in the garden with cake; april 26

as we prepare for the urban gardening festival, lots of new exhibits are taking shape.  due to the continuing issues with root knot nematodes, we are experimenting with methods of vertical gardening.  even better is that this method repurposes milk jugs that would otherwise have gone into the trash.

 the rain garden has gotten a lot of attention this spring.  the basin has been weeded and aerated.  the grasses and sedums on the berm have been thinned and we are preparing to dig out some of the excess plants for sale at the festival.

 the square foot garden is shaping up nicely.  if you would like to garden and have little space, you should consider this method because it really works.

 the herb garden has gotten a new fence and it looks like a whole different place!  we are experimenting with hugelkultur in the herb garden so keep visiting the blog to see the progress of the plants.

 this little block garden is already producing large amounts of herbs!

 the seeds i planted in the keyhole garden are sprouting-i cannot wait to start picking lettuce and greens.

 want to learn about composting?  let us help you, we have several methods in use at the garden.

 tiarella, the current rock star in the shade garden

 i love this combination; golden creeping jenny, blue spruce sedum and dragon's blood stonecrop.

 beans are ready to grow up!  climb the vertical garden, climb!!!

 before you know it, the false blue indigo in the rain garden will be the star of the show

and of course, the nematode remediation plot.  the mustard and rape seed have sprouted, just waiting for the marigolds to get going.  we hope this works!!!

sunday, august 12

it was a beautiful morning-no sweating by the gardeners-not sure it is still august because it felt like late september, early october.  it was a semi productive morning, providing that chatting among friends was our list of tasks for the day...

a look at what we saw today

 just in case you didn't get your fill of cicadas last summer, here is one for you to admire.

 i love the markings on this cicada-they almost look as if they were painted on.

 just look at the beard on this one!

 this isn't encouraging news for the tomato trial

 tennessee sweet potato squash

 passion flowers getting ready to put on a show on the arbor.

 black and blue salvia-the hummingbirds were all over this plant.

 bronze fennel in bloom

cannas-bees and hummingbirds were taking turns 

our next big project for the year

 believe it or not, this is our leaf pile.  really, it is and no i am not kidding.  hidden here under a thick carpet of bermuda grass and weeds is a pile of beautiful, fully composted leaves; our own stockpile of black gold!  we need to uncover it and move the contents to an area that will make using it possible.  before we know it, it will be fall and the new pile of leaves (that we hope to acquire) will need a place to rot.  so if anyone is looking for something to do, put on your gloves and start pulling weeds or bring a shovel and start digging out the finished compost.

some of the plants growing around the leaf pile:

 poke weed, it is poisonous-all parts of it.  i know that there are plenty of folks around that will say otherwise but unless you know when to pick it and how to cook it, steer clear of it.

 the next crop of poke-just look at all of those berries...

 deadly nightshade-nothing about this plant is edible

 pretty-anybody know the name for this plant?

 wild tradescantia

oh, and speaking of digging out the compost, it doesn't look much better over in the compost corral either.  looks like we will be digging this out too...

shirley and i dined in style; we had scones with rose hip jam on real plates with fancy napkins...girls will be girls!  join us some time, there is always something good to eat!!!

another steamy morning in the garden, 7/3

the big day has come and gone and now it is just a question of how well we can maintain the garden in it's current state.  so far, so good; we have had a fairly steady flow of volunteers stepping up to the challenge and things look good.  hopefully, they will continue to come out and support the garden.

we tried something new this past week, an afternoon work/picnic session and despite a low turnout, we had a good time.  to make it easy, it was a pot luck and there was plenty to eat.

darry and sam manning the grill-the only photo i managed to take!  i was too busy enjoying myself and i forgot to take more photos!!!  after thhe fire was hot, darry grilled some sockeye salmon and zucchini-both were tasty.

now for the current garden update

 the grapes are looking beautiful, now if we could only keep the birds out of them, we might get to taste them when they are ripe.

 borage in bloom in the herb garden

 as always, the garden is the site for skippers

 the new block herb garden in the outdoor classroom is adjusting to the heat-wish i could...

 reddening lepiota-a parasol mushroom found in the classroom.  it is an edible but we left it to drop it's spores.

 tansy in bloom-covered in tiny little bees

 the pennyroyal was the busiest spot in the garden-it was covered in bees of all kinds, some wasps too!

 hollyhocks

 the new compost structures are in use.  on the left we are building a new pile.  in the center is the pile that is curing and when it is finished, it will be moved to the empty space on the right.

compost bins can be built of all kinds of things, here is one made from straw bales.  it is not as durable but is still functional.