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Recent Entries to this Blog
Time Flies & Gardens Grow
Posted: 04 Jun 2006 Posted: 20 May 2006 Posted: 16 May 2006 Posted: 15 May 2006 Posted: 14 May 2006 All Entries |
contrareeone's Bloga daily check in; creating a new garden
garden putterings
Category: daily chores | Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 1:00 am Did a short stint in the yard today.......no energy so I quit. Watered all the new things. Frustrated with all my hose connections. All outdoor faucets leak.........horribly. Planted another couple flower seed packets directly outside. Hope I can remember where things are & remember to water. Haven't got many garden beds, I shouldn't be that far gone yet! Mixed up some weed killer (I can already hear the organic gardeners gasping....) and hit all the spots in the concrete walkways and around the foundations of the outbuildings. Cleaned the bird baths and put in fresh water. I need to move the one in the front, I like to see it, but no birds have used it as yet. Too close to the door & the 4 cats on sentry duty. Put another ad on our Freecycle list locally, asking for fill dirt. Would love to get another couple trucks worth prior to getting the tiller guy in here. Gorgeous day here in WA state. Only 66, off & on clouds.........grateful I live in such a pretty area. This blog entry has been viewed 357 times
cleaned up the country way
Category: daily chores | Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:00 am Lit the burn pile & cleaned up the front yard. This is the way we do it here..........no curb side service for yard debris here. Got a huge pile of branches burned up......looks pretty good out front now. Time to get the dozer in and grade the front, till in the compost that has been delivered and get ready to make a lawn. A real lawn. Not just weeds that from afar, look green like a lawn. :) Another flat of seeds are starting to poke their little selves up through the surfaces in my indoor nursery. How fun. The bigger plants are all out on the deck, soaking up fresh air and sunshine. Still bringing them in at night. Another couple weeks, they will be ready to set out in the garden. Enjoying a balmy 64 degree day here........delightful gardening weather in my opinion. Discovered my beautiful blue umbrella for the picnic table has bit the dust. The fabric is rotten, it will slide right off if I let it. I've never seen replacement fabric for the wood framed umbrellas..........anyone else know about this?? This blog entry has been viewed 376 times
dead heading & note to self
Category: daily chores | Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 4:12 pm I dead headed all the daffodils yesterday, which turned out to be a bucket full. (Note to self: Pick more daffodils next year & bring inside to enjoy.) I have been reading differing opinions re; daffodil folliage. I've always been one of the neat freaks, carefully bundling up their leaves, & wrapping with one of the leaves, to make the space tidy! Now, I'm thinking perhaps I need to go the other way & leave the greenery loose, to continue to soak up the sunshine and feed those bulbs. Any thoughts?? I am not one to dig up the bulbs and store them, so that is not on my list....... I will be sowing spinach seeds in the planters where the daffs were. Close to the house, just some morning sun and then shade for most of the day. Hopefully cool enough for the spinach to actually produce. (didn't do so well with my crop last year. ) Need to water today again........all the transplants, my new flower seeds and the patches of new grass seed. Can't wait til the grass fills in, it looks like heck. Sort of like an animal with a bad skin condition......that has been shaved! :) I found one cast away lupine coming up from a transplant from the old yard. It's only a couple inches high at this point..........will transplant it when it is a bit bigger. Hoping it is from the pink plants, but my guess it is blue. Not even sure if these things bloom the first year?? Can't remember squat these days. Off to talk to my rescued shrubs........I thought they looked like they were perking up a tad yesterday! This blog entry has been viewed 535 times
My day is too short
Category: daily chores | Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:26 pm Too little time today........too much on The List. Have a string of errands to do & probably won't get outside except to water the new seed beds and the transplants. Cloudy today........although supposed to be almost 60, it is really perfect for my rescued shrubs we got in Sunday. Laundry is already out on the line.....I'm feeling productive enough that I've got my coffee here for a bit of a read before getting back to The List. My indoor nursery is looking bigger........I've graduated from a TV tray set up to a full size table that now sits in front of the sliding glass doors. The first batch of squash seedlings are outdoors again today, busy adding real leaves to each little plant. I've got a hunch I'm supposed to pinch off these first real leaves..........anyone have a definitive answer for me??? My next job outside will be to clear more area for all the flower seeds I bought. What was I thinking?? I have one more area right by the house that would work, but the previous owners have the entire bed covered with river rock. (actually, they had every piece of bare dirt covered with river rock) The boys have this as a chore.........the ever present Pick Rocks.......... Not sure the bed will be uncovered this season at the rate their going??? Coffee's gone. Better get back to work. Love reading about everyone else's gardens.... This blog entry has been viewed 369 times
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rescued shrubs
Category: free plants | Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 8:48 pm I really need to learn to write my entries in Word and cut & paste here. I've attempted to write an entry 2 days in a row now and lost it somewhere into thin air. Knowing my way around here is not one of my gifts!! Anyway..........I finally got tired of looking at two full sized shrubs that had been dumped in our Free Fill Wanted area out front ... We dug holes yesterday, trimmed the bushes back about half way and watered them in. With luck and regular watering, they just might make it. They never did look dead....as there was just enough stuff dumped near the roots to make them think they were hilled in I think. They are the biggest plants we've got now! I actually had to water yesterday and today. We are headed into a week with no rain (unheard of for these parts) I put in more flower seeds yesterday and chanced a couple containers of leaf lettuce. I'm dying for a salad here!) I've set my flat of squash starts out on the back deck both yesterday and today. They have their first real leaves now......and are starting to look like plants. I've always bought my veggie starts, so this little experiment is pretty amazing to me. For those of you with green houses.........I know this is really no big thing. I never even had a window in the old house that got sun......so I'm in new territory here. I am taking my time getting the seeds started for the veggie garden, as I don't want them all to need something done with them on the same day....or even the same week. I rarely have blocks of time to devote to anything but the kiddo here.......so I'm hoping my little plants cut me some slack and mature in a staggered fashion. We'll see........... I got all my hoses out of the shed & have one at each faucet, only to find that each & every one of the faucets here need work. Leaks everywhere!!! Fortunately, it isn't a water bill issue, since we're on our own well......but it is a messy issue. I get water where I don't really want it this way. So, I need to become an apprentice plumber now. Never done this project before.........but, this will bug me enough to get me to try it. Enjoying sunshine & 62 degrees today here in WA. This blog entry has been viewed 440 times
Raising a Great Crop of Dandelions
Category: daily chores | Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 7:54 pm My yard is just full of lovely little yellow flowers!! It's the best crop I've ever seen.....and it's the only thing blooming here, other than the daffodils. We've come up with an odd weed control system... Years ago, when I had 4-6 teens at a time in my home, they all needed after school chores. A couple of the kids weren't able to do much, but one of my home schooling kiddos came up with the "yellow flower" chore. The less capable kids would be asked to provide a bouquet of 20 yellow flowers for the kitchen and the table.........every day! They soon stopped the dandelions in their tracks. There were still the existing plants, but no new ones going to seed. TA DA. (I would drag out the sprayer & tackle the plants) We ended up with a lawn free of weeds in just a couple seasons. The kids with this chore had to start HUNTING for the yellow flowers! I've got so many here, the boys can pick to their hearts content! I've got 3 bouquets on my windowsil now! Got the mowing done yesterday, but not the burn pile...too windy. Trying that chore again today maybe?? Spreading more grass seed on a couple of the repair areas in the lawn....anxious for it to all fill in. I'm setting up a temporary (who am I kidding, it will be here when I move) planting table next to the pump house. I'm too old & too tired to work on the ground.........it has moved further away these days. I've found an old picnic table that will suffice, along with an assortment of wooden boxes to hold supplies. Still no signs of the pampas grass clumps.....getting harder to keep fingers crossed. This blog entry has been viewed 467 times
gorgeous & crisp here
Category: weather report | Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:11 pm It is a beautiful morning........ hoping I can get outside a little later. Only 37 here now, but supposed to be in the high 50's which is terrific gardening weather, IMO One of my respite kids is coming this afternoon, the one that likes working with a shovel & wheelbarrow. I have a list of jobs for he & I.......always prepared. (I would have made a good boy scout!!) I've finally found the planters from the old house, not really planters, like they were made for this purpose, but things I use for planters. My favorite is an old ammo box, with a hinged lid and someone before me, put it up on legs. Cute and now full of strawberry plants. The others can be hauled to the new dirt pile, filled and set around the front yard area. I've got seeds to put out, but I still think it is too soon. Ice on the bird baths this AM!! But, I'll be ready! If not windy this afternoon, I'll get all 3 boys out front and we'll light the burn pile. See what sort of progress we can make on the piles of branches & trimmings out there. These guys don't know this is a "chore", so I can keep them at this job for hours! Was supposed to get 2 mature pampas grass clumps yesterday.......but I don't see them out front. A friend called & asked if I liked these & of course I said "yes". (I truly do, too) I tried a plant years ago, but it never did well & finally I took it out. It was a pink variety which I still would love... I am crossing my fingers that these plants show up!!! They will be just perfect on both sides of the front gate. Hoping everyone enjoys their day & gets a chance to dig in the dirt .........at least a bit!! This blog entry has been viewed 439 times
Turn Around Weather
Category: weather report | Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 12:05 am It is the most beautiful day here right now. Sun out, blue skies, hard to believe how gray & drizzly it was this morning. My transplanted goodies from yesterday are really perking up, with a rain and now some sun....they are looking like they are going to like it here! With the exception of a couple slips I took from a shrub~ gads, I've forgotten what it is.....from the mallow family. Most people hate these, but I absolutely love them. I've got a couple rooted plants too, but these little slips were going to waste, so I stuck them in the ground. They look pretty pathetic today....we'll see if they take hold and grow. The sword ferns I put in the ground about a month ago haven't done anything yet. I cut back all the old fronds, leaving the newly emerging curls. But, nothing has happened. Wonder if I should have left all the old stuff on them for a bit?? I can get more, so not a total loss, but I was hoping these would grow. Hate to dig a hole & go through the work if they aren't!! Planted Sweet William seeds today..........I had gathered them from the old yard on the last day there. Here's hoping the cats don't mess with them before they can get going. (I didn't tell the cats I was planting this time!! :) ) I have never had cats that were this destructive. I can't tell you how many times I've had to re plant the same plants here. Gardening with no progress, that is what we've got going here!!! This blog entry has been viewed 354 times
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no gardening today
Category: daily chores | Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:53 pm Entertaining today, plus........it's my Monday. Starting to work here this afternoon. I've got a baked french toast casserole in the fridge, ready to pop in the oven. Sprinkling today, which is great timing for all the things I have put in the ground this week........and for the grass seed I managed to spread too. I've got so many repair areas in the lawns, we had solved a few huge holes & dips by hauling compost in. Now, the seed and today the rain. Within a couple weeks, we should look a little more normal. People kept asking "what are those spots for??". I can't understand why the previous owners would continue to mow, with the craters in the lawn. Some patches of new dirt are big enough to park a car on. Made driving the mower exciting!! A couple more seedlings up in my veggie nursery here inside. I'm misting and turning the trays, so they grow more straight up rather than horizontally. Talking to them all the time too, letting them know their responsibility to feed this bunch!!! Enjoying reading the blogs & forums here. I pick a topic every day and have the best time, here with my coffee. Thanks everyone for sharing your tips, pictures and questions. I continue to get inspired!! This blog entry has been viewed 445 times
chores piling up here
Category: daily chores | Posted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:57 pm As I worked yesterday, getting all but 3 plants in the ground here..........I was mentally adding chores to the TO DO list as I went along. Good thing I don't get stressed out by too much to do. Everywhere I looked, there was a job to do outside. Todays list will be just a couple things as I need to move back inside & cook something, or the natives will get restless. I've finally found the bag of grass seed, so I'm going to get it out on all the spots where we've been adding soil (some were big enough to lose the mower in) We're supposed to get a sprinkle of rain this evening, so it seems like the perfect day for this. I will get the 3 remaining plants from my moms yard, somewhere. Things aren't in the right spots here, but they will be in the ground, I can transplant as I get more beds ready to go. I will call to set up the tiller/grader friend, so I can get the veggie plot ready to go. I'm getting anxious. And, I'll start some more seeds indoors. I'm pleased with my feeble attempts at this, so will continue as I've been doing. Better finish up the coffee & get to work. I hope others are enjoying a bit of spring. This blog entry has been viewed 380 times
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