My Herb and Flower Area - Part Four

So, at long last, here are the after pictures of my new flower and herb area. I'm loving this long expanse even now, when there is a dusting of snow over the healthy layer of leaves I used to tuck the plants and bulbs in for the winter. (Missed earlier posts in this series? Here are parts one, two, and three.)

Once I got my husband to help with the back breaking work of using the pick axe and shovel to break up the stoney, quack grass filled soil, it was fairly straight forward to pick out most of the rocks and weeds, mix in some pig manure, and transplant the herbs and bulbs from the various areas around the property that they were growing at before.

It was a several week process, done in bits and spurts when we had some free time with either sleeping or cooperative kiddos.

But I was pretty motivated to get it done, so we cranked away at it and it was done before the first snowfall. When I was planning it out on paper, I wasn't sure we had enough time to really get it in this fall, and thought it might be a project that needed to wait until next spring and fall, but I'm pretty happy we got it done. It means that much more space in the lower garden for growing veggies next summer, and the herbs will be so much closer to the house in this area. Not to mention the flower viewing will be much more appreciated in this spot, near the chicken coop, where we are a lot more frequently than down in the lower garden.

My Herb and Flower Area - Part Three

Missed earlier posts in this series? Catch up with part one or part two.

So the new area was born once I realized that we would be expanding the side garden again next spring into part of the past summer's pig area, and once I realized that the new herb area I set up in the side garden this past spring was really not large enough even for the plants presently in it. Looking at the space we would be expanding in to, I realized that for at least the next few years, there and potentially longer, there could be a slice of space between the garden and the chicken/orchard area that could definitely be a permanent flower and herb bed.

 After scoping the area out, I started making a list of all of the plants I would like to put in there. First I listed all of the plants, both flowers and herbs, currently in the lower garden. Then I included the additional ones in the side garden that weren't just duplicate herbs. Next I thought about what other plants from around the property could or should get moved in. I came up with a few that may get moved in as well as all of the bulbs and herbs you've seen from the past posts that are in the gardens currently.

I also added some new herbs/flowers to my list that I would like to try in future years: echinacea, bee balm, lemon grass, mint. Some of these are on the list to add for next spring, some are likely further down the road, and some likely will end up elsewhere than in this bed, but they were all added so that I had a list of what I might like to fit into the new bed.

Once I had a list of all of the plants I might want to put in this new bed, I did some sketching. I went back through my old pictures of the plants throughout the last couple of gardening seasons, and wrote notes about the timing of the flowers on the herbs and bulbs, how tall the plants were, how big they got, etc. This sort of information helped me decide where each plant would go, and what other plants would look good near it. My ultimate goal was to have a bed that looked good throughout the summer, not just at certain time periods. Thus I wanted to have the flowers intermixed so that the early ones weren't all clumped together, etc. I also looked at the plants in terms of splitting some of them, specifically some of the flowers, so that I had more of some of the daffodil and iris clumps if they were getting larger, especially some of the ones we like the best.

Then I measured the bed, measured some of the spacing that was and wasn't working in the existing gardens, and I sketched some more. Finally I came up with a plan of what would go where. Then I needed to wait until the pigs were gone so I could turn this grassy space into garden - ripping all of the grass and weeds out, adding some pig manure, and transplanting lots and lots of plants.

In the next and final part of this series I'll share the after pictures, of what the plan on paper translated into on the ground! I know I promised pictures this time of the finished product, but I thought a bit more explanation of the process I went through in deciding what went where was in order first!

My herb and flower area - part two

Once we had the new side garden area in the works this spring, I decided to take some of the overflow from the main garden's herbs and use some of the area in the spacious but potentially weedy and underwatered new side garden to expand our herbs. Some plants, like the Dill and Cilantro, really were only planted in this area this year. Others, like the Oregano, Chives, and Garlic Chives, were broken off of their clump in the lower garden and moved up. My theory was duplicates have twice the chance of surviving! Partly the new area was a test, to see how well those plants would do in the new area with minimal watering and care. And partly, it was to get those much used herbs closer to the house! How convenient to pop down to pick up a couple eggs and be able to also grab some herbs for the next meal on the table, creating a one-stop-shop sort of experience

The area filled in really nicely, and was looking really great even after the weeks of neglect both gardens received around Baby E's birth.

However as the end of the summer approached, the situation was looking a wee bit overgrown. Again I had failed to give each plant the space it really needed to have enough space as it got big. I seem to plant everything so it looks nicely filled in about half way through the growing season. Which works fine when I can pull some of the plants part way through, but not when each plant is important like this area! Below you can see dill flowering and going to seed, oregano flowering in the back, kale and parsley competing for space with lavender and cilantro, and both common and garlic chives feeling out-competed! Yup, it was a mess, and add in the weeds that I never really got around to dealing with in the side garden this year, and if it hadn't of actually produced a heck of a lot of dill seeds (among other small harvests of kale and parsley and chive flowers), I would have written it off as a disaster!

Instead I'm considering it lesson learned, and thus decided that a new herb and flower area in the soon-to-be expanded side garden area is in order. The pigs did a great job tilling the area up, and we're essentially doubling the side garden next year, with the lower half being planned for pigs again. Next up is a late fall look at the new area - transplanted plants and everything!

Missed a post of the herb and flower area series? Read part one here.

My Herb & Flower Area - Part One

The first spring we lived in this house, we were surprised and excited to discover spring flowers emerging from bulbs in a neglected weedy bed by the carport. First daffodils, then tulips emerged and bloomed, adding some cheer to our front area.

When we had moved in, it was mid summer, and we assumed that the bed had been used for something in the past, but it was filled with dried up weeds and grass, so we didn't think it had anything else in it. For 2010 and 2011, we tried to water the bulbs occasionally, but they didn't really get much attention otherwise, although we tried adding some more tulips and daffodils one fall from cheap on-sale bulbs from the grocery store.

Then the year before last, in late fall when my best friend from back home was visiting, we dug all the bulbs we could find from that neglected bed and put them in the end of the lower garden, right beside the gate. At first it was more for safe keeping until I could come up with a better spot where they would get the water and weeding they deserved and needed to flourish, but quickly it became more than just that with the addition of more bulbs from the rental as it finally sold the next spring, and the area started filling in with flowers.

spring 2012

Then the area started to transition into what it still is today with the addition of herbs. I grew my own herbs from seeds, which transitioned the area from the temporary flower spot to the herb area. The garlic chives that overwintered from the year before got moved from their row to a discrete clump - unintentionally being the first herbs of the spot. How I ended up with those seeds I have no idea, but for whatever reason I threw them in the ground the spring before and they grew, then overwintered, and that clump has since started so many more by seed around the garden that I've gone past giving them away, as everyone who wants them now has them, and I pull them as weeds!

spring 2012

The rest of the herbs have since flourished through the last couple summers and the close of this gardening season has brought about my realization that this spot is not big enough for even the ones we have, let alone room for more that I'm planning for next spring.

mid-summer 2012

fall 2012

spring 2013

early summer 2013

mid summer 2013

late summer 2013

As you can see, I vastly mis-judged the amount of space each plant would need - and some of the smaller (shorter) plants have been totally overgrown by the taller herbs. More space for each plant is definitely needed for them to grow!

Stay tuned for part two, an update and tale about the herb area in the new side garden area we started this past spring. Part three will involve a sneak peak at the newest garden area we are currently working on, and might include pictures of a new herb & flower bed over there!

Green & chilly spring days

We are in that glorious phase of spring where the open space around our house is greening up and starting to look really nice as if we spend a lot of time caring for it. Soon we will be in that stage where it's obvious that they are mostly non-native species, and lots of noxious weeds at that. We have a few areas of actual yard grass, 2 areas in fact, that we seeded last spring after doing a bit of moving dirt around with a day tractor rental.

One grass area is on the east side of the house by the fruit trees, making it really nice in the evenings in the heat of summer. The dogs and Little M and I go back there after summer suppers, when the shadows start getting long, and we relax in the shade. Sometime this spring & summer we are hoping to build a play structure, and it will go on the edge of this patch of grass, in the late evening shade from the house. I can imagine hot summer evenings spent pushing Little M on the swings and sending her down the slide, the dogs relaxing in cool green comfort beside us.

Ah, the warmth of summer... It has been rather windy and chilly the past couple days here. On Wednesday I volunteered at the region's Envirothon competition, which was fun as back when I was in high school my friends and I competed in Envirothon as well. In fact, I partly thank Envirothon for where I am today in the work world -  employed in the biology field. The poor students must have been pretty cold, though, and not all of them came prepared for the windy chilly weather we experienced. When the sun was out, it was nice, but unfortunately that wasn't all of the time!

At home, even though it has been cold some days and many nights (we even had a frost yesterday morning), we have had enough warm periods and sunny days to get the fruit trees up and going. The apricot in particular is almost ready to burst into bloom. I took a bunch of pictures that I was planning on sharing, but at the moment I think my computer is needing a reboot and I can't seem to upload anything... Oh well! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Planting bulbs - a bit late

After I forgot about our new dafodil and tulip bulbs last fall and didn't plant them before the snow came, I stuck them in the fridge to chill them properly before planting them out this spring. The existing daffodils are budding out, but I needed to make sure the bulbs had been in the fridge long enough to mimic overwintering outside. This past weekend I planted them in our weedy bulb bed amongst the surprise bulbs we discovered last spring.

our 'surprise' bulbs showing their buds

our new bulbs ready to be planted (please ignore the weeds, I obviously do!)

'Spring' rains & snows = flower buds!

This past week or two we have been getting some weird weather. First it rains, then it changes to snow and starts sticking, then it stops and within a couple hours most of it is melted. Not too strange, but it's been doing it about every other day!

The bulb bed beside the pole carport is starting to warm up - the snow has gradually melted, and in the last few days I have been noticing little buds starting to poke up through the dirt. Last spring we had the wonderful surprise of old bulbs coming up that we didn't realize were there! It was so fun to guess at what they were, and what color the flowers would be when they opened. We ended up having a small clump of iris, several tulips, and some daffodils. I really wanted to plant some more crocus and my husband wanted more tulips, but we decided to wait since we didn't know what the plan was for that bed longer term.

The beautiful surprise daffodils!

We ended up buying some bulbs last fall when we found some on sale, but we didn't get around to planting them before it snowed. I forgot about them completely for most of the winter, but when I was sorting through my seeds from last year prior to ordering more, I found them and stuck them in the fridge! Right now the 3 boxes of tulips and daffodils are still in the fridge cooling off before we plant them in a few weeks.

The bulb boxes are near the right side of the picture, near the cheddar bunnies :)

There's nothing better than spring flowers!

Sneaky little rodents...

About twice a year we get fed up with occasionally getting mice in the house and we carefully inspect the outside, looking at every possible way they could get in and making sure things are as closed off as they can be. We tend to come away from these inspections thinking that the house is secure, and we often figure the mouse must have gotten in through a poorly closed door.

In reality, I think that is rarely the case. There is a spot, somewhere, unknown to me, that mice are entering the house, those sneaky little rodents.

I think we are ramping up towards another house inspection, because this morning (while trying to get Little M back to sleep), we heard the telltale nibbling of a mouse. I think it was in the attic. So I set some traps in the sunporch, because they generally end up there next. Hopefully it won't sneak into the kitchen (through a hole I suspect exists behind the dishwasher).

Darn these older fixer upper houses! If only rodents weren't so important in the world...

A mouse trying to escape the dogs about a year ago - we all team up against them!

Luckily its warming up (likely why the mouse was out and about and decided to come sneaking into our house). Yesterday I heard robins around the house, and just a couple minutes ago one was on the wire right outside the window! Yay for spring being just around the corner! Its been raining heavily on and off for the past couple days, which is seriously melting our snow. I can't wait for spring flowers, the mud on the other hand, I could do without.

making an otherwise dreary morning more bearable :)

2011 seed starting schedule & garden planning

I've started seeds indoors for my veggie garden for the past 2 summers, but never made a schedule, I just would decide, hmm, seems like about time to start my seeds, and that would be it. I started them all at the same time regardless of what type of plant they were, and never thought much more of it than that. Last year I even had to restart all of my seeds since they accidentally froze on the sunporch (courtesy of our old leaky sliding glass doors).

Spring 2010 - Little M supervising me re-planting my seeds

This year, since I've been blogging and seeing everyone else talk about their seed starting schedule, I decided to give it a go. First I looked at when the last frost was last year, which was unusually late and hard - May 21st. At that point I had corn and beans just peeking above the ground, and the pile of towels I spread over the sprouts didn't do a very adequate job at keeping the sprouts frost-free. That frost also killed most of our orchard flowers, so we had a very spotty fruit crop last fall!

May 21 2010 - towels protecting sprouts from a late & hard frost

I did some looking at the calendar, and turns out I still have 13 weeks until what I will consider our last frost date, so I guess I still have a bit of time before I need to start planting. I sat down and looked over the seeds that I bought this year and those that I have leftover and saved from the past couple years. I was surprised at how many different types I have! I planned out my garden layout, although there are some herbs and flower mixes leftover from last year that I really want to grow somewhere - hopefully I can get some sort of garden set up by the chicken coop as I have mentioned previously, so that I can have a bit more space.

Planning for my 2011 garden!

Now that I know I have 13 weeks or more until I start planting my start outdoors, I can relax a couple weeks and wait until at least next month to start planting my first seed starts.  I may start my peppers and some flowers earlier than that though, because last weekend I was working on cutting some trim boards in the garage when I realized that past owners had left a shop light in there that would be a perfect seed starting light! Yippee!! Sometime in the next week I will wrestle it out of the garage and put it up on the sunporch somewhere, and maybe I'll even be able to find an old heating pad somewhere to keep under my plants so they stay nice and warm. I figure with that light, I will be able to grow things like peppers and some flowers to a bigger stage than I would without that extra light, which will be perfect since last year my peppers were pitifully small at the time when I would have planted them out. I say 'would have' since a little mouse got into the sunporch while we were gone for a couple days, and when I came back the peppers were just little snipped off stalks... darn rodents!

Amaryllis in bloom

My amaryllis is in bloom! It is a very pretty flower, and the past 2 years that I have had it it has produced one flower stalk with 2 blooms on it. Last year I tried to pollinate it and get seeds from it, but with Little M being, well, very little, I missed watering it briefly and it got too dry before the seeds matured. Hopefully this year I will have better luck.

My mother has grown and crossed amaryllis for years and years, and has lots of very pretty flowers from all of her crossings. My mom always has amaryllis plants all over the windowsills at her house, and just tosses the ones she doesn't love. I think it would be great to sell some bulbs at the local farmers market in the fall and earn a bit of money (and get rid of some extra bulbs!).

What's blooming this month?

I'm excited to write my first Bloom Day post! Carol over at May Dreams Gardens hosts this great event on the fifteenth of every month, where gardeners all over can share their current flowers & link up to her party.

'americana white splash' and 'rocky mountain salmon' geraniums

This month I have 3 plants in bloom on the sunporch, 2 overgrown planters of geraniums (one has Americana white splash and one has Rocky mountain salmon) and one Primula. I also have an amaryllis in my kitchen windowsill & an African violet on the dining room table that have buds, maybe they will be out for next months Bloom Day :)

Primula plant (ignore the weeds & succulents)

African Violet

My husband gave me an African Violet for Valentines Day. Really, I had been planning on getting one since my grandma passed away in December. One of my favorite memories of my grandparents house is my grandma's light unit where she kept African Violets. When she passed away I wasn't able to go to the funeral, so in her memory, Little M and I bought some peanuts in the shell and put them out for the Stellars Jays at our bird feeder, like we used to do for Blue Jays at my grandma's, and I promised myself I would get an African Violet for in the house to remember her by. I hadn't seen one locally in the last 2 months, so my husband picked one up for me when we were across visiting family on the west side of the state last weekend. It has some buds coming, although with the temperature and humidity changes it has been through from the store to here they may not make it, only time will tell :) Here it is: