For most of my gardening history here, I've been practicing "guerilla gardening", expanding my garden areas by dashing in, planting something tough (daylilies, lambs ears, peonies, daffodils, etc.), then moving on. I may not revisit that area to garden it for a couple of years, but these tough plants usually take hold and make a first outpost for a new garden. It's worked very well.
But this spring I want to concentrate my efforts a bit. Sort of fine-tune and embellish some of the more established areas that are still "new" but aren't weedy or rough any longer. I really like the look of an early spring bulb display, lots of different little flowers all coming up and blooming around the same time, en masse. This is going to be the project for the next couple of weeks. I've already planted a big area of winter aconites in the Glade. A few years ago, I put in a number of species crocus bulbs there, so already there will be the bright yellow of the aconites and the purples, creams, and whites of the crocus. Today, I put in about 20 small clumps of miniature daffodils in the Glade. These all came from overgrown and "blind" clumps in various other parts of the garden. Next, I think I'll divide a big clump of snowdrops in the Apple Tree garden and spread those throughout the Glade. (Already lifted and divided two snowdrop clumps and from 2, I got 12 new clumps!) I've also got a huge spread of bright blue scilla, which are blooming right now, that I want to sprinkle thru that same area. In the fall, despite being the cheapskate that I am, I may even buy a bag of chinodoxa and put those in there. In an ideal world, I'd also add species tulips, but we have a lot of squirrels moving into the area and I don't think tulips would stand a chance. I suppose if I were truly devoted I could fashion little underground bulb cages to deter the nibblers, but seriously.... Me? Here? This sounds too much like the sort of "activity" they'll prescribe for me when I finally end up in the padded cell ward. Diagnosis: Paranoid Gardeneritis. ("she seems to believe that squirrels are plotting against her...")
I think I'd also like to make a smaller concentrated area of the same sorts of things up in the Rock Garden. I've already got aconites and crocus in there, so moving some mini daffs in will be next. (I actually wanted to do this years ago in that spot but the small bulbs I planted one year were almost completely scratched out and eaten by my hens. If I do this again, I'll put down netting over the planted areas.)
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I'm slowly re-doing the raised bed edges in the berry patch, switching from boards to concrete blocks. I had everything very neat and tidy last year and then I scored a big 10X10 chain link dog kennel and decided to use it as a berry cage. I set it up and I think it will work fine (minus the chain link, which will be replaced with fine mesh), but now the raised beds and paths are all wonky in relation to the cage structure. The plan for now is to simply get it to work as-is and if it is too difficult to maneuver around, then I guess in the fall I'll have to rip everything out and replant/reconfigure paths. I just don't want to lift and move those berry plants AGAIN after having done so just the other year.
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First signs of carrot germination in the veg! Very sparse, so I don't know if this is going to work this year as well as it did last. I think I'll put in a second sowing of carrots this week and see how that goes.
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By some marvel of climate change, my garden is synced up with Monty Don's garden on BBC Gardeners World. He advises pruning red twigged dogwood this week and by gum I'm going to do it! It's kind of nice to see that his gardens are at about the same early stage as my own, maybe a bit ahead because I'll bet he hasn't been seeing 22F overnight temps! Lucky sod.
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And finally, I think we can all relate to this.
https://youtube.com/shorts/fcn...
I know it's way past Valentine's Day, but I wanted to say "I LOVE YOU" to all you fellow gardeners who post here on site. Coming here, sitting down with a cup of joe and catching up with what everybody is doing is like walking into a friend's kitchen. And it's so comforting to know that I'm not the only one with weeds that didn't get pulled, seedlings that gave up the ghost, and that really really expensive plant that died in its pot because I never planted it.
Sometimes, sitting here at the end of a long day, muddy, aching feet, and broken nails, I think that my entire gardening venture is teetering between madness and utter ruin. Surely if I were a better gardener, more organized, smarter, stronger, a better person I'd have all this DONE by now. Surely NO-ONE has a rose bush that they are afraid to approach because it's so overgrown it growls every time I come near it with secateurs? NO-ONE has a patch of daylilies that have fused inexorably with couch grass and is probly busily creating some godless hybrid that will one day communicate with aliens? NO-ONE has a bed overgrown with bindweed that is multiplying so fast I'm convinced it is working steadily and inexorably toward global domination?
Then I read you folks' trials and tribulations (and triumphs) and I realize we're all in the same boat....all trying to re-create some little part of a heavenly Eden in the all too disappointing Earth. Thank you.
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Well, we've had almost a week of very very windy weather, very cold temps, and clear skies. What had been soggy is now dried out. I brought all my greenhouse plants back indoors a few days ago and I'm glad I did because our overnites dropped to 22F last night. Everybody is tucked up warm and cozy in bedroom and kitchen and will stay there for the next several days.
Happy to report that the re-covered greenhouse withstood the fierce winds without trouble. Sealing the seams with heat instead of tape is definitely the way to go. Nothing lifted and even during the worst of it I did not see that "ballooning" effect of the wind getting in through gaps and inflating the entire covering. It rippled a bit, but that was all.
I got my replacement Castor Bean seeds yesterday but I'll hold off planting them until a bit later. Now that I know how fast they germinate and grow I don't think I need to rush things. Seeing that my experiment with growing petunias from seed seems (seems 
) to being going well, I decided to take a plunge with starting pelargoniums (geraniums) from seed. I got the seeds yesterday and planted half of them; if they germinate and grow I should have a dozen or so plants. The only problem is I'm starting them very late; they really should have been in the ground by Feb. 1. That's ok. This is an experiment and if I have to overwinter immature plants for next year, so be it.
Also reseeded my pot of basil with fresh seeds (still no head in pot).
Another crescent bed turned over and ready for planting in the veg. Today I'm going to work on one of the very big rectangular beds because I think I may put my potatoes in there this year. I've got four kinds of seed potatoes chitting nicely on top of the kitchen cabinets.
The veg is going to get a lot of attention this weekend because it really is a mess. (It usually is this time of year.) I've got stacks of fencing panels, bean poles, tomato cages, etc. everywhere. Once I get things really going it will all fall into place, but for now it looks like a dump or, more charitably, a construction site. I still need to concentrate efforts on that southwest corner. It's a shady damp spot and I'd like to get two wild cherries that have come up to the south of the veg taken down to let some sunshine in. The soil there is very good and it would probably be a very productive corner with more light (and fewer weeds). It's another of those problem spots: I've tried everything and nothing really thrives except the thornless blackberries trained along the fence. Last year I put in late cabbages and I think they would have done well but they got swamped by a butternut squash vine and I forgot they were even there. I also need to get cracking on finishing up the berry cage and assorted tweaking and grooming that structure will entail.
I've also been randomly potting up little "extras" that I have everywhere. Yesterday I potted up 8 small containers of sedum. I think that rather than have a big formal Plant Sale in May I may just set up a table along the road and put up some signs and let people stop in and buy whatever catches their eye, on the honor system. The "honor system" is popular around my area, I'm happy to say. I sometimes put out extra eggs for sale and I've never been cheated...in fact, some people leave MORE than I ask. As far as plant sales, I'm also wondering if it might be worthwhile buying a space at our community Yard Sale (held at the community center) in May and just loading up the pickup bed and selling from there. I don't think the spaces cost much, so it might be a good way to not only sell extra plants but meet some nearby gardening folks. We'll see. Right now, I need to get my workies on and get moving. Those carrots aren't going to water themselves, missy.
Yesterday (Tuesday 19 March) was windy. Everybody was complaining about it. Then we found out what "windy" is really like. It is blowing a gale out there today, from early morning right thru the afternoon. The only thing that is preventing a lot of trees going over is that nothing is leafed out yet. But I've already found some fresh living branches down in the Pond Circle, so I expect to have a lot to pick up tomorrow.
Temperatures are cool/normal, drifting down to around freezing overnight, but nothing too terrible. The small plants in the greenhouse look good; I kept them covered with fleece all Monday night and all day yesterday; I think I'll cover them again tonight. I just sleep better knowing they are tucked in with that extra layer of protection.
Indoors, most things are doing very well. My basil seed are a bust. I think these are from an old pack so probly non-viable. I'll give them a few more days then buy fresh seed and try again. The pink muhly grass seed (collected last fall from my plant) are also no-go; I won't try that again. I suspect those plants are sterile; otherwise, we'd see pink grass popping up all over the garden.
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Morning was spent changing all my slipcovers/drapes from deep cranberry (winter) to sage green (spring). Big laundry, but a good day for it with the wind. I am a bit surprised the stuff din't end up blowing into Chambersburg.
Forced myself to get out a pot of black paint and give a good lick to a couple of decorative metal items and to the fiberglass vase/urn grouping that I've had for years sitting just off the deck. It's a pretty thing that started life as a plug-in re-circulating water feature, about 3 feet tall, that I bought while we still had a KMart. I couldn't believe my luck when I bought it; it was on discount and I got it for half off! It's faded a bit on the south-facing side, so I slapped some paint on it. Looks much better.
Since the veg is in a low spot and sheltered a bit from the worst of the wind, I got one of the crescent beds turned over and ready for planting. Very slow going because that bed is infested with bindweed. It did not seem so bad last summer but I think it's because I was growing pole beans and tomatoes crowded into that little bed and the veg plants must have kept it shaded and in check. But the roots are everywhere, like spaghetti. I got out every bit I could find, but I don't fool myself that it's gone. It's very hard to get rid of, but I've found that if you diligently destroy it every time it rears its head, eventually it will die out.
My beautiful big castor bean plants are no more! There is one survivor out of 12 plants and I'll need to repot it. I couldn't figure out what happened, then when poking around a bit I got that certain "whiff" that only cat owners know so well. Dratted felines. I made the mistake of placing the pan with the castor plants on the floor in front of the patio doors so they could get some extra light and somebody used it as a litter box. AND doofus that I am, I had planted ALL the seeds I had. So I had to order more and they should be here next week. I'm not worried; I was amazed at how fast the seeds I planted germinated and grew to enormous size, so there's no hurry to get them started in time for the warmer weather.
Tomorrow I'm tackling another section of the veg and if it's not too blowy out there I may try to get some masonry work done on the Folly Wall. I'd also like to get out the chain saw and cut those posts to length in preparation for putting them up in the hen run.
Back months ago, I got a very good deal on two miniature roses in pots. They were on the deep discount rack at the supermarket, I think probably left-overs from Christmas. I can't remember exactly what the price was, but it was cheap and the roses looked healthy. One is a peach flowered variety; the other might be pink flowered. I've kept them in their original pots. At first, when we had very bitter weather into the teens at night, I kept them in the basement. Then, when it got a bit milder I moved them onto the south-facing deck and I've left them there ever since, letting them get acclimated to being outdoors (their labels said "Indoor/Outdoor", so they are winter hardy but greenhouse grown and forced). They've been doing very well, going nicely into dormancy but retaining their leaves. I decided I'd use them in the Pot Corral so today I wanted to transfer them to bigger pots. Surprise! They weren't TWO miniature roses. They were TEN miniature roses! When I popped them out of their pots, they divided up into five and five, all well-rooted and healthy. I potted one set up two in one big pot in the Pot Corral and three in another. The other one I divided up into five smaller pots and have them set down next to the greenhouse. If they all continue to do as well separately as they have been, I will be over the moon.
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I'm trying to keep making progress. But things keep going off track. Yesterday, we were supposed to get rain in the afternoon, so I did not want to start working with concrete. I have got to get those posts in for the hen run, but I thought since we were getting rain, I'd wait and do that today. Instead, yesterday, I spent the morning getting a lot of routine things done and then spent an enjoyable half-hour "liberating" winter aconites from along the road in front of that abandoned old house. I thought this would be perfect: get the aconites back home, planted, and then the rain will water them in.
Well, the rain never came. So I got up this morning intending to do the hen run posts. But because I did not buy the concrete mix yesterday (can't haul that home in the truck in the rain!), I had to go to Lowe's today. But got off to late start because it was way too cold to start concrete early, then the stores/highways were crowded and what should have been a quick trip took two hours. Got home cranky and hungry and decided it was too late to start with the hen run. So did the Pot Corral instead, getting the pots topped off with good potting soil. In addition to the mini roses, I also planted two pots with tiger lily bulbs and then moved the "christmas tree" shaped rosemary and lavender into bigger pots as well. I got those on discount after christmas and they've done well on the deck. Hope they continue to thrive in their new bigger pots.
Then I had to haul water down into the Glade to water in the newly planted aconites. I brought home a lot of them! I decided that instead of planting some here, some there, as I've been doing for the past few years, I'd concentrate on getting a big swath of them established. The Glade in the Pine Gap is perfect and there is already a small patch established there. But I'm not stopping there; I've got another small patch doing well up in the Storybook Garden and next week I'm going back to "liberate" a bunch more to spread around in there. And if I feel really energetic, I'll go back and get more to increase the patch in the Asian Garden.
AND if I get the gumption (I love that word), I'm going to take a drive into Maryland and see if I can find that little back road where I got some lovely pale purple New England Asters a few years ago and I might "liberate" a few more clumps of those! I really should have a pirate flag flying from my pickup truck's antenna. Arr....
Gradually, I'm turning my attention from the Borders and ornamentals to the veg. I already have my first carrots and parsnips in from February. This week I got my peas in. On Tuesday I turned over one of the square beds (the one nearest the greenhouse). I'm going to plant my onions at one end, under a cage and with a fleece cover tightly in place. I also worked wood ashes into the soil. All to protect against the allium leaf miner. Before I plant the sets, I'm going to dunk them into the spinosad (organic pesticide) and then water them in with more of the same.
My cabbages, brassicas, cauliflower, and shasta daisies are in the greenhouse and doing good. I had to bring everything back into the house a few nights ago because the temps dipped to near freezing and we had snow. I never completely trust the weather forecasts for low temps because I'm in a cold spot and I decided not to take chances. One year I lost two entire flats of cabbages because I thought it would be ok to leave them in the greenhouse, well covered, when the overnite temps went to 28F. Well, it went down to more like 24F and they froze solid and did not recover.
Indoors, I've got a flat of tiny yarrow going, my celery is finally germinated, and fennel seeds are up and coming along. I'm trying again with the red cabbage. I originally planted 4-6 seeds and only 2 germinated. One plant has died. So I'm giving it another try. I suspect these are not fully viable seeds; maybe this is why they were on sale! I'm also trying again with the Pink Muhly grass, but I have doubts. After a week nothing at all. I tried these self-collected seeds last fall and got nowhere too. I also have a big pot of basil started (no head in the pot).
Out in the greenhouse, I've got a flat of Cleome and a flat of penstemon; instructions said they needed some cool temps to get them started so that's what they are getting. I've got liatrus and something else in the freezer for a month of stratification (chilling before planting).
I want to get my marigolds, zinnias, and sunflowers started soon, but I'm holding off until the temps stabilize outside. I really don't want to have even more flats crowding up the kitchen. Once some of the stuff I've got growing is a bit bigger I can move them to the cooler office and bedrooms, but for now the babies need to be in the warmer kitchen.
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Got the Virtual Koi Pond cleaned out (raked out leaves and debris) and my concrete virtual koi in place. The funny thing is that even though there is NO WATER in the virtual pond (hence, "virtual") I found myself balancing on the edge and trying not to step into it while I worked. 
I think I might sprinkle some more of that crushed glass over the surface of the gravel. It really looks nice and sparkles like water.
Got all the pots set up in the Pot Corral and most of them are partially filled with garden compost now. I'll top them off with good potting soil before I plant them. There's a lot of them! I've got to sit down and sketch up a plan for each pot. A nice exercise while having a cup of tea!
