Tag Archives: garden blog

May I Start Planting, Please?

Leave a reply

We’ve made it to my favorite month in the gardening calendar. I love May. Everything is green, many of my favorite flowers begin blooming, and I can finally go hog wild, executing the gardening plans. Our last frost date isn’t technically until May 9th, but according to the weather report, we should be in the clear now. (I’m probably jinxing things… last year, we had an uber late frost, and my entire state was outside, panic-covering veggies and annuals with sheets to protect things from the cold).

  • A few of our trees: eastern redbud, red maple, and flowering dogwood

I started hardening off everything that’s been living indoors last week. We’ve made it up to four hours now, over four days. I knew I’d planted a boatload of seeds, but I really do have a lot going on. I moved the grow lights down to the kitchen so I could haul all the plants inside and outside easier. (The seedlings were living on the second floor, and it took exactly one day with 11,000,000 trips up and down the stairs for me to decide that was so not continuing for the full seven days).

  • The Italian Sweet Peppers are flowering already!

The tomatoes and peppers have started to flower, which is kind of blowing my mind. I’m really excited to get these plants into the ground. I also have rosemary, basil, and parsley hardening off, as well as our lemon tree, a (newly arrived) dwarf banana tree, some madder, the ginger and pineapple plants that I started over the winter, some geraniums, and an amaryllis bulb.

The deck is starting to fill up with pots as well. The potatoes I planted have sprouted, and I just potted up the canna and cala lily bulbs that we grew last year. (They were living in the garage over winter, dormant and just waiting for warm days again). I have two pots of dahlias growing this year, well, they are just tubers now, but hopefully, they will sprout soon. And, there’s cilantro, two pots of lettuces, sorrel, fennel, a bay laurel, strawberries, tulips, aloe, mint, and some swamp milkweed. How’s that for variety? The cold frame is basically permanently opened up now so the seedlings don’t overheat and burn, and it’s housing the dropseed, little bluestem, prairie blazing star, zinnias, marigolds, milkweed, bachelor button flowers, borage, thyme, more parsley, oregano, passion flowers, and german chamomile. Things should be large enough to plant out soon here.

  • The calla lilies are growing again and ready for planting. I promise, the flowers look better than the rhizomes here would suggest.

Last fall, after the sunflowers had finished their display, I harvested a few of the seeds to plant this year. I’ve been doing this for a few years now, with nice results. I have Mammoth Sunflowers, and some Autumn Beauty, and I planted both varieties out in the beds this weekend. They both grow quite tall, so I plant them along the fence. I love when they bloom in late summer- they are so cheery, and the bees really enjoy them.

Out in the garden, things are beginning to really fill in. While not even close to it’s full volume, I’m very pleased with our first shade bed. It’s packed full of hostas, ferns, heucheras, great white trilliums, dutchman’s breeches, sedum, creek sedge, hardy geraniums, a rhododendron, hellebores, crocuses, brunerra, speedwell, and along the front edge, by the birdfeeders, are dozens of little sunflower seedlings sprouting up. The birds shake the seeds out of the feeders, and I just let the sunflowers grow, thinning them out a little for healthier plants. It’s not the ideal placement for tall plants- right at the front of a bed- but the flowers the birds grew last year were so pretty. I’m really a sucker for sunflowers, wherever they may grow.

  • The shade garden is popping back up and filling in quickly this spring.

I set up a little pot again this year in that flower bed, filled with some rocks and water for the birds and bugs to enjoy. It was a hit last year, basically a little bird bath, so I thought I’d give it a go again. The dragonflies really seem to enjoy the water features, too, and with the way they devour mosquitoes (an adult dragonfly can eat hundreds of those bloodsuckers per day), I am about anything that lures them into our garden.

  • Some of the sunflower seeds from last falls harvest

This week, we’re expecting quite a bit of rain, but hopefully, once that clears out, I can start in on the next big gardening project: pulling out the sod in the front yard between the sidewalk and the street (the hellstrip). Quite a few of the plants for that project are still growing in the cold frame now, and the other half are things I plan to split from perennials we have around the yard already. Pulling up grass is a pain, literally, but it’s the necessary first step. Any time I can get rid of more grass in our yard is a good time in my book. Once the grass is out, I can plant the new bed, get it mulched, and the next pollinator garden will be in business.

Hope the week is warm and sunny where you are, and that you can spend some time relaxing around all the new spring life outdoors. Happy gardening!

  • Our Giant Allium is blooming. I love these wild little balls of flowers, and I saw quite a few bees enjoying them over the weekend, too.

Counting Down to the Planting Frenzy

Leave a reply

Just a few more days and it will be May! For us in Central Ohio, that means the last frost date is almost behind us, and soon I’ll be deep in the throes of a full on Planting Frenzy.

  • Our miniature daffodils are just opening up this week.

Our plants made it through last weeks freezes and snow with minimal damage. We had three nights below freezing, but the 2″ of snow we received didn’t stick around for more than a few hours (just enough to be depressing as hell before it was on its way). I hemmed and hawed each night about covering things up, but ultimately laziness won out. I hadn’t really planted anything yet this year that would baulk at the cold, but it was still a huge relief when things looked ok.

  • A few Japanese Maple leaves took a little damage from the cold, but the tree will be just fine.

Yesterday, the husband and I picked up the larger stones for the wildlife pond lining. I assembled everything, added a few twigs and branches, and filled the pond up with water. The remaining native plants I ordered should be arriving in a week or so, and then, hopefully, it will be Move In Day for our local critters. I am really pleased with the way things look so far, and as all the plants grow in, and I mulch the area, it will look even better.

  • Ignore the muddy water. Things will clear up once the dirt from the rocks settles.

I tried to pull out all the tricks I’ve learned for attracting and providing safe spots for wildlife. Water is always a draw on its own, and there’s plenty of nooks and crannies for things to live in, between the stone and all the branches. The native plants I chose are host plants for different butterflies and moths, and as it continues to warm up, hopefully, I’ll start seeing dragonflies, bees, and other bugs checking out the space. If we get any reptiles and amphibians, I’ll be over the moon. I’m excited for the birds to notice the pond, too. It’s a nice depth for them to be able to take a bath, and there are worms galore all over the area, so the eating is good.

  • Salads, incoming!

For those of us with more refined taste, the first of our little lettuce patch is about ready to enjoy. We harvested some of our basil this past weekend for pasta, and our strawberries are flowering already. The carrots, leeks, and parsley that I started in the raised bed a few weeks ago are starting to really take off as well.

I’m hoping to begin hardening off my pepper and tomato plants here soon so I can add them to the raised beds after the danger of frost has passed. When you start seeds indoors, you need to put them through a fun little dance called “hardening off” before they can move outdoors. The process takes about a week. On day one, the plants can spend about an hour outside, and I usually start them in the shade. The next day, give them two hours, the third day, three hours, and so on, until a week has passed. This gives your plants a chance to adapt to the different level of sunlight, humidity, wind, and the general “joie de vivre” of life outdoors. (Ok, that last one may not be totally scientific, but the first three are all important). Not doing this can seriously stress your plants, and they may not survive.

That’s all I have for now. Hope everyone has a lovely week. Happy gardening!

  • I can’t wait to enjoy the strawberries this year!

Spring Things

Leave a reply

As always seems to happen in the springtime, the days are flying by. The garden continues to pop awake, and the dogwood tree, tulips, creeping phlox, brunerra, rue anemone, virginia bluebells, and trillium are in bloom. The peonies are growing, and our clematis vines and allium have blooms, waiting to open.

  • Our ‘Jack Frost’ Brunerra in bloom in the shade garden

I’ve been doing some work on the new wildlife pond. I added a liner, and filled it with a bit of water. I hauled some river rock and pebbles to the backyard, which I’ve half spread out around the water. I’m looking into grabbing some larger stones to edge the pond, but I didn’t want to wait to plant the native perennials I’d picked up the other week. I have a boatload of native ferns and other shade and water-loving plants on their way to me in a couple of weeks to join the edge of the pond and to make more hidey holes for bugs and birds. Slowly but surely, I’m taking up all the sod around the pond to extend that shade garden. I’m really excited for that space to come together.

  • The pond is slowly coming together

We have two shade gardens in the backyard, right up next to the house. I have them both pretty packed with native flowers and sedges, and also a slew of ferns and hostas. I am a bit of a hosta fiend. I blame my dad. When we started the garden, he split one of he and my moms giant hostas, and gave it to me to help get my garden started. I love that thing. The leaves grow larger than dinner plates, in a deep blue-green, and it looks like a giant jungle plant. Since then, I’ve collected 11 more hosta plants, in various shapes and colors. They bloom every summer, with graceful little stalks of purple flowers that the bees enjoy. I saw a bumble bee sleeping inside of one of the flowers one year summer, and turned into a blubbery mess. I dare you to gaze upon a fuzzy bee, snoozing in a flower and not completely melt at the cuteness.

  • No bumble bees yet on these hostas

Our seedlings continue to grow like wild. I’m watching the calendar with anticipation, just waiting for the day I can pop my tomatoes and peppers into the ground. I’ve lost complete control over the tomatoes. I measured a few of them this past week, and they are now over 2′ tall. Normally, when I transplant them into the ground, they are 6, maybe 7″ high. These monsters are more than ready for the new raised beds.

Well, that’s all I have, for the moment. Don’t forget- this Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day! Because it’s spring in Central Ohio, we’re expecting highs in the low 40s at one point this week, with possible snow flurries. I try to get out to do some planting every Earth Day, but this year, it may be an indoor gardening sort of day instead. Wherever you are, and whatever your weather, I hope you can spend a little of your Earth Day enjoying and supporting nature. Plant a tree, or donate to a local conservation group. Check out a park, and help clean up any trash you may find. Unplug and enjoy!

Like Dr. Seuss said in The Lorax, “Unless someone like you care a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

  • Our first asparagus harvest of the year was delicious!

Surprise! I started another gardening project.

Leave a reply

I think spring must be my favorite season. Aside from my allergies, which are definitely trying to kill me through sheer irritation, watching all the trees bud and the garden coming back to life really makes this the best time of year. I love hiking through the woods and checking out the spring wildflowers. I love watching the first bees of the year bouncing wildly around from flower to flower. I love walking through the garden each day, checking out which perennials have started to break through the earth again, and which trees have sprouted leaves. I love watching all the seedlings growing and daydreaming about the first flowers and vegetable harvests. Looking outside at all the green just makes me feel like myself again.

  • Giant White Trillium, Brunerra, Flowering Dogwood, Creeping Phlox, Tulips, and Dandelions

I’ve been busy this past week, cleaning up the yard. Last years flowers have all been trimmed away, and I discovered a few solitary bee nurseries in some dried out sunflower stalks. The baby bees had already flown the coop, but it was really exciting to know that they had spent the winter there before hatching this spring.

I also started some more seeds, which have been sprouting up in the cold frame out on the deck. In a few weeks, I’ll finish up planting the rest of the seeds that prefer to start life in their final growing space. For now, I have an arsenal of flowers and herbs sprouting. I have a few types of thyme, parsley, oregano, basil, fennel, cilantro, and borage, as well as marigolds, bachelor button flowers, german chamomile, zinnias, prairie dropseed, and little bluestem.

  • No Vacancy

I also popped the lids off of the seeds that I started in the milk jugs in January through winter sowing. I had decent germination, and so the prairie milkweed, prairie blazing star, and purple prairie clover is coming along well. I’ve never successfully grown any of these native species from seed before, so I’m excited that this method worked out so well.

  • The butterflies are going to love this blazing star once it grows up!

After all that trimming, weeding, and seed starting, one would think it would be time to take off the gardening gloves and sit back on the deck with a nice cup of tea. While that does sound wonderful, I may have gone a different route…

I’ve had the idea of a wildlife pond in the back of my mind for awhile now. Water = life, and I love thinking of all the bugs, birds, and amphibians we could have traipsing around a pond. In the summer, we can hear the frogs at night, bellowing to one another from the creek behind our house. But, that’s tens of yards away. I want that in our yard. So, ignoring the fact that I already have quite a few large-ish projects planned for the next month or two, I decided a wildlife pond had to happen. Right now.

  • In a hole in the ground, there lived a pond.

The husband, well used to my schemes by now, raised nary an eyebrow when I asked if he’d help me dig the pond out. We discovered a huge rock while excavating, which will actually work out nicely. I plan to turn that end into a little ramp so critters can wade down into the water at their leisure.

The pond is about 2′ deep, and I picked up some lining for it yesterday. I’ll line the pond, add rocks to hold the liner down, fill it up, and then get to the fun part: planting.

I wanted as many native species as possible to live in and around the pond, which will draw in even more wildlife. I have maidenhair ferns, jack-in-the-pulpits, creek sedge, sea oats, wild geraniums, marsh marigolds, blue flag irises, sweet flags, and rue anemone. These plants are all native to our area, many being host plants for multiple species of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). The area gets some sun in the morning, but is mostly a fairly shady spot. These plants should thrive there, given that they don’t love full sun, but do enjoy waterfront living.

  • The haul from a recent trip to Scioto Gardens, an amazing nursery in the Columbus, Ohio area that sells all native plant and trees.

While I’m on the subject of native plants (and when am I not, really?!), I want to take a moment to talk about a non-native (to our area): the Bradford Pear, which is a type of callery pear tree.

Bradford Pears are originally from southeast Asia, and were introduced to the US in the early 1960s, by the US Department of Agriculture. They were first planted here because they grow quickly, stay relatively small, and have a narrow shape, making them easy to fit into the landscaping of many houses in the cities and the ‘burbs. Since the trees are sterile, it was thought that they’d just be a nice-looking flowering tree in the springtime.

Unfortunately, these trees cross-pollinate like wild, and they have spread all over the eastern and midwest regions of the US. They’ve been declared an invasive species in many states, and have caused millions of dollars in damages.

  • Bradford Pears are early bloomers. Their flowers kind of smell like dead fish, and they could probably blow down if you sneezed on one hard enough.

Bradford Pears only live for about 20 years, but many don’t even make it that long. The branches sort of grow up, not out, and their tall, narrow shape makes them easy targets for storm damage, from wind, snow, and ice (things we have in abundance in the east and the midwest where they grow).

The trees are one of the first in bloom in our neck of the woods, and their thick foliage blocks out the light underneath them, keeping native species from the sunlight they need to grow. They cross-pollinate with every other pear tree around, which leads to these trees taking over. Just in the field behind our house, I count twelve of them, and I know they weren’t planted there by anyone.

In 2017, the Bradford Pear was declared an invasive species in Ohio. However, nurseries and stores have until the end of 2022 before it will become illegal to propagate, sell, or distribute these trees. Many other states have followed suit, but since the tree is so popular (they live in front of about every house just in my neighborhood alone), and selling them makes growers money, some states have been hesitant to ban the sale of Bradford Pears.

I share this information because as gardeners, we have a great opportunity to make our yards beautiful havens, both for ourselves, and the wildlife with whom we share our land. I don’t imagine most people would willingly plant something that they knew would cause so much harm to the area. When you pop out to the garden center, you sort of expect everything there to be beneficial- that the plants are pleasant to look at, and nice for the yard. But a little bit of research into what you’re adding to your space can really be eye-opening. Maybe instead of that Bradford Pear, try a native serviceberry, or a something like arrowwood viburnum, a similarly sized tree, with gorgeous white blooms. Or, for some brilliant color, add in an eastern redbud with it’s purple-pink flowers.

That’s all from the soap box (for now… mwahaha). Hope your week is filled with sunshine and relaxing. Happy gardening!

  • Flowering Dogwood- another tree that is native to much of the eastern US

Seed Starting: Round 42

Leave a reply

I can’t decide if I wore myself out yesterday cleaning up the flower beds, or if I’m still in a sugar coma from all the jelly beans I’ve consumed throughout the weekend…

Either way, it was an excellent weekend in the garden. Our warm weather was back. We headed to the park to enjoy the springtime wildflowers, and I went wild planting up the next round of seedlings. I started some zinnias, german chamomile, marigolds, prairie dropseed, little bluestem, button flowers, two types of thyme, and the next of our parsley.

  • I’m fascinated by all the different shapes and sizes of seeds, like these spiky marigolds

I also started some seed potatoes in grow bags on the deck. This is my first time growing them, but all the gardening videos I watched on YouTube indicate that potatoes are pretty easy crops, and obviously, I am not one to turn down trying out a new plant.

  • Putting the new potting bench to work

The potting bench continues to be the Champion of 2021. I spend time with it each day, even if it’s just to pat it lovingly as I walk past, grinning smugly to myself for a job well done. After I started all the aforementioned seeds, I re-potted the peppers and tomatoes (again). I can’t believe how quickly they are all growing. It will be another month before I can plant them out in the garden. Until then, I’ve had to do some maneuvering to make sure everything can still fit under the grow lights. It’s recommended to keep your lights about 4″ above your plants, and these beasty tomatoes keep outgrowing their space.

  • I am not used to my tomatoes growing so fast!

Back outside, the cold frame is stuffed to the gills with some of the new flower seedlings, lettuce, and herbs. It’s been another life-saver this year. I don’t have room for any other grow lights or seed trays with my current indoor setup, so being able to toss things outside has been awesome.

The milk jugs hanging out with the cold frame that I did my winter sowing in are also holding up well. I have seedlings growing in each of the containers, and I’ll be able to pop the top halves of the containers off here shortly. I stuck with all native plant species in those containers: swamp milkweed, purple prairie clover, and prairie blazing star. I’m very pleased that that method has worked out, and since the seedlings won’t need to be hardened off at all, I’ll be able to get them planted a little earlier. Score.

  • The cold frame is filling up with herbs, veggies, and flowers

Finally, I started the Giant Springtime Flower Bed Cleanup. Armed with gardening gloves and a new pair of shears, I’m slowly making my way around the yard, cleaning up the beds, and removing most of last years growth. I used to do this in the fall, but the last few years, I’ve been saving this job for the spring instead. A lot of wildlife relies on the seeds from your flowers, dried stalks, leaves, and other plant material for housing and food. This is an easy way we gardeners can all help out our local birds, pollinators, bugs, and other critters. Anyway, the old plant material gets popped into our compost pile, which we add to the veggie beds, helping to improve the quality of our crops. The circle of life tastes delicious.

Hope you are able to enjoy some time outdoors this week. I’m off to figure out where the heck I hid the spray nozzle for the hose last fall. Past Sara never makes this as straight forward a task as it should be… Happy Gardening!

  • Some spring wildflowers from a recent hike: bloodroot, purplecress, trout lily, dutchman’s breeches, and spring beauties

Windy Days and Veggie Ways

Leave a reply

It’s barely been spring for a week here in Ohio, but it feels like the season is really in full swing. We’ve been having 70 degree days, followed by 40 degree days, and wild wind storms. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve chased down the grill cover and reattached it (which reminds me, where the heck are the bungee cords that I ordered?!) and it seems like every night, I’m awoken to the dulcet tones of something on the deck banging into the railing in an attempt to scoot away. The pots of tulips and strawberries are now permanently relegated to the corner behind the cold frame. It doesn’t make for good viewing, but at least I’m not wading out onto the deck each morning in my bathrobe to repot them. You’re welcome, neighbors.

Aside from our traditionally unpredictable spring weather, I’ve been doing a bit of weeding in the flower beds. I’m waiting to trim back all the perennials for another week or two, in case any flower stalks are housing wildlife like solitary bees. Once it’s consistently above about 55 degrees F during the daytime, they will have flown the coop and it will be safe to tackle the garden clean up.

I had the company drop the compost in the middle of the driveway, so I’d be forced to deal with it or I couldn’t leave the house.

This past weekend, we had two cubic yards of leaf compost delivered. Someone ordered about twice as much as she needed, so in addition to filling the raised beds, a few of the flower beds around the yard were topped off. I’m sure that will make the plants very happy. I know I’m certainly happy that I won’t have to mulch those beds, since the leaf compost will serve the same purpose as mulch would have. In fact, it will do a far better job and add plenty of good nutrients into the soil.

  • The raised beds are currently exploding with compost… hopefully the veggies will enjoy it!

I spent some time in the afternoon Saturday sowing some seeds in the freshly-made beds: carrots, leeks, and parsley. Not much else can get started outside quite yet, but these cool season crops will grow nicely even with the frosts we’ll have for another month or so. I’ve never grown carrots or leeks, so I’m excited to see how things turn out.

  • Jersey Giant Asparagus

Another crop that loves the cold, asparagus, is already popping up in our first raised bed. We planted a few rows of it three years ago. Asparagus is an exercise in patience, and requires a lot of space to grow. It doesn’t like being crowded, and pitches a fit if you try to move it around. Also, it takes about three years to be established, so it’s not a great crop for everyone’s garden. But, we are Asparagus People. Sprinkle a little olive oil and salt on those spears, and pop them on the charcoal grill for a good time. Anyway, our asparagus is starting to emerge and I cannot wait for the first harvest!

  • The lettuce is loving Cold Frame Life

The bibb and baby lettuces and the sorrel I started in the cold frame are also cruising along. We should be able to enjoy some fresh salads here in a few more weeks.

Indoors, the seedlings are coming along. The passion flowers seeds I started last week haven’t germinated quite yet, but the oregano and borage are sprouting, the basil had to be transplanted it grew so happily, and the italian sweet peppers and the druzba and san marzano tomatoes are coming along very nicely. The druzba’s sprouted a bit before the san marzano’s, and many of the plants are already over 6″ tall. It’s entirely possible that I’ll have waist-high tomatoes by the time I can plop them into the garden after the last frost date.

  • The basil already smells incredible!

I’m excited to see all the changes in the garden over the next few weeks. It seems like things look so different from day to day at this time of year. It always feels like stumbling onto treasure when you spot something new sprouting.

Wishing you a fantastic week, with lots of sunshine. Happy gardening!

A Hodgepodge of Springtime Jobs

Leave a reply

It’s officially springtime now, which means I spent the weekend bouncing around outside looking for gardening projects and giving any newly-awakened perennials Bambi Eyes.

  • The first of the daffodils

There’s quite a lot popping up now, from my beloved peonies to the columbines and daisies. Our daffodils are beginning to bloom, and a few of the trees, like the cottonwoods, are beginning to bud. The grass is starting to grow again, too, getting its green color back.

I tackled quite a few projects over the weekend. The rogue strawberries that somehow charged through winter unscathed were transplanted into a pot on the deck. I cleaned up the garlic pots. The rock garden bed out front was weeded. I planted some bibb lettuce and sorrel in the cold frame, joining the baby lettuce blend that just sprouted there last week. And, I started some passion flower seeds indoors.

  • The row of raised beds

The husband built two more raised beds for the back yard, and we moved them into place. I’ll set some sheets down inside them this week to kill the grass off, then I need to order a bunch of dirt. We have a compost pile that I’ll empty into the beds, too, so the veggies will have lots of great food in the soil.

Finally, I transplanted the tomatoes and peppers into some larger containers. When you’re growing seedlings, and you start seeing roots peeking out of the bottom of your containers, it’s time to move your plants into larger homes.

It’s a pretty self-explanatory process to transplant your growing seedlings. Just be gentle, taking care not to touch the stems too much. They are very brittle when the plants are tiny, and you can easily damage them. Pot the seedlings up in a larger container, water, and set them back under your grow lights.

  • The peppers outgrew their first houses just a few weeks after germinating.

Once your plants hit this stage, it’s a great time to start fertilizing them. I use a 10-10-10 fertilizer for all of my seedlings. In fertilizers, you’ll see three numbers listed, which lets you know the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the mix. These are the three nutrients that plants need to survive. Things can get complicated pretty quickly in the fertilizer world, and there’s an overwhelming amount of information out there, but choosing a fertilizer with these three nutrients in balance is a safe bet for most of your vegetables as they first start growing.

The weather this weekend was ridiculously nice. We usually start springtime with cold days, and snow is certainly not unheard of in March. It’s been really sunny and warm here lately. The spring wildflowers should be here for us soon, and I’m very excited to see the Virginia Bluebells, Dutchman’s Breeches, Jack-in-the-Pulpits, and Great White Trillium that I planted last year. I’m trying to be patient and not start the rest of my seeds too early, but I am itching to start digging around outside again. Soon!

Hope you have a great week. Happy gardening!

We Built a Thing!

Leave a reply

Not all gardening projects take place outdoors. (Wow. Look at me, being all philosophical).

This weekend, the husband and I built a potting bench for the garage. I’ve needed something like this for awhile. My collection of pots and containers has grown out of control after a few years of buying plants for the yard, and they were living in several un-architecturally- sound piles that spilled all over the garage. I’ve also needed a better space for all of the various types of soil I have, as well as my seeds and tools for potting up seedlings.

I used to haul everything into the kitchen, or onto the back deck every time I needed to plant something up in a pot, which was often. It was always a pain to juggle everything, and I typically managed to spill more than I planted. Also, most significantly, lugging everything around hurts. I have ankylosing spondylitis, which is fancy chronic illness speak for “my body and I don’t often see eye to eye.” I sometimes have issues walking and using my hands, so having to cart around pots, bags of dirt, plants, tools, etc. is always an adventure.

Anyway, I’d wanted to solve all the aforementioned problems by setting up a potting bench with some storage for awhile, and we finally took the plunge:

  • Oh, mama

We plan to add some shelving at some point, but I am well pleased with the way this project turned out, and the space will come in handy in a couple weeks when I need to plant up the next of the seeds.

I have the name of this species of Hellebore written down in a notebook someplace…

Outside, the garden continues to wake up. Spring begins this Saturday in our hemisphere, for which, I am overjoyed. All the bulbs have sprouted now, and we should see some daffodils flowering before too long. Right now, the Blue Moon Crocus bulbs that I planted last fall (and then promptly forgot about) have been blooming in a gorgeous mix of white and purples, which has been a nice surprise. The hellebores are also in full bloom.

  • The name of this one is written down someplace, too…

The basil, oregano, and bergamot seeds that I planted a few days ago are already starting to sprout. The whole seedling operation seems to be going pretty well so far this year. I’m excited to get the next raised beds built here in a few weeks so I can start the outdoor planting. Some seeds just grow better outdoors, in their final location, and so once it warms up just a bit more, I’ll get the next round of seeds going.

All I have planned for the week is to whine about the time change, obsess over the early-blooming flowers in the garden, and maybe, if I am feeling adventurous, I’ll put together a few bird houses with the wood scraps from the potting bench.

Happy Gardening!

Au Revoir, Old Man Winter

Leave a reply

At this time of year, it kind of amazes me how much can change in a week. Our crocuses are now blooming. The leaves from the tulips, narcissus, and day lilies are beginning to appear. Even the birds are changing. I’m starting to see lots of red-winged blackbirds and mourning doves around the yard, and being able to hear more songbirds really helps affirm that spring will officially be here by the end of next week.

While our last frost date isn’t usually until the second week of May here in Central Ohio, the weather is definitely getting warmer. We’re expecting highs in the 60s all week, and while it will probably snow again by then end of the month, it really feels like the garden is starting to blink awake again.

  • Crocuses, Hellebores, Allium, and Tulips

I do a lap in the yard most days. In addition to the bulbs I mentioned above, our giant allium bulbs are starting to sprout. We have two different species of hellebores, and they are very close to blooming. The sedums, like our Autumn Joy (my favorite variety) are popping back up underneath the shoots from last year.

  • This is the first year I’ve managed to get peppers to start growing from seed.

And inside, the Druzba and San Marzano Tomatoes, and Italian Sweet Pepper seedlings I started last month are coming along nicely. The peppers just sprouted in the past week, but many of the tomato seedlings are already growing their first true leaves. When seedlings sprout, the first leaves you see are called cotyledons, or “seed leaves.” The seed leaves won’t look like the leaves the plant will end up having once it starts to grow. They serve a really important purpose, though, using the nutrients from the seed to feed the plant until the true leaves develop, which is when photosynthesis begins. Like Bill Nye taught us, science rules.

  • Druzba Tomatoes, with their first true leaves

Now that we’re cruising towards warmer weather, it’s time to begin planting my next round of seeds. This week, I plan to start my basil, oregano, and wild bergamot. In a few more weeks, I’ll start the rest of the seeds that will begin life indoors. And a few, like the leeks, lettuce, carrots, parsley, little blue stem, and prairie drop seed, will be directly sewn outdoors around the end of the month. That means I need to get my ass in gear and build the next two raised beds and get them topped off with compost and dirt here in the next few weeks. Oh darn. More dirt will require a trip to the garden center… wonder what else I can find while I’m there…

Hope these last few days of winter find you well. Happy gardening!

Is Wildflower Wanderlust a Thing?

Leave a reply

We made it to March! We’re having our first snap of warmer weather, which has me slogging through the melting snow and mud to check out the garden every day. It’s not yet spring, but we’re in that weird time of year, when the weather drops to single digits one day, and then heats up into the 60s shortly afterwards. I’m sure we’ll have more snow yet this season, but the string of nice days we’ve been having makes it feel like spring really is going to be here soon.

This time of year is fascinating to me. I mostly plant perennials in the yard, and watching them return each year is so exciting. Right now, the crocuses, daffodils, and tulips are all starting to break up through the ground, and our hellebores have beautiful plump blooms, just waiting to open up.

  • Hellebores (Lenten Roses)

I’m excited to see these cheery flowers, but I’m really anticipating the first of our native flowers. A few years ago, I started to really pay attention to all the spring wildflowers that I saw in our local metro parks. Virginia bluebells, dutchman’s breeches, jack-in-the-pulpits, trilliums, spring beauties, wild geraniums, wild phlox, trout lilies, bloodroot, hepatica… these gorgeous flowers put on such a beautiful show each year, and I absolutely love going for hikes and spotting them all.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources website has some great guides for when each of these flowers are starting to bloom in Ohio, as well as an awesome Spring Wildflower Field Guide so you can figure out which flowers are which.

It didn’t take me long to go from enjoying my wildflower-spotting treasure hunts in the park to deciding I needed to bulk up my own native plant collection with some of these springtime gems. While many of these flowers aren’t available at your local big box stores, a lot of garden centers are starting to carry more and more native plants. And, I’ve had great success finding wildflowers at local plant sales and online, from native plant growers and even on Etsy.

  • Trillium, Ohio’s state wildflower and one of my absolute favorites of springtime

For those of us with cold winters, the nectar in these early spring wildflowers is a really important food source for the bees, moths, butterflies, and other pollinators just waking up from their winter hibernation. There are wildflower species available for every type of space in your garden- from deep shade, to full sun, and after a long winter, it’s always such a joy to see the first flowers of the season start to bloom.

As you’re looking ahead to your gardening for the year, maybe try finding out what wildflowers are native to your region, and planting one. Or ten. (The more you plant, the less availability there will be for me, which is probably for the better, at least, according to my wallet).

There’s just 19 more days until spring officially begins! Happy gardening.