black-eyed susans

All of my black-eyed susans are in bloom right now. I just love this flower. They were given to me by a friend when she was building her house. They were going to get destroyed if they weren't transplanted so we dug them up and moved them to my yard. I put them in a sunny spot directly in our sandy, sandy soil without any added black dirt. Luckily they thrive in sunshine and sandy conditions. They have multiplied over and over in the last 4 years. So much so that I was able to dig several up to do a plant swap this spring with another neighbor. Hostas for black-eyed susans.

The flowers are doing much better than the veggies this year. So far we've harvested 3 red cherry tomatoes and herbs. This just hasn't been that warm of a summer. It didn't help that we got the garden in late either. Oh well, there's alway next year to try again.

project 2: elle's garden

Elle really wanted to plant a vegetable garden this year. The challenge was finding a sunny, flat spot! We decided that the small garden at the top of the driveway would be a good place. I had planted some flowers and herbs in it a few years ago so I transplanted the flowers to a different location and we got to work moving the rocks.

It was a big job and took a long time. There were a lot of rocks there!

It got a late start but so far we have harvested 1 jalapeno pepper. There are baby tomatoes growing and the fresh herbs are fun to have again. There is still an area at the one end for planting some lettuces and radishes. The other veggies we have planted are cabbages, brussel sprouts, yellow squash, bell peppers and egg plant. I love that clematis blooming in the picture. I have a new spot for it to go in but it was already so entangled in the trellis by the time I was ready to move it so we are just enjoying it's blooms here this year.

proof that i have no gardening skillz

I just edited the little paragraph about me by my picture that said that I enjoy gardening. I don't anymore. At least not until next spring when I walk through the nursery and have big dreams of beautiful flower and vegetable gardens!

My yard is proof that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing when it comes to gardening! Let me give you a little tour of my efforts gone bad.

This is the yard right alongside the driveway. We had problems with this part of the grass dying last year too but hoped that it wouldn't happen again. Hoping didn't work. The dead area is much larger this year and we really need to figure out why.

Creeping Charlie is taking over this end of the rock wall and is starting to get into the grass. Another thing that needs to be taken care of soon.

I planted these flowers this summer but I did not plant the shrooms. They just came up....everywhere! If I remember right they'll dry up and in the spring will let out all kinds of green dust and I think they might be poisonous. I'm not going to mess with them till I know!

This is my never-ending battle with crown vetch. Can you tell who's winning? The only plants that are supposed to be in this area are big clusters of day lilies.

And lastly, here is my sorry looking black jack sedum. Maybe I should've spent more time weeding around them and given them a little attention.

I plan to print out a few of these pictures and see what advice I can get from the garden center. If that doesn't work I think it might be time to call a professional to help me out!

baby tomatoes and peppers

This year I thought I'd try growing a few different kinds of veggies. I planted Cherry, Roma, and Early Girl tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, green bell peppers, and cabbage. It has been exciting to see baby tomatoes and peppers forming! I also have a herb garden with mint, rosemary, thyme, basil and chives. I love being able to just walk outside to get the herbs I want to cook with. I'd love it if you'd share any ideas or recipes you have for using fresh herbs. I'm always looking for ways to use them.

gardening advice needed

I've spent the past two afternoons working in my flower garden between the boulder retaining walls. I've been pulling tons of crown vetch that I had planted a few years ago. It never bloomed for very long and looked like a weed when it wasn't in bloom. It had started taking over a large part of the garden and choking out other plants that I wanted there. I can tell I'm going to be battling it for awhile! The root system on it was amazing and everyday there are little plants showing up that I missed.

This area is so big and it will be several years yet before it is full of plants like I'd like it to be. It is fun to watch it progress a little each year though. Many of the plants have been given to me from friend's and family's gardens. I really should've divided some of the plants this spring but I didn't get to it in time. I found this great article and might try dividing them this fall and then put mulch over them for the winter. Any suggestions from you more experienced gardeners?

Another question I have is - can I move plants anytime throughout the summer? I have 2 sedum 'black jack' plants that I'd like to move into this flower garden. They are thriving where they are at but they are in the way of my little vegetable garden. If I move them now will that deter them from blooming this fall?

I love the stonecrop sedum that is finally tumbling over and throughout the rock walls. Some of it blooms in yellow and the rest is pink. It has taken awhile for it to get established but now it's really spreading. I'll post pictures to share as everything peaks this summer!

wfmw: potting flowers

I saw this idea in one of the latest issues of Martha Stewart Living and thought it was great! Buy window screen from your local hardware store or else use a damage screen that needs replaced from your own windows.

Cut it to fit over the bottom of your flower pot. The screen will stop most of the dirt from flowing out of your pot when you water your flowers. Isn't Martha so clever?!

Then plant as normal. I think this picture is so sweet of the girls working together. Such team work!

This is the very next picture I took about 2 seconds later! A much more accurate portrayal of how the planting actually went - Ava crying because she wanted the little shovel! :)

Visit Rocks in My Dryer for more Works for Me Wednesday tips!

coffee grounds for the garden

A Starbucks just opened in town so while our kids were at vacation bible school this morning a friend and I stopped in for a frappacino. On the way out I noticed these bags of used coffee grounds that were available for free to use in the garden. I did a little research online about how to use them and why they are beneficial. Here is what I found out -

- Coffee grounds are rich in nutrients and would benefit a backyard compost pile.
- Use them to mulch garden pathways.
- They are a good source of nitrogen making them a good mulch in the vegetable garden.
- Keep the slugs away from your hostas, lillies, daffodils and other spring bulbs by mulching around the plants with the grounds.
- They are a good soil ammendment for plants that like an acidic soil such as hydrangeas, roses and azaleas.

Just be sure to do some reading before using them to find out the appropriate amount to use for your soil. I happen to have a yellow rose bush that is waiting to be planted as well as 4 hostas so I found these used grounds at just the right time.

what is wrong with my plant?

I am in need of some gardening help. I'm hoping there is someone who reads this blog that might have just the answer I am looking for.

This plant (I do not know what the name of it is anymore. The tag for it has gone missing.) is located right by the steps to the front porch. It has slowly been dying over the past few weeks. Any ideas what these spots could mean and how to treat it to try to save it? I don't think it's because of lack of water because I water it every other day at the same time I water my hanging baskets. Here is a picture of what it looked like this spring when it was healthy. Any advice would be appreciated!

yard work and mosquitos

Today I mowed the lawn, pulled lots of weeds along the rocks in the driveway and in my flower gardens, and gave everything a good watering. The mosquitos are terrible here right now! I was brushing them away constantly. Luckily, I usually don't swell up with their bites but little Elle Marie does. When she gets back home it will have to be the rule to put on bug spray before going outside to play, everytime.

I gotta go and get ready for my date tonight. :) Scott is driving home from the cities right now. (He had another quick business trip to Chicago this week.) We are going to meet in town for dinner and my neighbor girl is coming over to watch Ava Mae for us. We haven't been out alone for awhile. I'm looking forward to it!

colors around the yard

These sweet little petunias are what I chose for my hanging baskets this year. There are 5 purple baskets hanging from the porch posts and the pink one is on a shepherd's hook by Elle's playhouse.

This is the shrub that I planted by the steps to the front door last year. It looks so pretty right now with pink blossoms all over it.

This morning I bought my herbs for my herb garden. I'm going to be planting sweet basil, cilantro, Italian parsley, thyme and mint. I loved being able to walk to the garden to cut off the herbs I wanted to use in that nights dinner last summer!

tulip troubles

This is the only tulip that is blooming in my garden right now. There are a couple others that are going to bloom but for the most part my tulips aren't doing so great this year. It snowed after they had started to come up so that could have something to do with it or I think the mulch may have got piled too thick over them last summer so that they are buried too deep now. I want to dig them up and move them to a different location for next year. Does anyone have any pointers for me on how to do this? When do I dig them up? Right after they are done blooming or do I wait till the end of summer?

It is so nice to see the grass greening up and leaves starting to come out on the trees. Last week I raked the yard and cleaned out the flower beds. Scott built the railing and a door for the playhouse. I got it all stained before he assembled and installed it. (Wish I would've done that when we did the railings on the house....so much easier!) Elle just loves her little house. I will post a picture of it when I get the porch floor and steps stained.

Last weekend we also put the boat in the water. It's fun to see it waiting on the lift knowing all the fun times we will have this summer! It's good motivation to get all of the work done now so that we can play when it's finally warm enough! :)

spring cleaning.....outside!

Last night we had our first thunderstorm of the year. It rained for part of the morning and then got pretty nice out. Thomas and I spent some time clearing leaves out of my flower/herb garden by the garage and cutting back the dead growth from last summer. I am so happy that most things have came back! Each year I plant a handful of new types of perennials to grow to see if they will actually make it through a long, cold, Minnesota winter. It's always exciting to pull back the damp leaves in the spring and find new life under them!

I got out my gardening books this afternoon and did some reading. I am new to gardening and these books are excellent to help me know when and what I should be doing with my plants throughout the year. This spring several of my plants need divided which is something that I have never done before. I hope to get to that this next week after the kids and I have cleaned up the rest of the flower beds.

We are conveniently studying plants in science right now so all of this gardening fits so nicely into our school day.....it's hands-on learning! :)

signs of spring

We are starting to warm up here in Minnesota and I couldn't be happier about it! We were supposed to get a few more inches of snow this week but thankfully we didn't. This afternoon was the warmest we have been in quite awhile (44 degrees!) so I went for a walk with Ava, and Thomas and Elle rode their bikes. We also spent a little time moving away the leaves to see if there were any surprises under there and look what we found -


There was sedum, yarrow, silver mound, rhubarb, hens and chicks, tulips and peonies all starting to come to life!

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." -Isaiah 6:3