Odd Fall

What an odd fall season it is! Hurricane Sandy left those in NYC, CT, & NJ without power and extensive damages. Some areas got snow! All we got was a few rainy days. I guess we got the eye of the storm? Anyhow...it's been freezing, but this weekend is pretty warm! Go figure! Since the frost came already, I cut all m Dahlias and put them in the coal cellar already. I am trying the pitchers in the basement instead. Not much else to do outside besides clean up! Next year I hope to plant more again! I'll have more to blog about then! Hopefully those stink bugs will have found a new home elsewhere!

Fall Happenings

Earlier this month, on Columbus Day (October 8th), I planted my new Music garlic bulbs. These were HUGE! I got them from Enon Valley Garlic. I mulched them heavily so they ought to be happy campers! I still need more mulch, but have yet to get more. I need to not procrastinate as winter is fast approaching and I will lose things if I don't!

Today was also the first day of the Orchid Festival. I walked in with every intention of not buying everything I like, but I admit, I have an addiction. LOL I am not going back tomorrow! LOL I did pick up a few unique items: Cynoches Wine Delight 'Jem', Bulbophyllum makoyanum, Tuberloabium woodii, Bulbophyllum Ambrosia, Bulbophyllum medusae, Trias picta and Dendrobium peguanum. Looks like I picked up mostly species! I'm not sure why I picked up Tuberloabium woodii though. It's not something I normally would pick, but I guess it looked sweet enough! I will probably tire of it quickly though. Trias picta reminded me of Masdevallias so I had to try it! Bulbophyllum medusae I had once upon a time....but it died. I bought a new one this past spring (quite a large one too), but it didn't do so well with me. It is just barely hanging on, so I got a new one. Dendrobium peguanum I couldn't pass up for $15! It was interesting enough and it was even in spike also that I had to try it! Cynoches Wine Delight 'Jem' was a stunner that I kept eyeing and figured I would regret it if I didn't buy it. I'm not doing awesome with those types, however, I haven't killed the one I have a relative of yet! Knock on wood, I won't! Bulbophyllum Ambrosia just had a really pretty flower I couldn't pass up! So there you have it, my addiction!

I came home and settled my newbies in and went outside to bury my pitcher plants...got one small one buried and got tired of it! I'm going to try something new this year instead....I brought them indoors and placed them in my basement in the old coal cellar. It stays pretty chilly in there....40s? It probably won't like being so dark in there, but we'll see. They are just too big to bury anymore! I filled the bird feeder and called it a day as I was just exhausted from being woken up too early by my husband's alarm and the dog jumping on the bed! :S

Columbus Day = Garlic Planting Day!

Yep, you read that right! A few years ago, I was on a garden tour and this German couple grew the most beautiful and LARGE garlic bulbs ever! I just had to pick their brains! They said:

- Full sun
- Compost and lots of it!
- Plant on Columbus Day
- Harvest on July 4th

I'm a geek, so I had to read about how the pros do it too and it pretty much coincided with the above advice only I do a bit more per the book. I don't get great harvests, but I do get some! I lack the full sun :( I keep trying to convince my hubby we need to move. I need garden space!

Anyhow, I got some great bulbs from Enon Valley Garlic this year to plant since my crop was just non-existant! I highly recommend them because the cloves were GIGANTIC! So I planted them today. Six in my sunniest spot and the rest in my patch with tons of mulch on top! Let's hope they like me better next year!

Growing Moss

I'd love to have a moss and fern garden, except I have come to the conclusion in the seven years I have been in my house that shade isn't all that is needed! I need water too and ther IS such a thing as DRY shade! I have found very few ferns that will grow in dry shade. The hosts seem to love it, but moss is totally out of the question! Someday...

Mossandstonegardens.com
Tripplebrookfarm.com

Chickens

Earlier this summer, my neighbors moved and so did their chickens, which I had grown to love as my own as I had fed and cared for them also. Oh how I miss my chickies! I don't have enough space to have chickens, but I hope to someday as their eggs are to die for! I am a member of a backyard chicken group already and the August 2012 issue of Southern Living also talks about backyard chickens. The reading materials it suggests are:

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds
Backyardchickens.com
"The Chicken Coop" and "Fresh Eggs Daily" on Facebook
"Coop designs" on Pinterest
Backyard-poultry.meetup.com

Potatoes!

Just harvested my blue potatoes today! I'm not sure I got more than I planted as I planted two large potatoes...

I am really bad at keeping up with this blog this year! Of course, not much to post about since I did not grow much this year. The garlic was dismal this year! I didn't have time this spring to baby it like I normally do and it's been an especially dry summer. Even my lilies did not look that great this year thanks to the drought.

My Dahlia 'Duet' did GREAT this year and all in an itty bitty pot too! I'm pretty sure it has rooted into the soil below. I got a new Dahlia called 'Hawai'i' this year and the first bloom I got looked nothing like what was pictured, however, as it blooms more, the flowers are starting to look more like the picture!

My watermelon hasn't gotten any bigger. It seems they have hit a plateau. One is about softball sized and the other about the size of a baseball. The stem is still green so I am letting them be even though it is September already!

There has not been many stink bugs this year. I thought it was because I did not grow any tomatoes or my feeding the wild birds, but I spoke to Doug Oster at the Phipps Tomato and Garlic Festival and he mentioned the same thing! Go figure that the year I choose not to grow any tomatoes there aren't any stink bugs! Let's hope they don't come back!

This is how the tag looks...

This is what bloomed!

Another bloom....this one looks a bit closer to what the tag looks like!

This one is the most recent bloom. Now we're talking! The blooms are much bigger than I expected. Not a bad problem though!

Samba's Begonia

Last year on about June first I was exhausted from worrying over Samba dying that I took a break and went shopping for some food. While out, there was a stand of plants for sale...how could I resist? I walked in and thought I ought to cheer up myself with a new plant. I bought this beautiful begonia and it bloomed and grew, albeit a bit leggy throughout winter. I put it outside this spring and it has filled in and grown beautifully! It's a nice reminder of my buddy... I hope I can keep it alive for a long time!

Wasps/Hornets

Watered my Plumerias to find too much activity behind this candle. Turns out they are building a nest! Yuck! :S

Best Deal Ever!

These Smith & Hawken metal pots were $49.99 originally. I've been looking for this style for a long time, but was unwilling to pay the price they were asking for! Guess it paid off to wait because I got these for $14.99 each! Woot! Gotta love a good Target deal!

My First Watermelon!

This pic was taken awhile ago...this watermelon baby is about 3" in diameter today. There are four so far!

Dry!

It's been so dry this year my grass is brown! My garlic looked pretty bad and my Stargazer lily flowers are no where near a big as they have been in the past. Even buds have dried up! I'm going to have to water more so they have better growth next year.

Clematis

My neighbor and I both thought this Clematis had died last year as it just up and turned brown! Little did we know that not only would it come back, but with buds! The flowers are much smaller than I had expected, but the are pretty still.

Kopper Kettle Itoh Peony

Bloodroot Seedpod 4.26.12

Mayapple 4.26.12

Garlic 4.26.12

4.26.12 Mini Iris Blooms!

Garlic 2012

Today was in the 80s! I wonder how my garlic will fare this year with the early heat waves? As you can see, my lilies are growing like weeds!

My Logee's Wishlist

I love looking at the Logee's catalog, but dang are things expensive in there! Not that I haven't bought more expensive plants, but they aren't usually the size Logee's sells them for! So here is what I have been drooling over:

1. Advocado 'Day' (Persea americana)

2. Fig 'Petite Negra' (Ficus carica)

3. Double Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia species)

4. Angel's Trumpet 'Angel's Summer dream' (Brugmansia hybrid)

Spring Has Sprung Early!

This last week, it was in the 80s here! It was GREAT! My garlic is already a foot tall and my lillies are poking out of the ground! It drops back down a bit this coming week, but I am OK with that!

My new Hellebore bloomed....NOT the color I expected! In fact, it is FAR from it! It was supposed to be this beautiful red color and I got GREEN! I wish I remembered who I bought it from so I could RETURN it! UGH! Now what the hell am I going to do with it?!

My collard greens survived the winter and is trying to bloom now. My neighbors are going to be moving this spring and I am going to miss them dearly as well as their kiddos and chickens! This corner of the neighborhood won't be the same again! :(

Last month I got a new foster dog, but she isn't much of a gardening buddy! She ate my fertilizer this morning!

It's been a super mild winter and I am grateful! I just hope the bugs aren't too horrible this year!

An Unusual Winter

It's been extremely warm this winter. I am not complaining by any means! I am SO glad that there hasn't been much snow. Phil, the groundhog, said there is six more weeks of winter. I'm A-OK with that as long as it stays as it has been! My garlic and hyacinths are peeking out of the ground already. They'll be alright though. I'm thinking I may not plant tomatoes this year as it is useless to plant any when all the stink bugs just eat them all anyway! My Bhut Jolokia doesn't seem to have survived the winter this year, which really sucks. I've started new seeds. I hope they sprout! I may have to get them their own light next year! I think I may do without the habaneros too since we have plenty in the freezer. That ought to last my chili making for a long while!