gardening

Gardening Breakdown: Flowers, Veggies, & Sundry

May 23, 2014 by Leah Leave a Comment

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

Garlic (left). A mish mosh of onions (right). The squirrels think it’s funny to run through the whiskey barrels and knock the onions over. I am not amused.

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…

Fencing (Without Swords): Adventures In Constructing A Garden Fence

April 21, 2014 by Leah Leave a Comment

The past couple of weekends have been spent on quite the endeavor…an official garden fence. This year I wanted a real fence around the garden for several reasons.

Even though my yard is fenced in, it might as well not be. The chain link fence keeps nothing out…nothing…not even people. Critters roam at will and I am the deranged psycho gardener who runs after them with a hose or bangs maniacally on the kitchen window in the morning while wearing my PJs, praying they will get the hint and scram before I have to run out there in my fuzzy slippers for all to see.
Also, I’m marrying a guy with a dog. In spite of the fact that my backyard is a veritable field of open space, she aims for the big dirt hole in the middle of it every time and has trampled newly planted seed beds several times, causing me to freak out like a deranged psycho gardener.
Last year I had a bunny. This bunny chewed through the reed fencing in several spots and had even dug out a nice little shady cover for himself under the watermelon vines, providing a cute, yet terrifying surprise every time I went to check on the watermelons. I have no idea what the bunny ate in the garden, but it nearly drove me mad that I couldn’t keep him out. One day in the fall I was driving home and noticed a squashed bunny in the middle of the road. That’s one way to keep a rabbit out of your garden.
And lastly, I really wanted the vegetable garden to be pretty, to look like a garden and not a hairy, overgrown eyesore in the middle of the lawn. A fence that would last for several seasons seemed a practical way to achieve this.

Rob is master of all things involving wood. To say I am lucky to have this talented guy in my life is an understatement because when I say, “Hey, honey, I was thinking we really need to put a fence around the garden” he comes to me with this great idea and a beautiful picture of a “we’re not messing around” cedar fence. The things that kept the price down on this project that could have cost a couple thousand dollars: we did it ourselves (and when I say “we” I mean mostly Rob) and Rob had a supplier for the wood who gave us quality cedar at a price significantly less than Home Depot (whose cedar was shoddy in comparison to what we used).

We had originally planned to rent a post hole digger from Home Depot, but they were out of them when we got there in the morning. So we bought an old fashioned, muscle-powered one and Rob dug the holes…or should I say chipped them out with a chisel. The clay rocks in the yard provided a bit of a challenge in getting the holes dug…all 22 of them. Three hours later, with only one blister to show, Rob started cutting the beams for the posts.

Instead of leveling the entire fence, we made it flow with the slope of the yard and used a string level to keep everything in line. This saved us a lot on material and money.

Each opening was framed with one inch pieces, all individually screwed in. This serves a couple of purposes. One, it keeps the top pieces from bowing. Two, if the wire screen ever needs to be replaced we can unscrew the frame and put a new piece in without ruining the whole fence. We used 1/2 inch galvanized wire fencing which came in 25 foot rolls. We used 4 rolls for the entire fence and it worked out really well! I was concerned about a fence blocking out light for the plants, so the 1/2 inch wire was a great solution and much easier to work with than chicken wire.

Before the fence was entirely completed, I was able to get all my starter veggies that I wasn’t growing from seed: tomatoes, peppers, and a few herbs.

On Saturday, I pulled up the black plastic, put some earbuds in with iTunes set to shuffle, and got down on my hands and knees to do some dirty work. In spite of the black plastic and the fact the garden was tilled twice, grass had still started to grow. Last year was a total weedy nightmare in the first months of growing because all the roots I’d never gotten out of the soil post-till started to sprout a nasty, invasive grass. Due to diligently pulling almost all of that out last year, the former part of the garden is almost entirely grass free. I wanted to start this side out right, so after shuffling around in the dirt with a spade, I was able to achieve a weed-free plot…for one day at least.

Last year, I got a ton of food out of a tiny space, but everything was terribly cramped and very hard to get to. This year, the volume is about the same, but the plants are more spread out and there are paths where I can actually walk in the garden instead of needing a machete to reach a zucchini. I used bamboo to plan everything out and laid the plants and seed packets in their new property lines.

The damage done includes: 16 tomato plants, 16 cucumber plants, 15 squash plants, basil, dragon tongue beans, snow peas, 12 pepper plants, asparagus, and beets…and I think all of them have room to breathe. We shall see!

The last piece to add was the gate. Rob put this thing together in no time and made it look like a little country cottage garden gate. I love it!!!

When you walk around the back of the gate, there is a design only true Harry Potter fans can appreciate. My little nerd heart will smile every time I see that. It’s really only 2 1/2 hallows, but who’s getting technical here?

The finished product (filtered). I’m so thrilled I can hardly stand it! There is even a raised bed around the apple trees. I’m thinking about planting some strawberries in there if I can get all the grass properly taken care of. I hope this space will help us create a sustainable influx of produce and healthy things throughout the year. I also hope we will have enough surplus to share with friends. People talk about putting down roots when they live somewhere, and these are some literal roots I’m planting in this soil even if my real roots (and my heart) are in New York. There’s nothing like a garden to make a place feel a bit more like home.

Color Returns to Cheekwood: Patrick Dougherty’s Sitckwork

March 25, 2014 by Leah Leave a Comment

We were supposed to have rain this weekend, but thanks to the inaccuracy of the meteorologists in our area, it was sunny. I headed to Cheekwood on Sunday for my first visit of the season. Upon pulling up to the gate, I heard a shriek that sounded like a cross between a bird of prey, a mountain lion, and a human scream. Apparently, they have a recording set up to deter deer from entering the gardens.

I like to go early each year, before the maddening spring crowds descend. It’s absolutely tranquil. Some of the flowers have begun to bloom, mostly violas, daffodils, and hellebores. The feeling in the air is one of happy expectation with bright purples and yellows dotting the scene.

The tulips are waiting for warmer days before being coaxed into color. They were surrounded by an electric fence which I assume is another deer deterrent. This year the garden boasts 100,000 tulips of different varieties. I cannot wait to come and see what the place looks like when they’re blooming. They are everywhere!

Upon rounding the bend that overlooks the ponds, one can see the newest outdoor exhibit that has been advertised lately, Little Bitty Pretty One by Patrick Dougherty. One can’t help but feel like they’ve just stepped onto a page in a storybook when they see this incredible structure composed solely of intertwined sticks. There is a bit of whimsy created by the natural bends and curves of the branches used to construct Dougherty’s sculptures. I was fascinated. When you step inside, you can still feel breeze and light in a way that gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “tree house.” Looking up, the sky is visible, and upon examination of the sticks, it’s incredible the level of detail woven into the structure. I’m so glad I was able to enjoy it by myself for a moment, completely lost in my imagination of hobbits and Harry Potter and Narnian creatures, all of whom would have been quite at home in such a place. I wish these structures were all over the garden. I was disappointed that there was only one, but I’d love to see more of these in other places! http://www.stickwork.net/featured/

Last year was a special year for Cheekwood with Bruce Munro’s Light exhibit. Most of my visits to the garden happened at night. The last time I saw this pool, there were orb’s of fiber optic light called Fagin’s Urchins floating on the surface.

The fountains bubbled happily again, echoing the sentiment that spring is finally here and we can look forward to color and life and moments out in the fresh air.

The tulips should start to put on a lovely show in the next couple of weeks. There is the nasty rumor we might get snow one night this week, but let’s hope that’s all it is. I mean, do these flowers look like they want more snow?

Getting Outside Again: Spring Stretches Her Muscles

March 17, 2014 by Leah Leave a Comment

The edges of winter are softening here in Tennessee and spring is starting to show off in small ways, like early daffodils and the first blush of pink cherry trees.

Yesterday it was 65 degrees so I started cleaning up the flower beds and pruning the purple plum trees, a task I thoroughly hate. I have to keep the plum trees pruned because in the spring when we get prolific rain, the branches are not able to hold themselves up with the weight of wet leaves. The trees are rather tall, but not too tall that I can’t reach most of branches when on a ladder. But being on a ladder in the middle of a tree on tiptoe, reaching for branches in the centermost part of the tree is not my idea of a good time. The result is that the plums look like they were given a $5 haircut at a strip mall salon. At least they will be in bloom shortly and the embarrassment won’t last for long.

Cleaning up the flowers beds, another unenjoyable task, at least yields some reward because I get to see what the perennials have been up to under all the dead leaves. The fall seedum is already popping up.

Many of the bulbs are getting ready to put on a show.

Black tulips purchased on Long Island. Outsmarted the squirrels by covering the freshly planted bulbs with dead leaves. It worked!

The allium I planted last year have nearly doubled in size.

Dianthus which remained in lovely evergreen mounds that are full of buds already!

And then we get to the good stuff…the vegetable garden! Last weekend, Rob and I got bags of manure and compost, along with some lime, and re-tilled the plot.

The soil looks really good, and now it’s just a matter of planning the whole thing out. I planted beets and asparagus.

I’ve always wanted to try asparagus, but you have to be really patient and committed with these plants. Normally it takes 3 years to get a crop. I purchased 2 year old roots, so we’ll see how they look next year, otherwise I’ll give them another year before starting to harvest. It’s asparagus season now and tonight I pan seared a bunch for dinner. I cannot wait to be able to run out to the garden and bring dinner inside!

Other crops this year include snow peas, beans, three different types of squash, and some onions. All the seeds were ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co.

Aside from making the garden larger this year, I switched up my hoses. This might not seem like a big deal, but I’ve read several articles about the use of lead in watering hoses and immediately found cause for concern. If you are planning to water a vegetable gardening filled with food you will be eating, drinking water safe hoses are the way to go. I got two 50 ft. drinking water safe hoses at Costco for $14.97 apiece, which is well worth the money for the peace of mind that no lead is leeching into the plants we plan to harvest from.

Another issue I had last year was the immense problem of crab grass around the garden area. The density of the grass caused many headaches with the lawn mower and was a total nightmare to deal with since it was also being unintentionally watered by the vegetable garden sprinkler. I went to Home Depot to get some crabgrass preventer and had a bit of sticker shock. That stuff is pricey! The only kind they had in the store was the Scotts version, which a bit of research on my iPhone revealed that the main ingredient has been proven in multiple studies to be carcinogenic. Well, crap. Obviously that stuff is not going anywhere near my garden or my lawn. I did some more research when I got home and the most effective natural product for crabgrass prevention seems to be corn gluten meal. The biggest challenge will be finding that around here, but I’m going to see what I can come up with.

This week marks the beginning of spring, and while it’s still too early to plant the main veggie seeds, spring always brings the hope of new life. Small, dead shoots sprouting tender leaves and flower buds remind us that even in the bleakest of times, beauty lies beneath the surface waiting to burst forth.

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