Friday, July 16, 2010

July Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Such a wet and busy summer.  I've been too busy to write updates about the gardens and I will regret it next year when I'm trying to remember what happened when and how to plan for it in the gardens for next year.  The weeds got a healthy start with a wet and warm spring, and have continued their phenomenal unwelcome growth all summer.  I mulch heavily, and even so the weeds have been a constant challenge.  My neighbor does not mulch at all, left for two weeks and came home to a large garden so overrun with weeds that she could barely find her plants.  

I'm grateful for all the common but hardy plants in my garden that so bravely withstand the heat, the wet, and the weed competition to bless me with their rich colors, shapes, and fragrances.  I even love some of my flowering weeds, as long as they stay within the boundaries I set for them.  This is a sampling of those reliable plants that were in bloom in my garden yesterday, an overcast and rainy day.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Rain, more rain....and weeds galore

It has rained so heavily and so frequently that all the gardens and flower beds are soggy and weed-filled.  Pulling weeds in this heavy, wet soil is apt to do more damage than good, since every time I try I uproot the very plants I'm trying to protect.  Even the heavily mulched areas are sprouting weeds, but the advantage there is that I can pull those without worry of harm, and because of the mulch they come up easily.   The advantage?  I haven't had to water anything except the flowers in hanging pots on the front porch, since mother nature has done it so thoroughly.  The disadvantage?  Plants that are normally carefree are experiencing fungus and mold attacks, including a real heart-breaker - one of our huge Colorado Spruce appears to have been hit by a severe attack of Rhizosphaera needle cast, and while the potato plants so far look huge and beautiful, having their roots (tubers) so consistently moist cannot be doing this crop any favors.  Sun yesterday and today, with two more days of rain forecast beginning tomorrow.  I'm starting to feel rather soggy myself.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Catching up in the garden

Returning home after a 10-day vacation at this time of year is a mixed blessing.  The rain and the heat took good care of my flowers and vegetables and kept most pests at bay naturally. Mulched garden and beds did beautifully however I was quickly reminded why it's important to mulch heavily and early.


Unfortunately, the weeds also appreciated the water and heat - BOY did they appreciate it! I've spent several hours each day since my return bringing order to the chaos in the sections of flowerbeds and garden which I did not have time to mulch before leaving on vacation.  There's an herb or two in there somewhere, I just know it....now to find it...

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day June 2010

After a 10-day vacation absence I returned to find my gardens and flower beds full of healthy growth.  Lovely....except that the most prolific growth in my absence was the weeds, which will take days and days to get back under control.  It seems as though that's a relatively easy task when I'm cruising the yard daily and can catch things before they get out of control, but now I'm going to have to get out some of my more heavy-duty tools.  Still, it's satisfying to see the more-or-less weed-free flower beds emerge following my labors - seems I can almost hear the plants sigh in relief and wiggle their toes (roots) around in the now more spacious earth surrounding them.  I love to see how effectively the more established perennials have kept weeds at bay on their own.  Hopefully the other beds will soon catch up to that goal.   Here are some of the things blooming happily in my gardens today. 

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

THIS is why I do it!

People sometimes look around our property and comment on how much work it must take to maintain it, and give me a puzzled look when I tell them we really enjoy the work and the subsequent results.

I'm working from home this week, to maximize available time with my visiting son, so this morning I'm sitting on the front porch with my cup of coffee next to me, and my computer in my lap.  My background "muzak" is the sound of birdsong and hummingbird wings, and when I look up from my computer, this is the scene that welcomes me.   THIS is why i love the work involved in maintaining the yard and flowerbeds, and why I love the results.  These moments are what makes it all worthwhile.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Early fruits of labor

The hanging planters filled with Lantana hung on the porch have not only attracted hummingbirds already but a small unplanted clay planter has become a nesting spot for a couple of very energetic chickadees.  I'm trying to keep my distance except for necessary watering of the plants so as not to frighten them away - it will be great fun to watch if they complete nesting and hatch babies in there.  As an interesting side-note, the spider plants that I hung as fillers until I could get something else in there seem to also be encouraging various birds to visit and the hanging spiderlets are intriguing to the hummingbirds - go figure.  In any case, this combo seems to be working, so I won't be changing it anytime soon.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Time flies....

The past month has been so hectic that I missed writing in the blog entirely, missed the May 15 posting of what's in bloom, and missed documenting a lot of what's gone on in the greenhouse and garden.  Suffice it to say for now, that the greenhouse and garden along with their associated tasks have provided both mental and emotional respite from work and from family health issues (my mom falling and needing to have daily care for a few weeks), as well as much-needed physical exercise.  

Major accomplishments since the last posting in April:
1) the evil vole has moved out of the greenhouse and ceased its damage, as far as I can determine NOT because of any deterrents I tried, but because enough tasty things are now growing outside that it no longer needed the greenhouse goodies. 
2) 2 of three types of tomato seedlings did GREAT and are ready to go into the garden tonight; Sun Gold did great, Better Boy did fine, and Roma never sprouted - who knows why.  Purchased a flat of Romas to plant - should feel frustrated, but figure I'm still in the learning phases of growing veggies from seed.
3) Found out that while seeds may sprout well in soil-less mix, they need to be moved immediately after sprouting into a mix with soil (and/or fed), or they will stay tiny, tiny, tiny.  Can I re-use this mix next year or is it contaminated with potential greenhouse "stuff" that shouldn't be in there?  We'll find out next year (or sooner if I find something written about this).
4) Lilac seedlings that have been coddled in the greenhouse and in pots in the yard the last two years were (apparently successfully) planted into a new wind-break row.  The wind from the north-west kind of battered the poor things initially, even though I had spent several weeks hardening them off, but so far all seem to be doing ok.  It will be interesting to see if they all make it through the coming winter.
4) Chrysanthemum cuttings are nearly all doing well and blooming.  I've had about 90% success rate with the cuttings, and that is fun to experience.
5) Goldfish didn't fare so well in the greenhouse this winter - lost some to illness, but will be ready to move them into the outdoor pond later this week I hope.  This is about a month later than I usually move them, and I think the heat in the greenhouse may have been the culprit in affecting their health this spring.
6) Other cuttings have done reasonably well - more about those in a subsequent blog.
7) Put in a new shade garden this past weekend.  This was my first chance in years to do that and do it correctly, right from the start; we'll see if it fares better than the ones I just kind of threw together in years past.
8) Cleaned out and renovated herb garden; redug, tilled, and replanted perennial herbs, added more this past weekend, and planted some annuals as well.   Still more room to plant, which is great!  Am looking to expand the edible flowers in this garden area.
9) Planted three varieties of potatoes, two varieties of beans in the main garden several weeks ago.  Added peas about a week ago, and re-tilled this morning to make room for all the things that need to go in next, now that we've passed the Michigan "last-frost" date (at least on paper).
10) Planted a new row of flowing shrubs to serve as both summer windbreak eventually and flowing back-bone of a new area of flower garden.  Finished planting yesterday - this morning already discovered deer browse damage on two of the shrubs, which means more deer-deterrent spraying, which I hate to do.

Whew, now that I've taken the time to write this stuff down, I realize it's actually been a productive month, since these are just the major accomplishments - there are other smaller tasks that have been productive but too much to record for now.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April 2010

Returned from a 10-day vacation on Monday evening to find lots of new and beautiful blooms in the yard and gardens.  I LOVE spring!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Heat wave!

Unseasonably warm weather in Michigan all of a sudden.  Yesterday's temp was 80 degrees.  When I got home from work it was 120 degrees in the greenhouse even with the fan going and the screen door open!  Yikes!  I don't really know how, but none of the plants seemed the worse for wear, not even the seedlings.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mystery guest, part II

After work yesterday found that two more daylillies had been damaged by my mystery vermin.  Not as severe as the earlier damage, but nonetheless, traps went down immediately.  This morning on checking the greenhouse found nothing caught by the mouse traps baited with apple, but also no further damage to the plants either.  

Good progress with spring flower-bed clean-up so far.  Today it's raining and tomorrow family arrive for a several-day visit, so probably won't be able to do more for at least a few days.  Love the way the earth smells in this early spring warmth in a mild drizzle.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Mystery guest

I went to the greenhouse this morning to perform the usual morning check and maintenance and found I've been visited by a mystery guest.  This "guest" (or guests?) had demolished two plants overnight.  A beautiful little red and gold primula that had been in full bloom a few days ago was nibbled down to the ground, and a daylilly start that I had repotted a few days ago (it had a beautiful big, healthy root ball) had been dug around, leaving a large empty hole surrounding what was left of the roots, with the soil and other root remnants had been kicked out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot and piled around it.  WEIRD!  From my reading since then, I'm assuming my visitor or visitors are voles, since they have to be small enough to enter through the drainage holes and move all that dirt.   ARGH!  Sounds like there aren't a lot of viable options for getting rid of them without a lot of work, since I don't want to poison them and risk poisoning whatever predators might eat them.  Until a month ago, my cat lived in and patrolled the greenhouse, and during that time I never saw any damage, although the previous winter (before the cat moved in), a number of my weaker shrub starts suffered from what I thought was mice-damage (chewing of bark and branches).  When we put in the greenhouse several seasons ago, we dug down about 6 inches throughout, covered with weed barrier, and then covered the weed barrier with
3-4" of pea-gravel, and since then have placed concrete pavers on the aisles to both act as heat sinks and make walking in the greenhouse easier.  Still, it's just a hoop greenhouse, and from what I've read, sounds like that wouldn't have provided much of a challenge for the voles - assuming that's what is doing the damage.  Mouse traps baited with apple will go down tonight (voles supposedly like apple), and we'll see what happens.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring is slow in coming

Spring bulbs are late in coming this year...or maybe I'm just impatient.  This is the only little crocus that has braved the elements so far, although the daffodils are shooting up more each day.  I've been working on clearing the majority of the leaf debris from the main flower beds to give the poor spring bulbs less work in fighting their way up, but as is typical for Michigan springs, if the days are warm and sunny, they are also windy in the extreme, which means my efforts to clean one bed are quickly challenged by the wind moving those same leaves to another bed.  Oh, for a windless, sunny day in which to work in the garden!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Snow is Gone, Spring Bulbs Beginning to Emerge

The snow has finally melted off all sections of the yard and spring bulbs are beginning to emerge.  Time to do spring-cleaning of flower beds, before the bulbs leaf out too much and are in danger of damage from my ministrations.  At the same time, greenhouse work is in full-swing, and shrubs and trees are in need of their late winter/early spring trimming for health maintenance, pond needs cleaning, etc.   Whew!  Too many fun jobs, and days are still too short to do them all! 

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Pest Treatments

This is what I've done to begin my pest-control program:
1) Set out saucers of beer for the fungus gnats
2) Isolated plants with fungus from those that appear free of fungus or other problems
3) Put of starting the seeds I was going to start, until I get this all under control
4) Sprayed scale-infected plants with soap solution
5) Opened the bottom part of the greenhouse door and set the fan thermostat to a lower heat setting to increase air movement in the greenhouse and around the plants (Is this counterproductive? Will it help spread fungus?)
6) Scheduled daily MORNING work in the greenhouse, rather than afternoon work to avoid watering late in the day.

So far this appears to have brought things back under control.  I did have to just destroy a couple of plants that had been pretty much overcome by fungus.  They were all kalanchoes that I had started from cuttings in the spring of 2009 and then moved to larger pots several times during the summer.  It looks as though possibly with the last repotting in the late fall, I overcrowded them by planting several starts in a single larger pot.  As they filled in and branched out they were beautiful, but by the time they began blossoming in late January they were showing signs of stress which I failed to remedy, and then overlooked the start of the fungus until it had taken serious hold on those plants.  I've been able to control what few additional plants became affected because I addressed those immediately, but the original infected plants had to be destroyed.  Hard lesson.

First robins of spring

We had our first spring robins in the yard yesterday - a hopeful sign, even if most of the yard is still snow-covered. The greenhouse has made it through a fairly typical Michigan winter using only 60% of the propane tank filled in November. This is tremendous progress from the first couple of years; I may have finally hit on the right balance of heat sinks and other heat-retaining methods for a hoop-house this size in our climate. It's still surprising to me that I've not been able to locate more published information on home-greenhouse maintenance for this climate, but through various readings from writers and bloggers in other zones, I seem to be finally piecing together what works here.

The next challenge, coming up quickly now, is how best to circulate the air and cool the greenhouse as the days become warmer and sunny days begin to be predominant, overheating the greenhouse by 1pm. So far just opening the glass of the screen door part-way has been sufficient to prevent overheating, but soon it will require more than that, complicated by my being gone during the day and unable to fine-tune adjustments as the day progresses. I'm looking at several alternatives now to provide better air circulation and cooling of the greenhouse for the spring months, and will report them here as I try them.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

More pests

Oh no! Scale also.... I'm going to have to spend some serious time cleaning and disinfecting, treating and isolating my plants in the greenhouse and house. I'll post some of the most useful sites that help me deal with my sudden infestations here in subsequent posts.

Greenhouse Pests

Well it's still cold and snowy out, and most days are still Michigan-winter-gray, but with the longer days plants overwintered in the greenhouse are waking up and sending out promising new leaves and shoots. Unfortunately, the pest population is also waking up, and although I try to be SO careful to keep my greenhouse clean and uncontaminated, I guess it's tough to do if you bring outdoor pots indoors. Overnight, I have fungus on some plants and fungus gnats on others. I probably overwatered because I got so excited to see fresh green again. Actually, I also watered late in the day after getting home from work, not giving the pots a chance to dry out during the day but instead staying damp all night in the cool night temps. I know better - I do - but thought I could get away with it a few times. ARGH! Now I have to experiment with the various non-commercial, relatively organic solutions to my problems that I've read about. Hopefully, the next post will contain success stories on this front.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Lesson for cuttings

I've learned the hard way that when you cover your cuttings with a clear plastic top (as is often recommend for retaining the correct humidity for best rooting), watch DAILY for any sign of fungus infection. The extra humidity is a ripe environment for fungus which can quickly destroy your cutting before it has a chance to develop roots.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Spring is coming!

The bubble-wrap insulation on the greenhouse walls worked like a charm! Propane consumptions was drastically cut. Last year I had to refill the propane tank 4 times; this year it is still running on the first tank from November, and looks as though it will make it through the next few weeks into real spring weather without having to refill. What a coup! The cost of the bubble insulation was recovered in a single season!