Not the usual garden tour...

I visited my friends in Kansas and enjoyed cantaloupe, watermelon and tomatoes from their garden. 

Went to the Keith Urban and Jake Owen concert, Wichita, KS  August 16, 2011.  Front row seats we didn't know about until we got there (not that we did any sitting)!  Way to go on getting these tickets, you Keith fan.

And met little kitties, Misty and Bandit.  Plus a sunny day at the water park with the kids.  Many thanks to the hosts for a memorable trip!

Critter Garden

I had a brave moment and visited my neglected garden.  Happily, I found it was a buzz of activity.  The bees are enjoying the borage (above) and anise hyssop (below).  I assume Petunia (the snake) and cousins are appreciating that I'm not disturbing them too much (see Petunia's Condo link here).  I haven't seen any snakes around the place this year, though. 

I'm really looking forward to our SAGBUTT reunited garden visit in a few weeks! 
Bees and SAGBUTT are an August theme, apparently - see this link
More posts from SAGBUTT events here.

Grandma's Roses

I unboxed and washed my Grandma's tea set.   Washing the last piece, the teapot, I realized I was washing them in her old dish pan, too.  This immediately took me back to many hot Kansas summer days standing at her kitchen sink using the same dish pan.  And sitting out under the big shade tree for the afternoon.  She's been gone for 23 years.    

Here is the rest of the tea set.  It has moved on to the hands of a family I hope will have many tea parties to remember.

Sunglasses Keeper

DH thinks I won't see his new place in the kitchen to keep his sunglasses.   At least he'll be able to find in them when we head out soon to enjoy this sunny 4th.  Wishing you a sunny day where ever you are too.  

Welcome Summer

I found so many volunteer foxglove-like seedlings around the yard and garden, I was starting to wonder if they were really a weed.  I'm glad I didn't pull them all. 

Let's Try Again

OK - Others have done it.  I can too - it's time to share the ugly truth.  Here is the state of two of the vegetable beds. They haven't had attention since last summer.   I had delayed doing anything as I didn't know where to start recovery, or when.   Finally, I thought about how we started our garden  - weed blocking/mulching.  
 

1st - Shorten the weeds/grass.  I asked (bribed) DH to weed-eat it (leaving the flower bunches standing cost extra).

2nd - Mulch what's left with coffee bags to block out light and smother the weeds/grass.

3rd - Let the worms and coffee bags work while I go visit family in the midwest

4th - Plant stuff and hope for sunshine. 

Here, you can see the two mulched rows.  The row closest to the chairs is full of flowers, chamomile, lambs ear, hyssop and other herbs.  The bees will love this row as is, so we'll call it intentional.   The next row has tomatoes and beans planted last Tuesday, along with the chives and fennel already in place.  

It was from under a sheet of weed blocking plywood we first saw Petunia, the snake.  Along with the earth worms that love living under the coffee bags, maybe Petunia will have moved in by the time I return.

Now, the other flower and herb rows need care, but that can be the summer project.

Critter Update

It was warm enough for the first of the actual gardening tonight.  Thanks for the tomatoes, Jeanne!

Instead of a garden update, though, we have a critter update.  Not Petunia, but these little spiders. 



And where are they living?  In the critter hotel that sits along the fence line by the garden.  The recycled planter boxes are my solution to a "green roof." Two other boxes form one of the layers in the structure.  

I started this years a few years ago after seeing one on another blog.  Here is an information sheet on them, too.

January Garden Progress

This was the garden on Saturday, after no garden tending for months and months.  The wind blew down the climbing bean structure and I'd never trimmed up the flower and herb stalks or taken down the peas and tomato supports.   I didn't know when I'd have time to do what needed done, so hadn't started.

But, then I decided I could put the greenhouse panels back in place while it wasn't raining.  Maybe I could remove the bean and pea structures since I was out there, and just some of the trimming ....

And then remembered the jute green coffee bags still in the truck.   Easy enough to put down fresh ones to cover the weeds and open up the paths between the beds.   Getting access for light, air and the gardener is one step forward in my garden.  This will make spring prep on the garden beds that much easier.

It is a little hard to tell, but the beds are about 4 feet wide and the pathways are about 2 feet.  Not all of the pathways got covered before dark, but now the bags in place can be doing there thing even in the rain.

Click on the Garden-Monthly Photo label below to see the garden at other times.

Greenhouse To-Do

Winter winds took out a number of the greenhouse panels. There hasn't been the time or the weather to get them back in place. With the interruptions last year, I'm more than ready for a fresh start to the garden. This is a good place to begin.


Fortunately, the panels were not destroyed. I collected them, and all the little clips that hold them in place (most of the time), and they are in my part of the barn (also in need of a fresh start).


The attached shelving and the brace for the stained glass probably helped the structure stay in place. It also helps that we don't have the winds o' Kansas to contend with! Check out this greenhouse post about the new greenhouse of my former neighbor and original owner of my greenhouse!!

Click on the Greenhouse label below to see other greenhouse posts.

Last Pumpkin

With the 2010 garden-lite season, I'm down to my last pumpkin. DH doesn't eat pumpkin, but my Mother and her neighbor have already been clear about pumpkin pie expectations for Christmas.

Cooking this one... and planning for the full garden / pumpkin patch experience for the 2011 garden.