Gardening

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Pumpkin’s Progress: Wilted Seedlings, Sagging Ego

First, the clichés:

Never give up hope. It’s not over till it’s over. Don’t give up!  Don’t be discouraged!  Okay…but…

Wilted Pumpkin Seedling

I am discouraged.  We transplanted our pumpkin seedlings Sunday evening into freshly prepared planter boxes.  The process was challenging on two fronts.  First, the seed pods were so close together, that the leaves and stems entangled.  As I gently pulled them apart, several of the stems bent or snapped.  It was disheartening.  Second, the seed pods had to be pushed out from the bottom, instead of scooping out from the top, further damaging the tender plants.  I improved my technique as I went along, so the lower box looks a bit better.

On the bright side, I have a reserve of seeds in all six varieties, so I’ll plant those directly into the bed.  Stay tuned.

Has this ever happened to you?

Lower Box

Volunteer Pumpkin
This seed survived the winter and is doing just fine without my help

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Planting at Dusk: Tucking the Seedlings in for the Night

Ready to Plant

It’s nail-biting time.  The pumpkins are in the planter boxes, watered and tucked in under a blanket of rich garden mix.  I erected what we affectionately refer to as Fort Knox for Squirrels, a chicken wire enclosure to keep squirrels (and rats)  from noshing on the tender green shoots.  We’ve learned this lesson the hard way.  It’s disheartening to see your starter crop reduced to wilted, broken stems.

So..now we wait and hope for the best.

Special thanks to Laura for the custom tie-dyed apron.  I love it!

Planting Collage

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True Leaves: Seedlings Ready to Go

Pushing Up Seed Casings

I learned the expression “true leaves” on a gardening forum called I Dig My Garden. True leaves are the second pair of leaves on an emerging plant indicating all systems are go for transplanting outdoors.  I like that expression, and find it far more interesting than my heretofore “second set of leaves” terminology.

Our Burpee Growing System delivered in spades.  We have over 72 pumpkin seedlings ready to go.  I prepped the garden beds a few weeks ago anticipating this day.  The stars have aligned, which is to say dry, warm inviting conditions to launch our pumpkin crop.  Here we go!

“The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies.”
–  Gertrude Jekyll
☼☼☼

April 11th: Planted seeds indoors in a Burpee Seed Starting System.

April 18th: Will you look at these adorable sprouts?  What personality!

April 29th:  True Leaves!  So excited…

Kitchen Counter Pumpkin Crops

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Garden Kitties Make the Rounds

We have awesome cat netting around our back yard fence, allowing our cats to roam safely within the confines of our yard.  They enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, and like joining me on my daily gardening rounds.  The netting keeps them safe from traffic, cat fights and other assorted mischief.

You can learn more about the Cat Fence-In® System here.

My feline companions include:

Lindy, aka Lindy-Lu
We adopted Lindy from our local Humane Society in 2005

Slinky Malinki
Feral kitty has come a long way
She showed up as a stray about two years ago

This neighborhood cat is every one's best friend.
Named Mighty Mouse, aka Mousy and Mouse

Beijing, also known as Beige, Large-Marge and Grumpy Gus
We assumed this beauty had a home, but with no collar and no microchip, we never located her owner.
She joined the crew about two years ago.
(Thanks anyway, but I think I'll stay here on the couch)

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It’s Arbor Day: Have you Hugged Your Favorite Tree?

Proud Tree Hugger

If you can’t plant a tree somewhere today, arbor day enthusiasts suggest taking stock of your own.  Are they healthy?  In need of a trim?  Perhaps some fertilizer is in order.

Our suburban lot is about 6,000 square feet.  The house occupies a third of that and what’s left includes the garden, a deck, a patio and a few trees.  Three established trees grew in our backyard when we bought the house, but not a single tree out  front.  I started researching approved street trees before escrow even closed, and together my husband and I settled on a Chinese Pistache.  The Pistache grows in the strip between the sidewalk and the street, perfectly situated for viewing from my home office and the kitchen.

After years of broken sidewalks, car damage and probably lawsuits, the city arborist requires well-behaved “street” trees.  No invasive roots, no sticky sap to damage cars and they’ve banned Liquidambar styraciflua which toss down ankle-turning, stroller-jamming hard, dry fruit.  They are lovely trees in the right setting, but not well suited curbside.  No pip-squeaks either, which is to say, 15 gallon trees (at a minimum) when planted for safe traffic visibility.

We love our tree!  In the first few years, we measured its growth, but eventually it grew too tall.  We had boys by then, so all our attentions shifted down, as we measured their height in inches and eventually feet.

Planting Our Tree
September, 2006

In the fall our tree turns multiple shades of amber, then quietly drops a blanket of leaves, so subtle they hardly need raking.  We hang our singing skeleton from the branch to entertain passers-by around Halloween, and by winter the tree strips to its own skeletal form.

Stunning Fall Color

My youngest son loves climbing that tree and when it was dense with foliage, he once hid up there so he could drop down and surprise his unsuspecting friend.  Last summer, he and a friend rigged a series of buckets and tubes and created an impromptu dunk tank, supported by the trees now-strong limbs.

Enjoying Our Tree in the Winter Months

If that tree could talk, it would have a story to tell.  Have you hugged your favorite tree today?

Tree Hugging Spring Days

Newly Planted, September 2006

Arbor Day, 2012

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Blooming Thursday: Lemondrops and Sage

Today’s blossoms are lemony yellows and vibrant purples, with just a touch of white.

According to Sensational Color, “Yellow is psychologically the happiest color in the color spectrum.”

The color purple uplifts.  “It calms the mind and the nerves and encourages creativity.”

Yellow and purple are complimentary on the color wheel. They always look beautiful together. No wonder these flowers make me happy.

Mexican Sage, a Hummingbird Favorite

Salvia Leucantha ‘Mexican Sage‘ thrives in our planting zone. Its drought-tolerant, requiring virtually no water once established. It’s also a magnet for beneficial bees and hummingbirds and neighborhood kids.  Those beautiful flowers are as soft as they look. This one occupies a small space in our “sidewalk strip” next to the driveway.

Pittosporum Blossoms

Our well-established Pittosporum is probably as old as the house. We’ve lived here for 16 years and it was fully grown when we moved in. It produces beautiful yellow flowers in the spring, and variegated leaves year round. The squirrels use it as a stepping stool to the neighboring pine.

Orange Blossoms

Not only does our orange tree produce a bounty of fruit but it blooms these sweetly fragrant blossoms every spring. Our tree currently houses a squirrel’s nest! It provides great shade in the summer months, but we stay clear of it at dusk when the rats stop by for a treat.

Campanula: 'Serbian Bellflower'

These Serbian Bellflowers are new to our garden this year. This is the first of the plants to bloom. I’m looking forward to the day when they are all covered with these tiny, star-like flowers.  Aren’t they sweet?

Abutilon: 'Moonchimes' Chinese Lantern

Hummingbirds love these gorgeous yellow flowers. This lovely graces our front side yard near the smaller Magnolia by our deck.

What’s blooming in your garden today?

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Versatile Blogger Award: A Flower for my Blog

VBA Button

The origins of the Versatile Blogger Award are a  mystery.  I’ve seen the award on other sites, but can’t  trace it back to its start.  One clever blogger created this site with instructions for award nominees, but the guidelines seem to vary from post to post.  What I do know is the “button” comes in my favorite color and it has a flower in the lower corner.  Pretty cool, eh?

The nomination/award is a gesture of goodwill and an opportunity to support fellow bloggers.  Many thanks to My Botanical Garden (intergenerational) for the Versatile Blogger Award.  What a nice surprise and a gracious gesture.

If you are reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for following my blog.  I’m honored and flattered.

In turn I’d like to pass the Versatile Blogger Award to the following five bloggers.  You inspire me:

  1. What’s Green with Betsy?!?: Betsy is “passionate about good health and protecting the environment since the early 1970′s and is eager to share her knowledge.”  Please take a look.
  2. Mini Manor Blog: Ashlee “Believes life can be simple, organized, functional, beautiful and green. She blogs about just that, on a one income budget, in a two income world.”  Her blog is full of beautiful photos and great ideas.  A fun, light, enjoyable read.
  3. Purple Pixie in Dixie: I admire her spunk and appreciate the day-to-day tone of her posts.   She writes, “Every day Kentucky is feeling more and more like home.  I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with Violet.  I am blessed to be able to explore my creative side.  I love to scrapbook!  I like to try different crafts, and now I’m learning how to sew.  I love to cook, too, and I am starting to do it more often.” Pop on over and see what she’s up to.
  4. Compassionate Citizen: New to the blogosphere, she writes eloquently about, “…doing my best to live a life of compassion and non-violence.  I often speak out for victims of abuse who cannot speak for themselves, including some of the most under-served: the world’s animals, especially those used by humans for food.”  Please show her some love.
  5. Christine Schoenwald: Adventures in Nutland: Christine is a fabulous writer.  Her posts are as insightful as they are hilarious.  She’s received several “Editor’s Pick” on Open Salon.  Take a look, and let me know what you think.

Honoring  the final request: seven truths about gardeningnirvana:

  • I’m tall (5’10”)
  • I like to sing in the car at the top of my lungs
  • Even though I organize for a living, it remains one of my favorite hobbies
  • I lived without a TV for five years and didn’t miss it
  • I’m not a morning person at all but I still get up at 5:25 three days a week to attend a fitness camp.
  • I love Rooibos tea
  • I’ve been collecting tea tags for over 30 years

Tea Tag Collection
30 years later and it still fits in one jar

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Pssst! Over Here! In the trunk…

OSH Garden Center

I jumped out of my van in the Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) parking lot and made a beeline for the garden center.  A friend recommended an EarthBox® for growing tomatoes and I was hoping to find one there (no luck).  Our local OSH relocated to the former Mervyn’s site where, coincidentally, I had my first “real” job working in gift wrap.  The new garden center has a recording of birds chirping in the background.  Corny as it sounds, it’s actually very nice.

As I headed for the double doors I heard my name.  I met Barbara through my son’s school, but didn’t know she was a gardener until I took my son to her home for a party in their back yard.  I was green with envy!  She has a beautiful garden on a double-sized lot and she has chickens.  They make the best fertilizer around.  Barbara also shares my fantasy of buying the neighbor’s house for the sole purpose of expanding her garden.

We chatted about our boys, but first she popped the trunk so I could ogle her flats of flowers and vegetables.  It makes me giggle when I think about two women with their heads bent over a trunk, admiring all those plants. Ah, the joys of bonding over eggplant and tomato starter plants. I’m still smiling.

Garden Center Greeting

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Weeds: Green Isn’t Always a Good Thing

Oxalis, pretending to be ground cover

If you garden, you weed.  The end.

Seriously, every garden has weeds; it’s only a matter of degrees.  I’m an expert weeder myself, probably because pulling weeds falls into the category of garden organization.  I  pull weeds and restore order.  It’s therapeutic clearing out the interlopers, those pervasive plants that sneak into the garden beds when you aren’t looking.  They pretend to be the real deal as they vie for water and nutrients, using clever camouflage and stealth tactics to avoid detection.  I know the regulars around town: oxalis, dandelions and spotted surge. Now and again I spot something new and unfamiliar.  I pause overhead, garden fork in hand, wondering if I should give the newcomer a chance.  I once let a glossy green plant grow in our side yard, only to learn from my friend Doug that it was invasive.  It’s still popping up!  I’ve also yanked out plants, only to realize it was an annual re-seeding from the previous year.  I was amused to discover this week that the plant I left growing next to the Chinese Pistache is a volunteer broccoli plant.  How fun that was!

When you garden you have an intimate knowledge of weeds and their habits; where they’ll grow and when. If you don’t pull them out by the roots early, they’ll flower and drop seeds.  Once they go to seed you’ve extended an open-ended invitation to return year after year.

To Weed, or Not to Weed?

I made my rounds today, fork in hand, with a strong wind kicking up pollen.  We have rain in the forecast, so I figured I would get this first round done before the rain helps plant a new batch.

Do you have a garden “chore” that you secretly love?

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Happy Earth Day

I found an interesting quiz on the site Act Earth Day.  It estimates your ecological footprint, based on a series of questions.  At the end of the quiz you can explore ways to improve your impact on our planet.

You can find the quiz here.

I thought I would score better than I did and I’m disappointed.  Clearly I have room for improvement!  On the plus side:

  • I’m a vegetarian (eating lower on the food chain)
  • I recycle, reuse and re-purpose
  • I plant a vegetable garden (small plot) each year
  • One of our two cars is a Prius
  • All of our appliances are Energy Star
  • We insulated our home and installed dual-pane windows throughout
  • Our heat is off during the day; set to 66 at night during the colder months.

The quiz suggested I travel locally (instead of flying) for my next vacation and consider using public transportation.  I should buy less packaged food and improve my local food consumption.

Please let me know if you take the quiz and if so, how you did. I pledge to do better this year.  I hope you have something wonderful planned to celebrate our beautiful planet.

Feathered Observer

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