Nothing much to report except my veg garden has never looked this bad this late in the spring. Usually by mid-May things are in the ground and growing and the veg looks at least semi-respectable. This year, with all the rain and cold temps, I'm way behind in planting and getting the soil ready for planting. I can't work in that heavy clay soil when it's wet. Even though I have raised beds (slightly, maybe 18 inches) it's still too wet.
Yesterday (Saturday 11 May) started out beautifully, with clear sunny skies and cool temps. I hurried a load of laundry out onto the line, then drove to Boonsboro Maryland for the annual recycling fair. I had loads of glass from our house and my neighbor's, plus one small old computer. I got three bags of recycled glass sand in exchange and I bought two very nice little Virginia Sweetspires (Itea virginica) at the plant swap table. I was hoping they'd have more little Japanese maple seedlings like last year, but no luck. I wish I had bought 4 or 5 last year instead of 1. The one I have is doing great, it's more than doubled in size. (Still only about a foot tall!)
I stopped in Hagerstown, MD, on the way back home to buy a sack of mortar because I'm bound and determined to get more concrete blocks on to the Folly Wall this week. By the time I got home, it was overcast and by nightfall we had heavy rain.
This morning, sunny and cool again. I had a lot of house and office work to do, so did not get into the garden until past noon. The call of the big garden rooms and borders is so tempting, but I made myself concentrate on the disaster that is called the veg. You ever have one of those moments where you stand looking at a chaotic mess and literally cannot move because you don't know what to do first? It's that bad.
I decided to start by getting the teasels out of the brick path at the east end of the garden. What a big improvement. Then I just went from there. Pruned back the die-back on the fig, hammered in the stakes to hold up a wooden raised bed edge. Pulled out tons and tons of false strawberry (which apparently has decided to take over the world), dug out a small but encroaching patch of goldenrod along the south fence, re-installed another wooden raised bed edge, cleaned out both the cold frames. And even got two short rows of beans planted!
What a difference. It's only about 1/4 of the entire veg, but it's a good start and I do have other beds in the veg that are cleaned and planted and looking good. It's mostly the paths and a few of the beds I haven't yet turned over or done anything with. One thing I really need to think about is storing the tomato cages and the various fence panels. I tend to lay them up wherever there's nothing growing, then when I need that spot, they get shifted, then shifted again, and again. It's stupid and time-consuming and the effect is like a junk yard. I really should think about some sort of rack or something (probly would be a good idea to get them up off the ground too, to reduce rust).
Temps have been up and down all week, from highs near 90 to tomorrow's forecast high of 57F. Only constant is the precipitation: we've had mostly light intermittent rain, but some heavier showers, mist, a good bit of fog, and almost constant overcast. When the temps are high, it's miserably humid. Yesterday it was in the mid-70s but the high humidity and occasional bursts of sunshine made it feel a lot warmer. I had to run some junk up to the transfer station so I brought back a load of free mulch; all of it went into the Tropical Garden and I could definitely use some more there.
Put in another planting of carrots; with all the rainy weather and a fresh packet of seeds, I figure it's worth a try!
All my winter-started brassicas are in the veg now: 4 kinds of cabbages, 2 kinds of broccoli, and cauliflower. I do have a small flat of Chinese cabbage and Pak Choi in the greenhouse, along with another flat of red cabbage. Those aren't big enough to go out yet. Also a few little kale seedlings.
We've been trying to put in a new kitchen/back door and that's taken up a lot of time the past couple of days. Today we finally got the door properly hung, but I'm glad R knows what he's doing because I did not have a clue as to why it wouldn't close at first (needed to be sanded down from the bottom). Taking the door in and out a couple of times was hard work, but now all it needs is the lockset installed and we're in business. This one is fiberglass; the original door was steel and it rusted horribly all along the bottom. I'm so glad to have that mess out of my kitchen.
I think I've hit on a good way for me to get things done around here. I have a to-do list and it's always growing, and most of the time it seems overwhelming. So I've been trying to "Just Do 3". I pick three things: feed chickens, gather eggs, plant new ornamental grass. Do those. Then 3 more. Wash dishes, put in load of laundry, sweep deck. Then 3 more, etc. I refuse to get distracted. I can get other things done if they present themselves, but I concentrate on "Just those 3." It helps. And I'm sticking with my idea of a "Done" list. At the end of the day, instead of going over all the "to-do" things that did not get done, I go over all the things that I did get done. It's very satisfying.
One of my newer garden "rooms" is the Tropical Garden. This used to be the Auxiliary Veg garden, located near the top of the slope above the grape arbor and north of the Winter Garden. It is a sort of gateway garden leading into the Asian Garden area. A few years ago, I removed the fence around the area, contoured its outlines, put in a path, etc. For the past couple years, most of my cannas and colocasias have been there, along with some other "jungly" looking plants. Because I live in Zone 6, actual tropical plants are not an option except as summer residents (I store the cannas and colocasias indoors during the winter). I am slowly adding to the perennial, in-ground plants. I have 6 dark-red flowered hardy hibiscus that did very well last summer. Those huge exotic looking flowers were great! I added two more (pink, I think) last fall but don't see new growth yet, so that's a fingers-crossed. I put in a couple of very small clumps of miscanthus and both are doing well. Took a chance and left the "Hot Lips" Salvia in ground over the winter, with various kinds of protection. The 3 plants that were covered with leaves and then an upturned plastic bucket did excellently; 2 others with minimal cover not so good, and one that I tried covering with mounded dirt died. Live and learn. At least now I know that moderately tender perennials (I think these salvias are Zone 7) will survive our winters with substantial cover.
I'm eager to see if an experiment from last fall pays out: I transplanted two very young mimosa trees into the Tropical Garden, but I cut them down to about 18 inches tall. I don't want them as trees; I want to see if they will put out their typical leaf fronds that resemble ferns. That should give me a suitably "tropical" ferny look without actually using the big Ostrich ferns that probably won't do well in the Tropical Garden because it is (for now) full sun and on a well drained slope.
Yesterday I spent the entire morning working in the Tropical Garden, weeding and putting in the cannas and colocasias. I dug out a rampant clump of goldenrod and now I have a big empty spot crying for something...I'm thinking I'll put the 'Cosmopolitan' Miscanthus I jsut bought last week in there. Its height will work well. I'm wondering if I should go back to Snavely's and see if I can get another pot of the same grass....
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Today the cabbages go in the veg and then it's over to E's house to help her move some junk out. Our weather has been cool/warm and very overcast for the past several days. Light rain and some pretty heavy fog yesterday. Perfect gardening weather where ever the soil isn't too wet.
I've been feeling "scattered" lately. My mother-in-law was Pennsylvania Dutch and she called it "vershimlt." It's when you feel like there's a million things to do and you can't get started on any one thing. Or, started on a million things at once. You probly know the feeling.
I have to keep telling myself I AM MAKING PROGRESS. It's just been hit or miss. Once I get all the "hardscape" projects, like walls, walks, arbors, etc. done, then it will be ok. I'll be one of those gardening ladies who wanders the garden with big straw hat, trug, and secateurs, deadheading roses and humming Brahms ( 
, like that's ever going to happen "done" ha.)
Yesterday morning was spent entirely on the Pot Corral. First, I drove over to Jerry's back lot and got a big load of stump grindings, brought it home and filled all the pots. It looked like so much dirt, but those big pots ate it up like nothing and I still need more to do grow-bags for my hot peppers and eggplants. It also took so much longer than I thought. I still haven't planted tender annuals in any pots yet, but the hardier stuff is in: cannas, salvias, elephant ear, etc. And some perennials: mini roses, hostas. The Boston ferns are also out there and in place, they look a little ratty after all winter in the bedroom, but I see a lot of new growth coming in.
Wednesday I was supposed to meet friends in Gettysburg for lunch, but sudden illness struck and they had to cancel. So I went up to Lurgans Greenhouse instead. It's Amish-owned, huge, unadvertised, and the prices are reasonable. I bought a Rodgersia to grow in the Jungle Cliff, a horsetail rush for the little pond there, and a lovely red astilbe with dark red foliage that for now is featured in one of the big Pot Corral containers. I also stopped at a nursery that is going out of business (Snavely's in Chambersburg) and bought a variegated thyme and a pot of Miscanthus grass "Cosmopolitan" which can get to 8 feet tall. I've been lusting for that grass for a while now and since it was on sale, I bought it. I'll be sorry to see yet another nursery go out of business, but I have to be honest: their deep discount sale prices were still pretty high in my opinion and it's no wonder these nurseries are having trouble staying in business. At 25% off I still paid $19 for a pot of ornamental grass. It used to be that a lot of these places would propagate and grow their own stock, now I think most order in from big wholesalers and that's where the price creep begins. It's too bad because the selection used to be AMAZING and the prices reasonable, but now it's a generic selection and high cost.
May 1, Beltane, May Day, the first day of summer according to the Old Calendar. And wow, here, the weather went to summer right on schedule. We've had glorious summer days, and everything is booming along in the garden.
Late last week our house air conditioning system went haywire, we still have cooling, but it's not working right and the decision between us and the technician was we need a new system. They sent someone over to measure the house, windows, insulation, etc. and today another tech is coming out to show us our options (in other words, tell us just how outrageously priced is this new system, whatever we choose). I'm braced for the worst; looks like I'll be cashing in some of Dad's Savings Bonds.
Monday cousins stopped in for lunch on their way home from N. Carolina. It's like after they left, all I wanted to do was sleep. Woke up Tuesday raring to go and got a lot done around the house and in the garden. I moved all the Boston Ferns out of my bedroom, their winter quarters, and into the Pot Corral. They came thru the winter in pretty good shape, but I know they'll really perk up now.
Got the first section of the hose system hooked up for the veg. At least now I have water to the greenhouse. But I need to do some repairs. The short hose that attaches to the outside faucet and feeds the whole system is squirting water at the faucet so I think I need to take that apart and tighten up the hose end. I have all the veg hoses out but not connected so I may get that done today, just to get it out of the way. It's a bit complicated, but I only need to do this once a year and I've found that having several shorter hoses feeding off one main hose is better for my veg garden than trying to haul around a single hose to reach every corner.
Cleaned out the tulip pots by the deck and replanted the bulbs in the Below the Deck Garden, right at the bottom edge. The soil there is compacted heavy clay, so I dug up and turned over a biggish area and worked some compost into it before the tulips went in. Not so much for the tulips themselves but to just go ahead and improve another small spot of clay. I'm hoping to fill those big empty pots with something cheap from Lowe's. Last year I got a big flat of very very browned and sad looking begonias on discount at Lowe's; a little time and TLC and they were gorgeous all summer long.
I've been putting those "yard sign" wire supports to really good use everywhere! It's great having a quick way to give my emerging lilies support. I did not realize how many lilies I have around here and I'm glad not to have to scramble around finding supports AFTER the plants get top heavy. I'm going to put in some of these wire supports around some young peonies in the Below the Deck Garden too.
Today, the two big projects are to finish digging over the long bed in the veg so I can set up my tomato fence. I put in 4 lightweight metal fence posts and string a section of wire fencing called "sheep fence" on them. The wires are widely spaced (6X10 inch rectangles) so it is perfect for tomatoes. You can reach right through to pick. I'm not ready to set out tomatoes just yet, but this will get everything ready.
The second big project is to go over to Jerry's backlot and get a big load of stump grindings. I really want to finish filling up some big pots and that stuff is perfect for taking up room at the bottom of a pot. It's a mix of shredded wood and lots of dirt, and by the end of the summer it will be rich dark compost. I put a generous layer of regular potting soil on top and plant in that.
I'm so surprised that my "Jane" magnolias are still hanging onto their blooms! They look absolutely magical with the pink and white bleeding hearts and the white native dogwoods. Lucky!
