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, july 22

it was a hot day in the garden.  i was joined by shirley and we did a little of what we do best-weeding!

the vertical garden has been slow to take off this year.  i will have to work on this for next year.

 kabocha squash-unbelievable!!!

 the flowers are so big that 4 bumblebees can get in there and still find nectar.

 the plant is very productive-we will be eating lots of squash!

 look at the basil bed-can you see pesto in your future? i can...

 these are the blooms of the southern wood plant

 tansy

 comfrey gearing up for the second round

 over in the rain garden, the false blue indigo has recovered from its webworm attack

 just look at all of the new growth.

 things are looking good in the shade garden too.  pieris, mountain fire.  love the red foliage

 italian arum-wonder who is eating the berries...

 cleome in the zombie garden 

 gulf fritillary caterpillars

and of course, cake.  a blueberry muffin cake to be exact.  come and join us some time!

latest news from the garden

*****wood chips have arrived!!!*****

we have less than 2 weeks until the A-Z event and we need all hands on deck to get the garden ready.  we have the second load of wood chips and we need as many volunteers as possible to help us out.  come out when you can, check the calendar or give me a call and i will tell you when to come out. 

now, for your viewing pleasure, take a look at a recent view of the garden:

iris in bloom

 false blue indigo in the rain garden

 sedum in the rain garden

 stone crop in bloom

 jacobs ladder in the shade garden

 clematis on the gazebo

 a visitor in the clematis

 a close up of the visitor-who happens to be welcome anytime!

 love this clematis

knock out roses

garden update, 4/15

running a week behind in updates!  please forgive me, i was a little busy with my own garden this last week and didn't have much time to get the photos up.  we still have room in the rain garden class if anyone is interested in attending, let me know as soon as possible.

iris blooming in the outdoor classroom

 i love the false blue indigo in the rain garden, it puts on quite a show when in full bloom.

 the sedums in the rain garden have spread like wild fire.

 here is one in bloom-not sure what the cultivar is but i love the tiny yellow blooms.

 over in the shade garden, the tiny blooms of the jacobs ladder would be missed if you didn't stop to look at the plant.

 clematis on the gazebo enjoy making spectacles of themselves! 

 two tiny visitors to the clematis-lady bugs are always welcome!

 there are at least 4 kinds of clematis on the gazebo, you need to check them out regularly to see which is in bloom.

the rose garden-not for serious rose gardeners!  these are pink knockouts and they are in full bloom.

that's all for today, i have photos from this week coming soon.