jades and oregano

I've rearranged all these little plants.

The three tiny Oreganos moved into a larger pot to keep each other company

so that I could put the quintuplet Jade plants each into its own miniature clay pot.

While I was at it, repotted all the rest of my jade collection. I wanted to try mixing a growing medium particularly for the succulents- half sand and half potting soil. They prefer fast-draining soil. These two are still in their own pots, just with the new soil mix.

The largest one doesn't seem too happy- it had very little root system and felt top-heavy so I trimmed its stems back some.

Of course I had to save its latest babies, I can't help myself. They went into the little scallop-edged pot the quintuplets just vacated.

And the first two that I think of as "the twins" went into a SIP together. They're the only ones I didn't put in a sandy mix, as I'm not sure if the fast-draining soil would properly wick up water from the reservoir? so we'll see how they each do, which one better: sub-irrigated, or sandy potting medium?

spider SIP

I've moved this my smallest clump of young Spider plants into a sub-irrigated planter made from a soda bottle.

My original intention was for the SIP to go inside the red hanging pot, but it was too large. So as the bottle had an hourglass shape, it was simple to tie the hanging apparatus around the reservoir part.

The plant is droopy again, but I hope it will perk up soon. I was curious about the root system of spider plants, having noticed that they have thread-like roots and also fat tuberlike roots. These store water. So they really need to be allowed to dry out before watering again. Also, they like to be rootbound (as does my dracanea). I perhaps made a mistake in repotting the first spider plant I owned so promptly- must remember not to worry about the ones I have now but let them grow and grow to fill the pots their fullest.

first greens

Have started picking Lettuce, nice and fresh. Not quite enough for salads, yet, but we've been using it to garnish burgers, sandwiches, quesadillas and the like.

mini geraniums

My Geranium bonsai hasn't been looking well. I think I've been forgetting to water it often enough; quite a few of the leaves are yellowed. I cleaned off all the dead foliage,

trimmed the roots, gave it fresh potting soil, and a rather severe pruning. I'm actually liking its shape, now.

From above you can see that the branches are all fanning out more or less evenly, which is what I wanted.

The scion, that one doesn't look attractive yet, but I'm willing to be patient. Cut its two biggest stems, to encourage more branching.

bath

I've never resorted to soaking a plant in the sink before, but this seemed the easiest remedy to my ant problem. A steady line of them has been marching to and from the Croton pot on the windowsill; I'm afraid they set up housekeeping in there! The remedy was to submerge the pot in a sink half full of water (this was soapy from some light dishwashing, all the better as soap I believe injures bugs but not plants), pouring some back onto the soil until it was fully saturated, then leave it there for two hours. This is to make sure any eggs or ant larvae get drowned.

Also had to clean the windowsill with vinegar and bleach to erase the ants' scent trail. It seems to have worked. I kept an eye on it the rest of the day. Some ants came and wandered about aimlessly but none found their way back to the Croton (moved to a different spot on the windowsill) and I kept picking up the wanderers and dropping them onto my sundew plant.

greener

The foliage on my Poinsettia continues to grow!

It seems pretty happy in the sub-irrigated pot. I've only had to water it twice since moving it.

tulips

The Tulips are starting to fade. There's one half the size of the rest, a reddish hue. I wonder if it grew from seed the tulips spread? I never saw it before.

bugle blue

The Bugleweed is now blooming in the corner of my front bed

where I tried to dig it out and move it last year!

The spot I moved the plants to, under my front yard trees, has a few that bloomed but the spikes aren't as big, nor the color as good.

I find I much prefer bugleweed to grape hyacinths. The color is bolder, and I don't like the hyacinth foliage that looks like grass overgrown into my flowerbed. Bugleweed foliage lies low to the ground, unobtrusive yet keeping weeds smothered. As long as it doesn't get invasive... which is why I want it mostly in the beds around the trees, which have higher walls to keep it contained.

blue uncurling

Delighted to find my blue Hosta coming up strong near the back patio. I pulled all the weeds away from around them and spread a generous mulch of black coffee grounds. Last year the slugs got to them early, but this time I haven't seen much sign of nibbling yet. (I was worried last fall they had a disease, but look very healthy. I think now it was just the usual autumn dieback, which I usually didn't pay attention to).

Also spread coffee grounds around the two Echinacea plants I have- yes, there's two! Another one survived next to the daylily corner by the driveway. They seem to be pretty hardy- next year I'm determined to start more from seed and grow them all over the place. Look how much this one has come along already.

Getting coffee grounds from the coffeshops nearby is going well. I tried at a few places; at one they wouldn't hold them for me and some other gardener got there first on occasion, wasting my trip (none are very close to the house). Another one inside a grocery store found it inconvenient to collect them for me, said they didn't have space to keep it until I came to pick up. But one the situation is working well- I drop off a five-gallon bucket and pick it up a day or two later, full to the top of black crumbly rich-smelling goodness. The guy there is always perfectly cheerful about it, too. Today I dropped it off and he just said: "the bucket?" and I said "yep, I'll be back for it tomorrow!"

I love being able to open the bucket and look around the yard trying to decide who will benefit next. I've spread grounds on most of the vegetable beds, the rhubarb and strawberries, and now am giving some to flowers and ornamentals. I think the next bucketful will go on the strawberry bed again, as the dark color there is starting to fade and soon fruit will be forming that needs protection from slugs. I like spreading grounds so much better than tending beer traps- and it smells lovely, too! (I always did love the fresh, rich smell of coffee, even though I hardly drink it).

little cosmos

I have left my Cosmos plants in their biodegradable pots far too long. The poor things look way overgrown for their root space, stunted, and yet are still trying to bloom- most have buds.

I planted a row of them against the house by the driveway today, after digging weeds out and compost in. Then gave each plant a nice spread of coffee grounds to boot. I still think the ones with thicker leaves might be the pinks

and the ones with thin foliage the orange flowers, as those look more familiar to me. But still not sure.

I got a most unexpected compliment on my compost, by the way. My daughter and her friend pulled off the tarp that was protecting the finished pile and started playing in it. When I told them to stop, my daughter protested: we didn't know what it was! I thought it was a pile of dirt! She knows very well what kind of yucky stuff goes into making compost, and how valuable it is to the garden, so would never play in it voluntarily. Never occurred to her to wonder why mommy would carefully cover up a pile of dirt, of course. But I'm grinning inside that she thought it was just old dirt. That's the finest, best-finished compost I ever made yet!

pear!

Little Pear tree is leafing out!

pokeweed

I started weeding the patch of ground next to my driveway, getting it read to put some flowers in (cosmos again). Left this one plant in; I do believe it is the Pokeweed coming back and I like that plant.

grass

I notice in one of the pots I planted for the cat, the soil was heaving up.

I lifted off the crust and crumbled it back onto the plants- little green stems of Wheatgrass!

tiny flowers

My Strawberry plants are blooming!

recovery

It seems my temperamental Croton is recovering nicely, now. A week or so ago the new leaves looked like this

now they are are getting large enough to be noticed

and there are more tiny green shoots emerging on other stems. They grow so slowly! I'm hopefully that eventually the plant will be full of brilliant foliage again, instead of looking scrawny and awful.

settled in

An overcast day is just right for transplanting young plants out into the garden- they don't go through as much shock. I managed to get most of my little herbs into the walled bed:

Basil

Summer Savory

Dill

Marjoram

Cilantro

And just of note, my little Green Onions are getting thicker, plus some of the seed I sowed is starting to put up tiny green shoots.

When I step back and look at it as a whole, my little herb garden is now starting to take shape! I can't wait to see how it looks when all the plants have filled out and are blooming (if I let them).

Here's a picture patched together of two photos:

Now I just have to learn what to do with all these flavors! I still only have a few dishes I use for each one, and some of the newer herbs (marjoram and savory) I've never cooked with at all.

coles in

Too big to grow any more in their cardpots, my Broccoli

and Brussel Sprouts plants got put into the garden soil today.

I put the B Sprouts in the space at the end of the rhubarb patch, where the fourth plant died. Read somewhere that rhubarb likes growing alongside brassicas, so we'll see how they do!

Baby accompanied me in the garden today. She liked pulling up grass stems, playing with pebbles, and feeling the dirt.

rhubarb!

Cut my first real garden harvest of the year: Rhubarb! Some nice, red stems

but when cut up they still look green all through. Didn't quite have the deliciously sour scent I'm used to, so I wonder if I picked it a bit too early.

Mixed in with some strawberries started to look like the right stuff.

and the pie was scrumptious!

for kitty

Planted two pots on the porch for my cat: some wheatgrass for him to chew on, and catnip. Don't know if he'll appreciate it; I grew catnip a few years ago and he didn't pay any attention to the plant. Maybe if I dry it he'll like it better.

balm

Tried using a handful of Lemon Balm in a salmon dish, but it didn't quite give the lemony zing I was expecting. Maybe I didn't use it right?