It's WAR

Something has been butchering the basil and marigolds...it took me a while to formulate a theory on why a creature would be chopping the leaves and flowers off my repeller plants and I've decided that it's probably the robins who are taking out the plants that repel the bugs that the robins like to eat. So I bought more basil and this GIGANTIC marigold (and a pack of smaller ones) and rubbed garlic all over the leaves and stems of everything that's been disturbed. Then I threw torn up garlic chunks in the bed that has been getting the brunt of the damage...it's the one that the dog can't get to.

We'll see.

Spring Rain

A weekend of rain is really bringing the flowers out.

Sitting Back

The garden is planted and almost everything seems happy...a few plants are being chomped on but a little soapy water seems to be doing the trick for the most part. It's too early for weeding so most of my time in the garden is spent laying in the hammock and soaking everything in until the mosquitos drive me away.

Fun in the Workshop

After weeks of gardening, the workshop had become a disaster. At long last the workshop was clean and we decided to make use of it...so while Jason was building a bird house, I decided to break into the bag of clay I bought last fall but realized I needed a specific tool to be able to pound the air bubbles out. So Jason and I made a wedging board out of stuff lying around: an old canvas that I cut from the frame; a guitar string from Jason's old guitar; and a peice of MDF that I had attempted to make art out of; and a few other impliments. While I was working on our first toad abode Jason finished the woodpeckers' new home...now all we have to do is hang it 15 feet up in a tree.

The Ultimate Companion Garden

This is what I aspire to...but with my touch. Who knew that a vegetable garden could be so beautiful.

Experiment Update

My experiment on growing used green onions and fancy lettuce from the grocery store has been successful after 12 days. The onions are at their original length and the lettuce has grown by about 30%! The next step will be a taste test.

On another note, it looks like all my little green babies have made it through the night...and the moth is still hanging out on the porch. We've got one more chilly night (fingers crossed) before the nighttime weather stays in the 50's and 60's.

I'm That Gardener

...that gardener. Dammit. I just went out and covered up most of the plants with pots or mulch because a good ole Okie howling spring freeze is blowing through tonight...and, of course, it will be 70 degrees tomorrow.

And so it begins with the neurotic maintenance. I really should have listened to the "don't plant before April 15th" gem of wisdom for Oklahoma gardeners. Next year.

New Momma

I finished planting our vegetable-herb-flower garden yesterday evening...three hours before it started hailing. I was sitting inside trying to talk myself out of being one of those gardeners who runs out to cover everything up. I felt a little twisted up. I had a taste of the dark side of gardening...the truly obsessive side that wants to keep all the tender little babies unscathed.

After it was over, I went outside (to take the pot cover off the ONE plant I new would not make it) to check out the damage. It wasn't bad. On my way back inside, I noticed a toad taking a dip in our little pond!

This morning, Jason called us all outside to look at this beautiful (and very cold) moth.

Hopefully it will have flown away when I get home.

Phase One DONE

With the help of Jesse and Tillie I finished the melon patch which has okra, basil and marigold as well as the cantaloupe. I especially love the curvy path between the two beds :)

Jesse and Tillie's favorite spot is definitely the hammock...until the strawberries and raspberries start popping out.

Easter

I know it's a bit early (10 days) to plant the seedlings but we couldn't imagine a more lovely way to spend Easter.

We enriched the soil in the squash patch, planted flowers and herbs between all of the vegetables and covered everything with mulched leaves from our yard. FYI, if you have a mulching mower then rake all your leaves in a pile and mow the crap out of it. I have never seen or bought mulch as good!

We also made a nice lounging area. It's my favorite space now.

New Tree

Jason and I planted our first tree...like every young couple in their first home should do. I believe it's a "Red Dragon" variety of Japanese Maple and should live quite happily under the shade of our Red Maple in the side yard. Now we have 10 trees (not including the teeny-tiny maple I bought Jason last year that isn't quite a foot tall), four of which are maples...three pecans...two fruit trees...and a partridge in a pear tree :)

The Cleveland County Farm Market opened today...Jason and I went NUTS. We mostly bought plants for the gardens and picked up a few goodies for the pantry.

I Couldn't Help Myself

I went to the home improvement store with a list. It didn't work out so well.

I don't think I went crazy but my impulse buys threw my plan for today out the window. It started with a fern. Then a rhododendron. Moon flower seeds. Lemon licorice. Jeez. While standing infront of the seed selection I struck up a conversation with a veteran gardener, which was really nice. I like learning new things through a dialogue with someone who's been there. I learned that winter wheat is an excellent 'green manure'.

Anyhoo, when I got home I went straight to work on my shady nook. My friends, Tara and Randy, have this wild shady section in their yard that looks like a forest floor and I decided that I wanted a forest floor in my back yard too...which is easy to do due to the six trees in our back yard. I added the fern, lemon licorice and rhododendron to the coral bell I planted on Monday...then raided my neighbor's back yard for the peonie that keeps getting mowed over. Then I added wild violets and wild geraniums (technically weeds - but pretty) as well as some baby spider plants and swedish ivy cuttings.

Although not technically a true wildscape, it looks wild and will be self sustaining once they all get over the shock of replanting.

Ready for Planting

Well, two full days of hard work leaves me feeling quite fulfilled. Now I REALLY want a wood fence!

The Cleveland County Farmers Market opens on Saturday...I have a feeling that Easter day will be filled with planting our new plot :)