Now the mid-size irises are coming into bloom, adding dark purple and apricot tones to the orange lily tulips, golden foliaged perennials, white narcissus, yellow species tulips and grape hyacinths. The yellow columbines add height. I need to deadhead the finished daffodils and mark some clumps for dividing once the foliage has ripened. Today I hope to take cuttings of all the tall phlox, shear the mums, and divide more daylilies. They are getting tall, but I just didn't have time to do it earlier. Fortunately, daylilies are tough! Always lots to do! |
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May 1, 2005 |
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The Cook's Garden has been planted with parsley, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, violas, onions, snow peas, chard, lettuces and other cold-tolerant crops. It looks so neat and tidy now, and soon the chives will be blooming. The strawberry plants are full of bloom, but we have not had weather for the bees to be out pollinating, so I don't know how good the crop will be. The cherry trees have been blooming, too, but again, I doubt the bees have been able to accomplish much, as they only work when the temp is above 60 and it is not raining. Very few hours have fit that criteria while the blooms have been open.
The lavender field is looking good. Looks like nearly every plant made it through the winter, although a few may have lost some material on their west sides, where the winter wind beats on them for months. All in all, I'm pleased, but fighting the dandelions, who want to take over the field!
My deck garden still looks fantastic. The late lilly tulips are lovely, bright orange. Lots of fragrant "Geranium" narcissus and dwarf irises are blooming, and the columbines are beginning to open. The golden foliage of some of the perennials (Centurea "Gold Boullion", Coreopsis "Tequila Sunrise", Phlox "Becky Towe", Heuchera "Amber Wabes") are adding a lot of interest, too. I need to add one of the Golden Bleeding Hearts from the sales area. I just noticed how lovely they are yesterday, and thought "One of you needs to go home with me!" Oh, the joys of owning my own plant store! |
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April 27, 2005 |
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April, the cruelest month! Days of lovely weather lull us into a false sense of Spring, the BAM! Mother Nature throws a temper tantrum and sends two days of snow, blustery winds, and cold, cold, cold. The barn became another plant house, as we moved hundreds of flats indoors for the cold weekend, then back out again. Hopefully, we won't have to do that again, but our frost-free date is not until May 10th, so we have to wait and see. Meanwhile, we are potting plants like crazy, adding dozens of new varieties to the sales area every day. I spend some time every day trying to get the dandelions out of the lavender field, since it is the only garden we can work in with all the rain we've been having. I love dandelions in salads, and wilted with bacon, onion, and diced potatoes, but I can't eat the hundreds that are popping up. If I had time, I'd pick blooms to make dandelion wine. I will make a batch of dandelion fritters tonight. Since I don't have time to go mushroom hunting, they're the next best thing!
My deck garden continues to be my joy and respite during this hectic season. The early daffodils and crocuses have been replaced by the late tulips and hyacinths, so the garden is still scrumptious! The hellebores are lovely--I need more of those here. And, the columbines are nearly ready to open, so when the tulips are gone, they will replace them in the composition. I wish I had all the farm gardens done as well as this garden. Maybe someday! |
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April 16, 2005 |
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What a beautiful day! We've been blessed with several sunny, warm days in a row, and the plants really appreciate it, as do we! I can just see the growth difference from watering in the morning, and then looking at the same plants in the evening. Sometimes there's more than 3 new leaves in one day! Things are popping into bloom, so there'e lots of color on the sales benches now. The daffodils are at their peak in the gardens. I'm hoping they last till Susan Albert's visit next Tuesday evening, but I have my doubts, especially if it stays warm and no rain. My deck garden has hellebores, frittilarias, tulips, hyacinths, primroses, dwarf irises joining the dozen varieties of daffodils, so it is quite a lovely sight. Too bad I don't have more time to enjoy it, but these days I live at the farm!
We've started working in the gardens a bit, and hope to do some planting this coming week. The chickweed is blooming, as well as the henbit, and if one doesn't remove them before they seed, a garden is blessed with tens of thousands more during the summer! They are rampant seeders! We also had our first mowing of the lawns, and it is amazing how a good mowing sets the gardens off visually. We still have 2 areas to clean up ice storms branches! |
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