it's been a while

I kind of lost interest in keeping this blog going- I don't seem to have many readers, and nobody to talk about plants with. Didn't feel the need to track when things get started for the right timing to go in the ground and such (as reminders to myself) anymore. And then I had a setback, minor car accident, sprained ankle, on crutches for three weeks- so things got shoddy out there. Overgrown, neglected. 

However today I finally was able to go out again (my ankle strapped, I'm allowed to do "light walking" now) And there are things to note.

First, here's a picture from months ago. After our spring heat wave, it cooled off again and I actually got a decent amount of lettuce. We had fresh salads for weeks, plus I gave some away. The heads were beautiful thick green rosettes in the garden.

Where the lettuces came out, I planted the tomatoes. They had waited too long, some lower leaves were wilting so I pulled those off. And then remembering a tip from a gardener I read, removed more lower leaf petioles, planted the tomatoes deeply, burying half the stem. Watered on planting, then left them alone for ten days. This encourages stronger root system and what do you know, I think it worked. I have only been out to water once since (due to being laid up) and the rain has been enough- the tomaoto plants look fantastic. I tied them up once to some poles, they are sturdier than usual too. Either the deep planting and witholding water at the start helped, or the soil was richer than usual.

My turnips are also doing great. We've been eating them- made a new dish just last night. Turnips simmered until tender, mashed with onions and a bit of sugar, stirred w/eggs and baked in the oven. Surprisingly good. It's the first year I've actually had good turnips- not dry or tough. Even the bigger ones I pull are tender when I slice them up, almost buttery. And they're still not bothered by much, out in the garden!

Can't say the same for other things. I went out to cut greens for dinner and instead cut and heaped most of the entire bed of chard into the compost pile. It was all mottled pale sickly from leaf hoppers. (Why are such aggravating pests so darn cute? This year they're dark grayish purple with bright blue or red eyes). I could only keep the youngest unblemished leaves to cook with, but hope that a lot of the leaf hoppers got removed with the mass of chard foliage, smothered under leaf mulch and grass clippings in the hot compost pile!

My beets are swarming with whitefly. I cleaned up the worst pale and dead foliage, doused them with soapy water, but need to go get some actual insecticide. In the next bed over, garlics have all fallen over, and scapes are reaching tall. But I don't think they're ready to pull yet. Not enough watering? Too much heat? 

I removed all the pea plants- saving some for next year's seed. Of the shelling peas, there was only enough for one meal. However, they were really good! Into those empty beds today I planted out the cowpeas (to grow up the trellis), bush beans (only two, the rest succumbed to heat and neglect while still in pots), two yellow summer squash, and a third of the amaranth 'calaloo' seedlings. The rest are still too small for transplanting. 

Then planted out on the sunny sideyard my few tithonias for the year. And I only have three cardinal climbers, which is sad. A few weeks ago my husband saw a hummingbird come by and scout around the deck. But my cardinal climbers weren't planted out, and I think the black and blue salvia isn't flowering yet either, so there was nothing here for it.

It is nice to still see the wrens, robins, sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds and grey catbirds busy around the yard and garden. And the skinks! They come upon the deck. I only have one cucumber plant that survived the period of neglect, it's in a deck pot. My carrots aren't doing too great in pots, they keep drying out if I am not able to get out and water. My sweet peas died. 

But I am glad that the rosemary and stevia survived the winter, and this year the fenugreek I planted is doing well. I have it by the sliding door to the deck and often bend to catch its scent when going in or out. Summer savory in the deck planters is doing great, and parsley- have been using both. Most of the herbs have come back well- thyme came through the winter indoors, sculpit and tarragon out in the garden have grown, I did plant one new sage because the old two didn't survive the transplant when I added broken rock to the perennial bed. And my green onions all failed. The older ones never regrew this year, I started a few new but they died.

I like the catmint (not same as catnip) in the garden, so this spring when I had to trim it back (sprawling all over into the space where collards grow) I stuck a bunch of cuttings into little water jars to try for new plants. I had over a dozen cuttings, but only three actually grew roots. The rest just got moldy. (I did change the water out, but probably not often enough). Those three got planted today too- two against the fence between the patch of joe pye weed and the row of shiso (which is looking nice). At least I think it's shiso. Maybe this year I'll get brave enough to try eating it. The third one I put also against the fence but in the back, between the yarrow (tall and floweirng now!) and my kinda sad camellia. 

It was nice to see a bright glitter of blue skittering around- the small brilliantly colored wasps that frequent my joe pye weed, and are predators of japanese beetles.

One of my jacob's ladder plants has grown so much, doubled in height! and it had the most beautiful sky-blue/violet flowers. But the other one is overshadowed by yellow salvia spreading out from under the skirts of hydrangea nearby. I thought it had died but found it getting smothered. Pulled out some of the salvia to give it room. I'm going to have to start thinning that stuff more.

That's my update.

more plants out, and 4th sowing

A few days ago I planted out parsley, dill and chervil. Parsley into planter boxes on the deck railing, chervil into deck pots, half the dill in deck pots and the rest in a garden bed, alongside the arugula (which has gone bitter now) and chard.

Last year was not a good one for summer savory, but this year looks promising! So many little seedlings I am probably going to double them up in pots, and discard the smallest.

Only eight tithonia seeds sprouted, but I got a whole thirty marigolds. Which is fewer than normal, and just enough to handle. I went ahead and potted them all up.

Moved basils to pots too- these are the purple aromatto.

More stuff got pricked out of seedling trays and potted today: blue sage (fewer than I'd like- only six)

Clary sage- saved from seeds on plants I bought at the nursery last year, then planted out just too late for the flowers to be enjoyed in the yard. But now I'll have plenty!

Mishap: my two fenugreek seedlings died one day when it got too hot in the mini greenhouse. I sowed borage in the empty tray, but then a far-too-tiny seedling sprouted the very next day. I think this is one of the fenugreek that hadn't sprouted the first time around.

A while back I sowed two large trays with over a dozen seeds from a cedar shrub (small tree?) that grew in my mother's yard. I'd harvested those seeds 12 years ago, wasn't sure any would sprout. Stratified them in cold, between a layer of damp sand in fridge for month and a half. Only one came up, so I am really trying to be careful with it!

Also potted one culinary sage- I'd sowed five or six seed but only got one. My sage out in the garden hasn't shown signs of growth. Also no sign of green onions yet this spring, I sowed a tray of that too. And two trays of celosia, to put out in the mailbox spot where nothing is growing yet.

late summer flowers

 Found one last gladiola blooming on the second sideyard, and brought it inside. Lovely pink salmon.

Tithonia thicket is doing great. Sometimes when I go out to deadhead them, I crouch down in the middle so the plants tower over me, just looking at a wall of green leaves, flowers, insects droning, and piece of blue sky. Even though there's the road and another house just a few yards away, it feels for a moment like a secret place. Like the feeling I'd get the other year when pole beans grew up to the garage wall making a green narrow space behind, to stand back there felt secret and peaceful.

A few very new-looking monarchs have appeared. There's one in the middle here on a tithonia but I couldn't get close with the camera, it kept flitting up. The few stalks of milkweed here are bare now, but looks like at least one caterpillar made it to pupate!

Now the borage is all pulled out and celosia "combflower" is thick around the mailbox. I didn't plant them this year, they just came up on their own from dropped seed. There was one plant with yellow that I cut the flower heads off (I prefer the red, pink and cream ones). In gaps I've put cuttings of cuban oregano. I do like to think it keeps the dogs away- the scent is very strong, almost unpleasant even to me. Sometimes I sit at my desk upstairs and glance every time someone walks by with a dog. Nine times out of ten now, they don't pause, and if they do, it's brief.

Beautyberry is starting to show off- its glowing purple fruit like jewelry on the stems.

final sowing

I started in pots today zucchini, cucumber, cantaloupe, bush green beans and cowpeas. They're on the lowest shelf of the greenhouse, door propped wide open so it doesn't overheat. Won't need a hardening off period, and really it's just to get the seed sprouted, then they go straight in the ground. So the squirrel doesn't dig up and eat the seeds immediately! 

Yesterday was a bit cloudy and today is due to rain, so I planted out: tarragon and salad burnet into the herb bed

Tithonias onto the empty sideyard, below where I buried the gladiola bulbs and above where I transplanted three wide-leaved common milkweed last week.

Two new england asters, also on that hillside, surrounded by a ring of stones so I don't forget where they are and step on them, they're so small yet.

Three hollyhock mallow aka zebrina flower, against the fence by the garden.

This purplish plant I bought on a whim and now can't remember the name of. Between the pots of limelight coleus, and the espresso geranium alongside the stairs.

Under the large holly bush, I tucked the persian shield plants in a few gaps between the dark heucherellas,

and a row of rooted tradescantia zebrina cuttings in front of that. Just for fun, to see how they do.

Edged that area with stones discarded from my husband's fossil-hunting. It's kind of my purple corner now.

And inside, I potted up some of my younger african violets. Most of these were still in those moldering paper cups, before.

two things from outside in-

My tithonias still come in for the night sometimes. I'm waiting impatiently for it to stay above seventy, so I can plant them out on the very bare, second sunny sideyard now. Pleased to see since their repotting in better soil, all the ones that were doing poorly have recovered. 

Been cutting peonies to bring in the house. Sweet scents galore.

and on the deck

Lowest temp was just above 60° last night, so my tomatoes spent their first overnight in the coldframe.

Some of them are starting to look better- and even flower already

My older set of marigolds are flowering 

and one nasturtium, although its leaves are small and few

I cut down the tops of citrus geranium, and replanted in its same pot

Have decided that, even though I like folding paper pots for seedlings (mainly because it's two forms of recycling- reusing brown paper packing and brown paper bags as pots, then tearing them up to compost in the bin after the plants are grown out), I am going to ease up on that and hoard more small nursery pots (or even buy a ton of them) instead. Because the plants just do better in more spacious, plastic pots. The smaller herbs seem to do okay in folded paper pots- but I'm guessing because they dry out quicker and crowd the roots more, a lot of my plants don't. Like the tithonias. In nursery pots:

In paper pots- sad:

maybe soon enough

I will not feel like posting pictures here anymore. Had no desire to trudge across the soggy backyard to photograph the moved hostas this morning, although later I went out and gave them two gallons of water, then lopped the green flowerheads off the stinkin' hellebores because they were falling over and I figured better lessen the shock. I've also recently done a swap (or, my husband did for me, driving a ways) of hellebore seedlings, have a dozen new ones to plant two are more foetida the others are rose and purple colors I don't have their names in my head but they are tagged. Today I moved into proper pots all the cardinal climbers 

and half the tithonias (then ran out of pots again).

One extra parsley, the salad burnet and the mexican tarragon got moved into paper pots a week ago. I've tossed some of the older, or pathetic-looking coleus to move rooted cuttings into pots, 'kiwi fern' and 'exhibition limelight'. 

Next task will be to repot more tithonias, pot up the chervil, and move into real pots some of my baby violets that have outgrown their paper cups. I'm out of potting soil though, so will make a trip to the nursery in a few days- and maybe actually buy some plastic three or four-inch pots then. Which I haven't done in ages. But I did notice the parsley in those did much better than the ones in my folded paper pots. More root space.

the garden is moving

faster than I can, these days- my recent trays all sprouted- there's only one of the salad burnet came up but that will be plenty for me

Tithonia already showing their first set of true leaves

Cardinal climber delight me with their double-lobed triangular appearance. I have a new trellis to grow them on! (Not the one pictured before- my husband bought me a new, taller, sturdier one)

I noticed when the leaves first unfolded they were rather yellowish and I thought looked sickly- but they soon greened up fine

 I have plenty more plants large enough to go in the ground but waiting for milder night temperatures and an overcast day. Forsythia has bloomed- bright and bold this year in the far corner of the yard- so time to plant out the lettuces soon as I'm able.

 and then onward to start more seeds!

green life

New green on both clematis- the one that flowers pink

and the purple:

New plants! I bought a few from a fellow gardener who was dividing clumps- some old-fashioned chrysanthemums, which I put by the tree that's no longer there. Realized when I was done it's right where one of my hostas grows. (I didn't run into the hosta with the trowel). No matter- these hostas will have to be moved anyway once they show above ground.

and this groundcover called sweet woodruff. Looked at photos and I wonder if it's related to the sweet alyssum. She said to plant just lay pieces on the ground where you want it and toss good soil over, it will root. That sounds suspiciously easy to me- as in it could be an aggressive spreader. Looked more up- seems like it can become invasive in a sunny area, growing in shade tends to stay put. Which is where I've placed it.

I found a bit of the lady's mantle peeking out of the mulch- tiny leaves no bigger than the ball of my thumb. And I thought it was dead! Also nearby a few seedlings I think (hopefully) are from the stinkin' hellebore.

Last of all- in the house- a few new trays of seedlings sprouted. Tithonia

and cardinal climber looks like they're all coming up.

third sowing

Chervil, salad burnet, cardinal climber, tithonia and wormwood. Also direct-sowed strawbery spinach- trying again with that one.

final cleanup

At least, it feels like one. Last night was in the twenties, some plants had their last moments. I cleared out all the stems of coleus, most of the marigolds, the remaining basil pots. Took down the untidy support for cardinal climber vine, pulled out of the garden the wilted sunberry (which got trashed, as it had first whitefly then aphids galore- but nearly everything else chopped for the compost pile) and the amaranth. Last week tithonia got cut down, and I saved a few seedheads

So the garden beds are mostly empty now except for a bit of bright green in the lettuce bed, some lingering chard

a bit to my surprise, the tokyo bekana is still growing nicely

and of course the herb bed- lavender is the prettiest.

I haven't cut back the rue yet-

and the turtlehead stand is nice to look at with its fall fade and yellow/brown colors

together- 

There's also still borage- it's pretty tough!

The nicotiana remains green both in the garden bed

and a pot. I've cut off the wilted flowers and the photos are diff colors because taken at diff times of day

Up on the deck only a few pots are still alive- the chocolate mint

ginger mint

parsley

and kale- but just barely. Soon they'll be done, too.

Hyssop is holding up pretty well- here's two views of that planter

Kinda funny how it grew all sideways leaning out