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 in the garden, 3/30/14

It was a lovely morning in the garden today and for a change, it was warm and sunny.  Although we had more than an inch of rain on Saturday, we were able to work in the beds.  

The rain caused a little compaction in the keyhole garden but we can easily add more to top it off again before planting.

 During last weekends Earn as You Learn work session, we constructed a new bed in the herb garden using a permaculture technique called hugelkulur.

 Over in the gazebo, the daffodils are in full bloom.

 The perennial garden, spring has definitely sprung!  However, I am not sure when that yucca was planted in the bed.

 The dead nettle is in full bloom too.  We obviously will need to do a bit of weeding.

 Things got a little out of control in the rain garden too.  We were battling violets all last year and today was the day to get in there and dig them out.

After about two hours on hands and knees digging away, we claimed victory.  We will have to stay on them to prevent them from colonizing again.  But you have to admit, the rain garden looks amazing!  

sunday morning in the garden, may 26 garden update

just another beautiful sunday morning in the garden.  having arrived a little early, i was given the chance to enjoy the garden and all it offers by myself.  a little bit of quiet solitude that helped wash away the stress of a busy week...

 the rain garden is amazing!  how the plants have flourished and filled the basin.  

 a hearty thanks to the kind person who turned the soil in the basin of the rain garden!!!  this will allow for better absorption by improving the soil structure and eliminating the compaction that had taken place.

 vertical garden seedlings.  boy is it late this year!

 the new three sisters garden.  i am excited to see it doing well so soon after planting.  the extra rainfall has helped us by keeping the soil moist so that the plants can get established.

 the square foot garden is packed full of plants that are growing quickly.

 the theme for the herb garden this year-conquer and divide!!!

 the comfrey is loving the cooler weather and is bigger than it ever has been.

 earlier this season, i cut the southern wood plant back-severely.  to look at it now, you might not guess it has only been about 6 weeks...

 the keyhole garden is doing well too.

 the plants have adjusted to their new homes and seeds are beginning to sprout.

 the flowers and herbs around the bed will hopefully attract lots of beneficial insects.

 can you see the little beet seedlings?  it is so exciting to see them!

 sedums are one of my favorite types of plants. they require little care, thrive in poor soil and can withstand drought conditions.  there are also so many types of them.

 ice plant is not a sedum but it is just as hardy

 sedum variagated blue spruce

 love this one!  sedum blue plate

 sedum chocolate ball

sedum, jelly bean stone crop

and it just wouldn't be a sunday morning in the garden without a cake.  strawberry swirl cake made from strawberries in my home garden.  come on out and visit us, we will give you a tour!

urban garden festival, may 18, 2013

 after a frantic couple of months of planning, planting and just about anything you can think of as related to maintaining a garden, we finally had our chance to show it all off.  thankfully, the rain held off and we had some sun, especially nice since we set it all up in the rain on friday!    as you came in from the parking area, these electric pink azalea bushes greeted you.

the rose society had a lovely selection of roses for sale.

our own plant sale featuring plants from our home gardens.

the new kid on the block, the keyhole garden.  to see how we built it, be sure to look at the keyhole garden page by clicking the tab above.

 all around the outer edge are herbs and beneficial plants that will attract beneficial insects to help us control the damaging ones.

 henny penny abandoned her nest but we left it up in the arbor for another bird to use.

 the herb garden has exploded with all of the rain that has fallen.  the large plant in the left/back is a comfrey that is putting on quite a display with all of its blooms.

 beautiful iris in the herb garden

this orange thyme has become one of my favorite plants.

 so many people were intrigued by the pallet garden.  i answered many questions about building one.

 a new feature for the show, a wildlife garden.  it is easy to get your yard certified as a wildlife habitat.

 cute statue and a lovely weigela in a pot

 the coreopsis in the rain garden is showing off its color

 the rain garden had a real workout the last few weeks and it shows in the lush new growth of all of the plants.

 the square foot garden, a great way to produce large amounts of vegetables in a small space.

 the zombie garden looks a little sparse but that will change as we add more dead bodies...

 the shade garden is always one of my favorite places to be.  

 our sedum garden is filling in nicely.

sedums have become one of my favorite plant groups.  they are hardy, versatile and the number of varieties is so great that you can always find one more...

all in all, the show was a success.  we had two food trucks join us, your dish is our command  and the yum cupcake truck, the food was great!  we hope you come out again next year!