Recent Adventures

I'm back in Washington after two plus weeks. And I've returned with possible new garden assistants! My Mom, her three pets and I just drove the 1,800+ miles from Kansas to Washington. Her household stuff for her apartment won't arrive until later this week.

I suggested some garden work until then, but she isn't convinced it is warm enough outside (I'm happy about that after enduring days of near 100 degrees while we packed & loaded stuff in KS).

A Rose of Sharon from KS. The mimosa trees were blooming too, but the wind didn't let me take a clear photo.

The cats settled in to travel very well (& I think they appreciated air conditioning). The dog likes car trips. The car developed had a few mechanical issues, but the Park City UT Ford shop took care of us.

DH planted my broccoli, lettuce, pumpkin and squash seedlings while I was gone. The beans, peas and tomatoes really grew also. I hope to get out there, and around to visit your garden blogs, sometime this week.

Updates, Updates

Things are moving along even if I'm not keeping up with them:

• Many, many tadpoles in the pond
• Tomato plants are in the garden, under window frame cloches
• Peas are growing
• Broccoli seedlings sprouted
• Lettuce seedlings sprouted
• Chard seedlings sprouted
• Pumpkin & squash seeds planted
• Really need to plant the beans, carrots and beets
• Hedgerow plantings are growing, although hard to visualize it as a hedgerow
• Kansas house is on the market

We've had a nice time with visiting family. There are more visits to and visits from family in the next two months. If the rain stops, I'm looking forward to a few breaks in the garden!

Kansas Garden Available

I'm back from another Kansas family excursion.

Anyone looking for a house just east of Wichita on an acre of fine Kansas soil?

Success!

All the singing going on every night as paid off. Pacific tree frog eggs are in the pond. There are several clusters along plant stems just underwater. The darker green area, in the photo, is the reflection of the leaf above the water. There are five or maybe six frogs in the little garden pond. I was starting to worry that they were all males, by the amount of singing going on!

Garden Supervisors

I had an audience today while I did a refresh to the garden bed around the pond. I think they are both Pacific Tree Frogs. But check out their differences, below...

We've been able to see the big guy on the right from the house window...Especially when he starts croaking like he is here in the photo. He's usually on the log floating in the pond.

Here is the link to their baby pictures.

Lead Tomato of 2010

Here's the only baby tomato that sprouted so far. I think I need to move to round two with the seeds. The peas were also being stubborn. Brought them in to the house, from the garage and now several more have sprouted. I hope to keep them safe from my indoor garden pest... and then get the peas in the garden very soon.

Hedglings

I was near North Bend this weekend and spotted this Salmonberry in bloom. Until I looked up the flower, I thought it was one of shrubs from our tree & shrub seedling order (from King Co. Conservation District sale). It's not, but I'll have other flowers from the seedlings I planted.

Yeah! They are all planted now. They've gone into a hedgerow in the making and other spots around the place. So what did we plant?

Shore pine

Cascara - to ensure our supply for the cedar waxwings!

Mock Orange

Red Flowering Current

Serviceberry

Snowberry

Thimbleberry

Evergreen Huckleberry

In another area with more moisture:

Red Osier Dogwood

Pacific Ninebark - 2 from our neighbor

Other shrubs we'll move out of a temporary area:

Oceanspray

Indian Plum

2010 Plant List

The 2010 gardening plan is starting to take shape. Here's the list in progress. I'll be adding notes and making changes as needed. Some new seeds, some old seeds. In an effort to have a rotation plan, I've assigned numbers to groups of plants that will rotate together (roughly). We will see... Vegetables: tbd ~ Okra-Star of David ( first time I'll try it here in WA!) 1a~Cucumbers-Marketmore 97, Organic 1a~Garlic 1a~Tomatoes-Sungold - planted indoors 3/21/10 1a~Tomatoes-Super Marzono - planted indoors 3/21/10 1b~Squash, winter-Delicata, bush 1b~Squash, Patty Pan-Scallop Bush Mix, 1b~Squash, winter-Queensland Blue - from Matron! 1b~Squash, winter-Early Butternut 1b~Pumpkins-Rouge vif d'Etamps Heirloom 1b~Pumpkins-Small Sugar, C.pepo 2~Beans, bush-Roma II 2~Beans, French/Filet-Soleil 2~Beans, pole-Violet Podded Stringless 2~Beans, runner-Scarlet Emperor 2~Onions-Evergreen White Bunching 2~Peas, snap -Sugar Snap - planted 3/21/10, transplanted 4/11 2~Peas, snap -Sugar Sprint - planted 3/21/10, transplanted 4/11 3~Broccoli-Apollo 3~Broccoli-Belstar 3~Radish-Easter Egg 3~Radish-Gourmet Blend 3, 4~Lettuce-Romaine Crisp Mint, organic 3, 4~Lettuce-Butterhead Speckles, organic 4~Beet-Kestrel 4~Carrots-Jeanette F1 Hybrid Organic 4~Carrots-Mokum Hybrid 4~Chard, Swiss-Bright Lights 4~Chard, Swiss-Perpetual Swiss Chard 4~Fennel-Perfection, organic 4~Parsley 3, 4~Lettuce-Romaine Crisp Mint, organic 3, 4~Lettuce-Butterhead Speckles, organic Some of the flowers, herbs, etc. also in the garden: ~Alyssum-Snow Cloth/Carpet of Snow; Wonderland Mulberry Mix ~Anise Hyssop - new growth in early March ~Basil-Christmas ~Bergamot-Bee balm ~Borage ~Calendula- ~Catnip- new growth visible in March ~Catmint ~Chamomile-Matricaria recutita, German Chamomile ~Chives- ~Columbine- ~Coreopsis-Tinctoria Mixture ~Cosmos-Red crest ~Cosmos-Picotee ~Echinacea-Purple cone flower ~Echinacea-Tomato Soup (new) ~Echinacea-Flame Thrower (new) ~Feverfew - new growth visible in early March ~Foxglove- ~Lavender-Munstead (lavendula angustifolia) ~Lavender-others ~Lemon Balm - visible in garden in mid March ~Marigolds-Mr. Majestic ~Marigolds-tall orange (saved seeds) ~Nasturtium-Tip Top Alaska ~Nicotiana-Only the Lonely ~Oregano- ~Poppy ~Poppy, yellow- ~Rampion ~Rhubarb ~Rosemary ~Rudbeckia Hirta-Black-eyed Susan ~Rudbeckia Hirta-Prairie Sun (new) ~Rudbeckia Hirta-Cherry Brandy (new) ~Sage- ~Sunflower-Sunseed ~Sunflower-Italian White ~Sunflowers-mixed

SAGBUTT Saturday- Tomorrow!

Wow - I've been out of touch. I just realized there is a Seattle Area Garden Bloggers United to Talk (and Eat) event tomorrow at 11 am !

See Karen's SAGBUTT post for the details.

And see the SAGBUTT Group link for my prior posts about our adventures.

Yeah! Welcome to the 2010 garden season!

Bloom Day February 2010

It's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day Feb. 15th. You can find links to blooms around the world at Carol's Bloom Day post at her blog May Dreams Gardens.


Here is what I found at Petunia's Garden:

We've had some mild weather and blooms are running a little early. Above, the neighbor's old wild or ornamental plum tree is starting to bloom.

Forsythia.

Some snowdrops survived in the area where we had a large tree removed.

This young ornamental cherry has been blooming already. I'm glad the large trees are holding off a little longer.

Heather, and a bee!

Money plant adds some interest in the fence row this time of year. You can see a new, green start of it growing at the base of the fence post.