Growing Like Weeds!

We've been having a TON of rain! Things are growing at record rates! Reminds me of gardening in Seattle ❤️

I thought this Arum cornutum was dead and I went to dump it in the compost only to find the corms were very much alive! So I tossed them back in without arranging them and it looks like they found their way up just fine!

The Ground Cherries are about 4' tall! 😳

Journaling, Squash, Kale, Tomatoes, Springtime Nursery

I was looking back at my blog last night as I saw a new tomato had ripened up to see what it was that I had planted (Pineapple). I have been really bad at documenting this stuff on here! Luckily I did write a few notes to myself on my phone! I need to do better. Better labeling and better journaling!

So yesterday, I went outside to check on the squash....looks like both my acorn squash withered away. Guess I won't have any acorn squash this year! My baby watermelon has now disappeared also. It was about the size of a pea. There is absolutely no signs of any squash whatsoever! My kale is doing well now that the rabbit is dead. If I didn't mention how the rabbit died....apparently a neighborhood cat dismantled it while I was at work. I came home to the dog going nuts around the yard sniffing its tracks out. When I went to investigate, I found a baby still in its sac, a large intestine, small intestine, liver and a scalped and gutted rabbit all in separate areas!

So it turns out my volunteer tomatoes (at least one of them) is Red Currant! Gotta love those heirloom tomatoes!

The other thing I need to do is space out my plantings some more. It is so deceiving in the spring when your plants are little to judge how big they are going to get. Next year, I also have to rotate things around now that I have the space to do so! They always say to not plant tomatoes in the same spot each year. I haven't had an issue, but why chance it when I can rotate?

I think I forgot to mention Springtime...the nursery. Back in May, I had ordered $100+ worth of Hakone grass. It took them a month and half to inform me that they were out of stock! Seriously? I really needed them too...now my project is at a stand still! Humph! I've been keeping my eye out at garden centers and nurseries and no one seem to carry any either? Guess I will have to look for it again next year with the same vendor. I'm not usually a fan of mass plantings, although it does have a dramatic effect, I just like too many different types of plants to do such a thing. :)

My Dream Garden

I finally found the look of how I would like my garden to look like in an issue of Gardening How-To magazine in the January/February 2014 issue. On page 31, the garden of Scott Endres is exactly how I would like my garden to look like, LUSH! Although I like his theme, I'd like mine to contain lots of fragrant stuff! Unfortunately, I don't think my hubby and I see eye to eye on how our landscape should look like. He likes the orderly chemical filled landscape that has been chopped into round or square shapes, whereas I like the more organic, natural blended look. Dilemma? I'd say so!

This same issues also brought other inspiration in new cultivars! The Golden Duchess Eastern hemlock from Monrovia is a pretty, small, and weeping lime colored evergreen! I think it would make for good structure in a garden. Also, Lotus Moon pearlbush, from Bailey Nurseries, looks like a good alternative to the typical forsythia, azalea, etc.! I hate planting things everyone else has so this plant fits the bill!

Garden Tours

On Thursday our Master Gardener meeting was at a fellow MG's house. Boy was it pretty!




Today I went on a Pittsburgh Botanic Garden tour. It was nice to see everyone's gardens and styles of gardens! My favorite was the big stream/waterfall with the pond at the bottom! It was SO relaxing to be there! I could've stayed all day! I was asked to volunteer, to which I said yes an was happily surprised that I was assigned to Randyland! It has been on the Today show and I had always wanted to see it, but instead of seeing it on the outside I was able to see it from the inside and out too! I even got a bit of a history lesson from the owner, Randy, himself!

All Gone...!

Alas....all the beautiful Stargazer Lillies are done blooming! They were so beautiful and fragrant, but they sure didn't last long enough! It'll give me something to look forward to next year along with those red Asiatic lillies! The back of the patch there is looking a bit empty now that I have cut off half their stalks to make sure they are not trying to put any energy into making seeds.

The home grown zuchinis are a bit tough skinned though as we found out the other night when we decided to cook two of them.

Other than that...not much going on. It's a bit dry. We could use a good downpour so that I don't have to pull out the hose. I haven't been able to pull the hose out due to the fact that bf is parking his car right in front of the spigot!

I just realized I could put labels on my posts....I wonder who reads my blog? Apparently quite a few of you since my visitor counter says so! :) I hope ya'll enjoy my posts as much as I do writing about them!

Another orchid in starting to bloom!

My baby Meyers Lemons growing! Woohoo! Can't wait to eat them!

My garlic patch in the backyard....they are ripening up. The zucchinis are finally starting to grow here amazingly enough! I thought it wasn't getting enough sunlight, which it isn't, but it is still growing some for me. Not many, but two is better than none!

Garlic

Harvested my first garlic today. The bulb wasn't too bad, but it wasn't super big either for such a big plant! I think I'll pull up the others later.

More Blooms

This is Phal. John Ewing. It was supposed to bloom last year and had TWO spikes, but I threw it outside with the other Phals in the fall and blasted the two spikes! :( So this year, to make up for it....it has given me one single spike. This has been a long awaited bloom since this is a SCENTED Phalaenopsis! Oh it is heavenly! Pretty to boot too!

Spider Lily I believe what this is called. Quite pretty, small flowers though. Apparently the bee in the flower the morning I took this picture agreed since it was drunk with sleep! I thought it was dead! It must really appreciate the food :D

Close up shot of the pretty small flowers. They are about 1" across.

Stargazer Lillies Are Open!

All four lillies are open! Actually, one is already fading. It didn't last very long....a week max? They all opened up during the heat of this past weekend. They smelled SO good! The rain storm late afternoon yesterday, Sunday, knocked a lot of the pollen off the stamens. I will definitely grow more of these since they are able to bloom in shade even!


8:29pm - It is pouring! WOOHOO!!!! The yard sure needed the water!

Stone Plant Bloom Progression

Is it safe to come out?

Hello?

Must be safe....?

Hello world! Hello tiny itty bitty bee!

Ahhh....the sun sure feels good!