Gardening Breakdown: Flowers, Veggies, & Sundry

My goodness, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?!  Well, things are happening here in the yard.  While I haven’t had as much digging to do this year, the flower beds are still getting established and there is lots to keep track of.  Let’s break it down into friendly, easy to read sections, shall we?

ALLIUM

Let’s talk about onion flowers because these are some seriously cool things to grow.  When I was a kid we always took trips to Vermont and I remember seeing these huge purple orbs in a lot of the gardens up there.  They were otherworldly and really cool, so I got some for the garden.  There are dozens of varieties and they are all deer resistant, pest resistant, and multiply every year.  Several neighbors have stopped by to ask what those “purple flowers” are.  I give you allium.

I ordered several varieties from Brent & Becky’s bulbs online and a few have yet to bloom.  I’ll be sure to post more pics as they show up!

CLEMATIS

These climbers were the first flowers that came to mind when trying to figure out something that would grow on the fence and maybe spruce it up a bit.  That thing really is so ugly.  When I moved into the house, there was an enormous purple clematis by the front walk that has obviously been there since the beginning of time.  This year I hacked the woody stems back to 12 inches and it is now taller than me.  I am convinced this plant is going to strangle me one day while I’m walking to the car.

I bought several varieties last year in a crazy sale when they were $5 apiece.  Best $5 I’ve spent in a long time.  Only one didn’t make it over the winter.   They are already letting the fence know who’s boss.

SUCCULENTS

I have never in my life made a cactus bloom.  This year I re-potted my succulents, which include a couple types of Hens n’ Chicks and several seedum varieties.  They are so happy they can’t contain themselves.  Look at this amazing flower!  I can’t tell you how this happened.  If you ask me what I did, all I can say is that aside from saying “hello” when I get home in the evening, I totally neglect them.

VEGGIES!!!

So this was the year of the garden fence.  Well, I managed to fill the space with lots of yummy things that are on their way up.  These pics are actually old because I’m a slacker, but I’ll post more recent ones soon.  Here you can see basil, dragon tongue beans, snow peas, and Roma tomatoes in the background.

Sweet Slice cucumbers.

Snow peas – bush variety

Started putting hay down around the squash since weeds are popping through and it will help retain moisture during the hot days we’re starting to get.  I need to buy another bale.

Tomatoes need to be staked.  I’m thinking the best way to do this with this many plants (16) will be to put a stake at the end of each row and use horizontal bamboo as an open wall.  We shall see.  Everything is coming along really well!

MISCELLANEOUS & SUNDRY

This is where I address all the exciting things that don’t fit in the thrilling categories above.  The first is my fig.  The winter in Tennessee was much colder than usual, which really ticked me off because I lost a clematis, a butterfly bush, and my fig.  But wait!  I didn’t lose the fig!  After much hemming and hawing to Rob about how dismayed I was over the loss of the fig, this happened one day.  The fig prevails!

I was devastated one day when I looked out my window and saw that my squished roadkill bunny from last year had reincarnated himself as a cute fluffy NEW little bunny who also lives under my shed.  How could this have happened?!?! I HATE BUNNIES.  They are so adorable and so cute and so cuddly with their big eyes and soft fur…yet they have this alter ego that desecrates all that is sacred to gardeners with an evil twinkle in those big Disney eyes.  I plan to set a Havahart trap for this little guy.  I can’t have him here.  I know, I have the fence around the veggie garden, but he chewed the buds off my new Columbine, which is pretty much unforgivable in my book, so the evil creature must go.

When I was growing up in Mattituck, our yard was a veritable treasure trove of 4 leaf clovers.  There were patches of them everywhere.  I swear the end of a rainbow must have landed on our house at some point in time because what else could explain this phenomenon?  And then I realized that I have really good eyesight.  Whether it’s spotting tiny pieces of sea glass on the beach, or a 4 leaf clover in a sea of ordinary 3-leafers, I can see these things everywhere.  They’re actually not as uncommon as we’re led to believe.  Truly, start looking and I bet you’ll find some.  I ran across this one when I was scurrying between the garden and the shed with muddy hands and feet.  Who knows, maybe the end of a rainbow landed in this yard one time long ago.

It was my birthday the other day.  Rob took me hiking in the morning, to Cheekwood in the afternoon, dinner later, and gave me this amazing garden tool which he said will most likely be what I will finish him off with one day.  He has a machete lying in his garage, so I feel like the odds aren’t in my favor on that one.  We can joke about these things before we get married without it being weird, right?

This is my new obsession.  It’s called the CobraHead Weeder & Cultivator.   I’m telling you, I could get rid of every other thing in my shed that I use for weeding.  I have the most horrendous wire grass in my garden that I am in a battle with to keep under control and this handles those roots like a champ!!!  Forget tweaking my wrist with a spade, this thing rocks!  I wish I had an endorsement and was getting paid to rave about this tool so they would send me free stuff, but alas, I am not so lucky.  I want to buy this for all my gardener friends, but I don’t have enough money to do that, so be sure to trust me on this and buy one for yourselves.

I have more updates coming soon, I promise.  I’m still getting myself back on track after being in LA for a day…time zones are so weird.  I’m also throwing stuff away and cleaning out my closets (Eminem style, for those of you who get the reference) to get ready for Rob to move in here after he sells his house.  This is a big year for change.  If I wasn’t a drinking woman I might not be handling this very well.  I kid.  Well, sort of.  Until soon…