REST TIME

So this is not strictly a garden photo--but these guys are taking a much-needed rest in the sun from their self-imposed gardening duties (chasing birds and rabbits). That's Lucy the dog, and Jerry Lee the cat (official "old man" of the neighborhood at 16--but who's counting!).

THIS PHOTO DOESN'T DO JUSTICE TO THE RAINBOW OVER OUR HOUSE LAST WEEK...ALMOST COMPLETE--JUST THE VERY TOP OF THE ARC WAS MISSING. IN FACT, THE NEXT MORNING, THERE WAS A FRONT PAGE PHOTO OF IT IN OUR LOCAL PAPER (MUST HAVE BEEN A SLOW NEWS DAY!)

JULY ALREADY?!?!?!?!

SO I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE JUNE WENT--EXCEPT THAT I SPENT A LOT OF IT OUTDOORS WITH MY HANDS IN DIRT...YES!! HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF THE FRUITS OF MY LABORS...AND, I KNOW, THERE'S STILL LOTS TO BE DONE!!

IRIS TIME

NOW THE IRIS ARE IN FULL BLOOM--ACTUALLY SOME OF THEM ARE ALREADY DONE. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THEM WHEN THEY'RE IN BLOOM...THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DISGUISE THEM WHEN THEY'RE DONE!!

The Ides of May

OK so I missed the exact date, but I'm close! Here's a sampling of blooms in my garden right now. Don't you just love this time of year? That rose is a miniature...I keep my eye out at the grocery stores for them--often cheaply priced and with some TLC they acclimate pretty quickly to the great outdoors. Also, my Tahoka Daisy seeds were included in a treasury. I'm just babying the seedlings for this year right now. Here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=58764

So I go to a nursery on Monday--ostensibly looking for a patchouli...and find this awesome different kind of centaurea montana (perennial cornflower) called Amethyst in Snow...which I just HAD to have. So I justified the purchase by giving it to Dave as part of his birthday the next day. He was too smart for me...he figured out that it was mostly for me, but he graciously accepted it and we planted it today. I love it!!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Just an offering of shady plants in bloom in my garden right now. Don't you just love the month of May?

It's Spring...He Shouted!!

Finally!! Many days of rainy, cool temps. A true spring, I guess. But today was awesome. My little perennials from winter sowing are getting bigger every day and some have had to be repotted, and I'm still waiting on some...meantime, I've been very busy trying to get annuals going. I LOVE SPRING!!! Those on the right are still waiting to come to life...

Babies!!!

My first babies have arrived from the winter sowing containers--the first two were both dianthus (2 different varieties), and since I took the photos, different ones have sprouted. But the weather is too cold for me to spend much time out there yet checking them out. Maybe this coming week?!?!?

TA DAAAHHH!!!

So now you can finally tell it's a rose. It's enjoying 24 hour a day fake lighting while waiting for spring to arrive. The other picture is of my new crop of clematis (I killed the first ones by removing the tent too quickly so I'm trying to be more patient with these). Hopefully, they'll make it...

A BIG Splash of Color

...and check out this amaryllis. I forgot about them at Christmas and now I'm kind of glad since the bright color is really appreciated on these dreary days.

THE ROSE GROWS!

So, for all you skeptics out there...it IS getting bigger. I'm going on vacation for a week, so hopefully it will be much bigger and not all dried out when I return...

A Rose!

So "winter sowing" isn't the only way to survive winter while still keeping your hands in the dirt a bit. There's also refrigerator sowing!! It works great for things like daylilys and roses which I've both done successfully in the past. This year, I don't have any daylily seeds, but was able to harvest some rose hips at a sports car race back in the fall. Rose germination takes a while, but I just keep mine in the vegetable compartment in the refrigerator and check them occasionally for signs of life. So far, only one has sprouted and here it is!! Doesn't look like much yet, but it has survived the critical first few days of transfer to dirt and is hanging in there. More photos will follow.

SNOW---FINALLY!!!

I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen. And as you can see it wasn't all that much. I like the way all the winter sowing containers look with just a dusting of snow on them. The best part is knowing that inside those jars...things are happening!!

Happy New Year

Yeah! It's a New Year and MY mind naturally turns to a million different projects I want to accomplish in my garden this year (just kidding hubby!). Fortunately, it's freezing around here so no outdoor chores for a while yet (I can hear him breathing a sign of relief).

But inside, winter sowing is STILL going on--had a slight delay for another bag of dirt (thanks Sam's Club for whisking away your Christmas leftovers so quickly and putting back out the spring stuff).

Now these photos don't look like much now, but (hopefully) come March, I'll be able to show you little green seedlings in all these containers.

I have a walk-out basement with stairs going up to the back yard so it's the perfect place for my winter sowing--doesn't get direct sun and I just have to step outside quickly to access them.