Spring Shopping

Spring has sprung! Yesterday I went to run a few errands and no one had any of the stuff I was looking for. The only thing I got that I needed was gas for my car! So...I bought some plants! LOL!

These are these far pink flowering strawberries! Can't wait!

Not sure if I put this up, but these were the Hostas I got on sale last fall.

This is where I planted the strawberries!

I think hubby buried my blackberry last year so I bought a new one! Thornless and produces a heavy yield of large berries! Downside? 10' long canes. Upside? This was one that was reported to not sucker and form a hedge!

I also finally found new gardening gloves that is somewhat like the current pair that I have! I don't know if they are washable like my favorite pair, but they fit well and feel right! $7 at Lowe's! I grabbed two so I wouldn't be left like I did this time!

I couldn't resist these Dahlias either 😄

Garlic, Fall Deals, & Fleas

This year I am doing some crop rotation now that I have the space to do so now! Yesterday, I planted my garlic in my tomato patch this fall. Unfortunately the tomato plants are still growing so it was a bit hard to reach all the way in, but I tried my best! They should have plenty of space to grow and the area is already heavily amended so hopefully they really like it! I will add more compost later so they stay nice and snug throughout the winter. Because I didn't get as many bulbs (or as big) as I had hoped this year, I really don't have much garlic to use so I planted a lot. At least it's what I think is a lot! I didn't plant them all as much as I would like to! In order to plant as much garlic as I would like, I would have to not plant sweet potatoes and squash. I did exhaust the tomato patch so I had to plant a few more back into where I had them last year. 

The potatoes I threw out into my compost heap is really happy out there! 

Lowes has their perennials on sale! I picked up 4 variegated hostas for $1.50 each! :D I planted them by the side fence. When they grow in, they're going to be so pretty! 

Not only did Lowes  had perennials on sale, they also had those mini kales on sale that I was eyeing up earlier! The pansies were only 30¢ each! I got six! AND....pumpkins were on sale! Granted most of them did not have any stems left, but you can't beat half price! I wished that they had another one of the crooked necked gourds though. Oh well! The one I got had a huge crack in it, but who cares?

So for the first time in a long time, I have a flea issue! The last time was nine years ago! I'm thinking it's the neighborhood cats that have brought them into my yard. Today I treated the backyard with a product called Wondercide. It's totally organic (99% cedar oil) and is supposed to kill fleas and leave beneficial insects! So we'll see how it does! I used 2 oz in 2 gallons of water. It smells pretty good too! :D

There is also another product called Cedarcide, but I found it to be more expensive. 

I had to wait a few days to do so because of rain and my old sprayer was broken. I had ordered new parts, but one of them did not fit even though I had checked with Hudson on the right part number. Fed up, I got a new sprayer, a D.B. Smith Professional sprayer. I wasn't crazy about the all plastic parts compared to my brass wand with the Hudson sprayer, but I was pleasantly surprised when I went to use it. It comes with a few different nozzles, for which it is quite hard to understand how to put together if you are looking in the instruction booklet. The diagram is small and hard to figure out. It also has a lifetime guarantee on the parts! I could've bought a cheaper sprayer, but because of that guarantee, I chose to pay $10 more for this one instead. I'm hoping it lasts! Although really, I had my Hudson sprayer for a long time so I guess I should not be surprised that it has failed finally. I never did do any maintenance on it and probably did all I shouldn't with it like cleaning it out after I was done since I always liked to keep something in it for a quick fix! 

Sunfarm.com & Symposium

Hellebore, Hellebore, Trillium, Jack in the Pulpit, Trillium, & Hellebore

This post is a bit late as I did not have time to post earlier...On 4/16 I volunteered at the Chatham University Gardening Symposium. I picked up some stuff, but by the time I was able to shop all the good stuff was gone, BUT...there were some goodies left still! Not only that, but the showy more expensive versions were all sold. All that was left was the stuff that were just coming out of dormancy and MUCH cheaper! So score for me! :D

I wanted Helleborus and I got Helleborus! Five to be exact! Scored two freebie Stevias too! I also got the Trilliums and Jack in the Pulpits. Native plants are nice because they are pretty much guaranteed to grow given the right area! So I am excited! There were a lot of natives there this year, but a lot of them I did not get. I only got the showier ones. :) Some anyway! The one I was most excited about when I found it was the Soloman's Seal. I saw that someone bought one that had come out of dormancy completely and it was GORGEOUS! I so wanted one, but did not find it on the sales table until a few passes later I saw it on the master gardener table juuuuust coming out of dormancy and for $6 only! It's the variegated kind and SO pretty! I can't wait! I am fast running out of space in my yard. I don't know how much more I can cram in it!

Btw, www.sunfarm.com is the vendor that had all the Helleborus and the natives in the first picture. They had some awesome deals! I hope they come back next year!

Stevia, Stevia, Hellebore, Hellebore, mini Hosta, Soloman's Seal