Container Garden

A few of the strawberries are getting ripe so I keep these on the deck so it will be easy to add them to a bowl of cereal or just munch on them whenever they're ready. Out in the garden they'd be eaten long before I got to them.

 I transplanted lettuce, chives and strawberries into this large pot yesterday so that they'll have plenty of room to spread out and grow where they'll be easy to tend to and to pick when they're ready.

I pulled the sunflowers out of the center of this pot now that they're big enough not to be trampled or eaten by animals. I'll probably move the lettuce out of here too once the peas begin to fill the supports and container.

I also transplanted a few other things out of here to make more space for everything to grow without crowding. Dense packing them  seems to make the plants stronger and gets them of to a good start.

 The orange pot is full of carrots. I'm growing 3 different varieties this year.

I didn't have enough flowers to fill this brown pot so I added violets from around the yard and a vew silk flowers at the back. I hate to use them but they were recycled from an old cemetary flower arrangement and at least they got put to a happier use.

Garden Photos

Building a Garden

Here's my work area where I'm busy potting and dividing plants most of the time. It's also the table I'll be painting up for the front garden when we're ready to get that done.

Doug moved a few more Hosta up to the front border and as always we're both surprised and pleased how fast they grow. All of the ones I'd potted up in containers just a few weeks ago had outgrown them and were becoming root bound. I started all of these with just a dozen plants a few years ago. they're a gift that just keeps on giving. Each year I give away, trade or sell quite a few of them and as usual any money I make goes right back into the garden.

  I may start dividing and moving the solid green ones next year. They came with the house 13 years ago.

 This looks like chaos now but will eventually be patio and raised planter boxes for any of my friends that have mobility issues. I enjoy being able to sit and relax now and then to make gardening more pleasant and fun.

This is the area that I will be moving the big table to.

Sunday Bird Watching and other hobbies

It looks like we're getting a positive reaction to the new art work on the bird bath. The cardinal has never used it before in all the years it was green or blue and he ignored it when it was plain white so we were really excited to see him today. Doug shot this photo.

Good Morning!

Yes, I shot this photo from my living room chair. The window screen keeps it from being as clear a photo as I'd like it to be but there was something delicious about being able to sit back and have one more cup of coffee before writing this post. I'll include the other photo and finish up so I can get busy around here.

As I'm doing this, I'm also embroidering a handkerchief for my Mom and sorting through some things on my desk. Yes, I'm easily distracted and anxious to get back out in the garden again.

My first project will be to smooth out the finish on the big patio table  and paint it white. It's a disaster right now because I've been using it as a worktable for painting and carving projects as well as a potting table for transplanting container plants.

Once it's been painted ( I'll start at the legs and go until I run out of paint)
I'll be using it to replace the small tea table in the front garden so that I'll have more room for my guests. I always use a tablecloth for company so If I run out of paint it won't show. (I'm aware of the impact on the environment and try not to use anymore spray paint than I have to. Most of the time I'm just recycling bits of cans that people had left over)

Once that table is taken care of it will be time to get back to my plants before they run away completely. The last rains we had did have them growing like mad and tumbling out of the pots already-I LOVE it! 

I'm off to the garden now,
Julia

New flowers for the garden

I tried planting these in 3 different areas to split the risk and will watch to see which ones do the best so that we can move some if we need to before the end of the season. I was also able to divide 2 of them for even more "bang for the buck".

Spirea, Roses and Geraniums gone wild

Things are a tangled mess but there are some good plants in here that will be worth transplanting here and sharing with others. My hope is to find someone that wants them bad enough to do the digging and share the plants with me.

You may remember this bush from previous posts. It's decades old and original to our 1930's bungalow.

I hope to have it trimmed up and looking even better next year.

Living Room Bird Watcher

I suppose I could call this post "inclined to recline" There's something wonderful about being able to watch the birds without having to do anything special except pick up a camera.

 Some photos turn out better than others depending on whether the window screen shows up or one of us decides to stand up or lean a little closer to the window.

Painting the bird bath

One of the things we did for fun today was to paint the birdbath. We tossed the paint, water jug and brushes into the birdbath and each painted the bird that was nearest to us.

 Unexpected splashes of color are always welcome in a garden. Don't you think so?

Garden Tea

 This is just the unused end of the driveway but I'm attempting to turn it into a patio and container garden. Work is going slowly but each year it gets a little better.

I sewed the cloth napkins by hand.

 I also sewed the cloth under the teapots.

I like the idea of entertaining in a space where herbs fruits and veggies are handy providing anyone drops by when things are ready to pick.

I ended up bringing in some TV trays so I am trying to decide whether to use a larger tea table after this or just move plants off the small mesh table so that we can keep it as an end table next to the glider.

We've brought an old, white wicker chair up out of the back garden and we'll try to put the stack planter on that to free up the mesh table. 

This part of the garden is also where we've created a bit of interest and fun by setting up little scenes in some of the plants.

 This table is down in the front garden and is a good place to escape midday heat and sun.