Fall Cleanup... winter prep

September felt like October and now October feels like November!

Last weekend i took in the plants that i want to overwinter. The rosemary, oxalis, a few favorite geraniums, an ivy, a couple spike plants. I didn't bring in as many as in the past... and my chiropractor is happy.

Today I spent a lot of time winterizing... there are frost warnings tonight. I took in the birdbaths that will split if they freeze-i have a few others that i leave out all winter. A good portion of the statuary has been cleaned and brought in. The hose, that was only used once over the summer, was drained and brought in... and a winterizing protector was put over the faucet. I drained the rain barrel... saving some of the water into a tub for potential use over the weekend.

I've done a lot of trimming of dead flower branches. Took down the fence around the vegetable garden and left the deer a few pepper plants to nibble on. I think thats it for now... a nap is next on my list...

Mantis Time...

Over the weekend i was weeding in the garden and pruning away the stalks from the daylilies that are coming to the end of their bloom cycle. As I was cutting i was thinking about the mantis... i'd seen the tiny little babies that were less than an inch long... but hadn't seen any good size manti yet. And then I saw the first one of the day... brown, 3 1/2 - 4 inches long, perched in the white lavender. Absolutely delighted i called joseph over to see it. A short time later i spotted a pale green one in the spanish lavender... and then another brown one in a different bed on a daylily... and a forth one (green) on the white lavender. Four good size manti so far. I also saw a small (2 inch green mantis in a flower pot that i was watering... So five manti all tolled. :-)

Experiments in the Garden

This year my father advised me to place wet newspaper around my vegetable garden and then layer it with grass clippings. This holds the moisture for the roots and keep weeds down.

I decided that the wet newspaper thing might be helpful applied elsewhere. When planting my big clay pots, i added newspaper around the inside of the pot. It has really helped the plants in the pot... no drying out.

I also did a similar thing for some of my hanging planters. The ones most prone to drying out... i added newspaper.

I felt that the newspaper in the garden, in the pots and planters all were really helpful to keep the soil moist. So my latest experiment with newspaper is... shredded newspaper, turned in to the soil that i was prepping for planting. I had a pack of marigolds waiting to be planted. I know that the marigolds struggle with the clay soil and the need the consistent moisture. So we'll see how this experiment works out.

July Gardening Update

It's been a while... and the garden continues to grow and thrive. It has been a very dry and cool summer so far. I like the cool part, but the dry part has its challenges. Today I had Joseph get out the garden hose... which i try to avoid using. The water barrel is empty, the ground cracked... so a good soaking was in order. The weather forecasts for some showers tomorrow. I feel like i primed the pump by watering today.

We carved out more garden space along the pine tree line (see photo). It felt good to get more of the weeds out of that area. In its place i transplanted an old-fashioned red daylily, lily-of-the-valley and oatgrass. In another section i split apart a very large variegated hosta. It was a challenge digging it out. We ended up dividing it into five pieces. We planted three in the new bed. The other two we planted near the base of the blue spruce. In the side bed where we lifted the hosta... we transplanted a bleeding heaart that wasn't happy under a tree. I believe that it will be a good spot for it. And because the bleeding heart is going in to its dormant stage, i planted zinnias there too. A second bleeding heart I transplanted to the front of the house. I still have another one to move.

I've also added the image of the shallow pot. I decided to plant chicks n hens along with rocks. I am pleased with the reults.

Mantis in miniature...

Mantis in miniature...
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

I'm delighted to see these creatures in my garden. I watched one have lunch... a red spider mite. It was amazing how fast the mantis moved.

End of June already...

This morning I had to laugh at the noisy scene i encountered. I walked out of the house to hear a nighbor with a chipper/shredder machine going... and then there was the pair of red squirrels... constant chatter between these two critters. And then i had a family of Tufted Titmice... calling back and forth to each other in that exasperated tone, and then there was the blue jays ready for peanuts. It was a very silly scene.

Today I did a lot of thinning out in the main flower bed. Too much woodruff, viola, lily-of-the-valley and california poppy under the contorted cedar. It felt good to reclaim some of the paths that had become impassable. I planted a dozen zinnias in two spots.

I moved some clumps of viola down to the woodland corner. I also transplanted on of the Bleeding Hearts to the front of the house... i'm hoping that the moist soil will be beneficial.

Currently in bloom: Stella d'oro Daylily, Pale yellow daylily, spiderwort, coral bells, lavendar, coreopsis, veronica, astilbe, snap dragons, california poppy.

Currently available for consumption: lettuce, basil, parsley, dill.

And I watched a very funny young bunny... running to and fro'... hopping... flopping... rolling... stretching and napping... having a wonderful time in the garden.

Woodland area...

Woodland area...
Originally uploaded by pjslomer

Here's the corner area recently created. Today I did more clearing out of weeds and turf in this corner.