It Used To Be July...

I learned a lesson this month. I learned that it’s not good for me to go on a two week vacation in July. Especially during a heat wave. July is always the prettiest month in my garden. Things were coming along nicely before I left, but despite having sprinklers set on timers, it struggled while I was away. And it shows. So here’s some photos of what it used to look like...BV (Before Vacation).

My flower garden in July.

The daisies bloom in all their glory in July. Daisies are a favorite of mine and are also my mom’s favorite flower. I’ve dug up some of mine to give to her in the past and can afford to give away even more!

Delightful Daisies.

I love this Hydrangea. I just wish I knew the name. I can’t take the credit for planting it. It was here when we bought the house. It has pink and purple flowers all on one plant, and even sports a few blue ones from time to time.

Hydrangea.

The purple Coneflowers are also magnificent in July. I’ve given some of these away before, too, and can still afford to give away a few more. I believe this variety is Magnus. It was one of the first things I planted in the garden. Both these and the daisies like to multiply each year.

Purple Coneflowers.

Some groundcovers now. Moonbeam Coreopsis and an annual called Superbells Coralberry Punch.

Groundcovers.

I planted one Monarda Raspberry Wine last year. I knew how much Mondarda liked to spread, but I had no idea how huge it would get in just one year. I probably need to give some of this away before it takes over half the garden.

Mondarda Raspberry Wine and Purple Coneflower Magnus.

This lily has become a real favorite of mine. I planted three of them in 2009. They are as tall as I am (which is pretty gosh-darn tall), but they’re a whole lot prettier than me. They are very regal looking.

A gorgeous lily: Lilium Leslie Woodriff.

I have some herbs right outside the back door for easy snipping when making dinner. Along with a Green Velvet Boxwood (which is NOT an herb) are sage, lemon thyme, Thai basil, sweet basil, rosemary, and a tomato that came back from last year. Yeh, tomatoes aren’t herbs either.

Herbs by my back porch.

The vegetable garden was HUGE by July. Seriously gigantic.

My Kitchen Garden in July.

Look at all the beets!

Beets with a tomato behind it and some petunias next to it.

The broccoli leaves are dinosaur-big, but no broccoli. I think I planted it too late. I believe it prefers cooler weather.

Broccoli, tomato, swiss chard. Bed to the left has carrots.

Some bounty from the vegetable garden.

Yellow squash and beets. And look at those sad-looking wee carrots. Don’t think those are ready yet!

June Seems So Far Away

In June I was busy finishing my gravel paths and planning our two week vacation to Oregon, so I got behind in posting garden pictures. Here’s what was going on in June.

I think I said it before and I’ll say it again: I think my raised veggie garden (my traditional “Kitchen Garden”) was more involved than I knew it would be. But now that it’s all done, I absolutely love it and think it was worth all of the hard work. I’ve gotten SO many great, fresh vegetables all season long. From beets to romaine and lettuce, to scallions, swiss chard, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, and herbs like flat-leaf parsley and sweet basil. The gravel paths really make it all look more finished and formal. I was so happy to be finally finished the paths!

Gravel paths around the new “Kitchen Garden” were completed in June.

I felt like my Kitchen Garden needed a formal entrance. Something to act as a transition area from the yard and flower garden area to the Kitchen Garden. I came up with a plan. I redid the edge of my flower garden so that it flowed better into the Kitchen Garden area, moving the rock edging and digging more. The gravel paths comes out into the yard a bit now. My plan is to plant formal topiary on both sides of the entrance with some dwarf boxwood. It’s too hot to plant shrubs now and boxwood does better when you plant it in spring, so that will be part of my spring chores.

New “entrance” to the Kitchen Garden.

As you can tell, my neighbors still haven’t put up that fence they said they were going to do over a year ago!

The gravel path in my flower garden was looking pretty sad, so I dug it out, put down weed fabric and re-edged it, then put down new gravel. It looks so much better now. Right now the path just leads to the statue we named Winnie. Eventually I want it to continue to the Kitchen Garden. 

Gravel path in the flower garden.

One thing I learned this year is my flower garden is pretty boring in June. Once the roses are past their prime, there isn’t much color. Something to think about.

Flower garden in June.

I have several different varieties of Hydrangeas in the flower garden and they start to bloom towards the end of June.

Nikko Blue Hydrangea and Winnie.

The lavender looks good in June.

Lavender with pink roses in the background.

I have a red Passion Flower vine in a pot – Passiflora Sherry. Since I don’t think it’s hardy to this area, I keep it in the greenhouse in the winter and bring it out in the spring. It blooms off and on in the summer. It’s a smaller variety than other Passion Flowers, only getting about 4 feet long. It really is gorgeous, although I think I still prefer the pretty purple ones. I AM a sucker for purple flowers.

Red Passion Flower vine — Passiflora Sherry.

Yeh, it really is beautiful, isn’t it?

Molly & Izzy

Ok, so that last post was really depressing. I feel like I need to do a happy post now. What could be happier than kittens! And yes, it still is garden related...sort of.

A month after Monty passed away, we got two adorable kittens, Molly and Isabella. Was it too soon? Yes. Were we ready to be pet parents again? No. Do we regret it? Never. We have two of the sweetest sisters in the world. Even before Monty got sick, Brian and I had talked about when the time came to get a new cat we wanted to get two from the same litter so they could keep each other company. It was a great decision. These two girls love each other so much. And they love the screened-in back porch as much as Monty did. They nap out there, watch me work in the garden, and are fascinated by all the birds, chipmunks, squirrels, butterflies and bees.  

Izzy and Molly on the screened-in back porch when they were kittens.

I had conflicting emotions seeing them take over what used to be Monty’s domain. But I’m so glad they enjoy the porch and garden as much as he did. They especially love watching the birds in the birdhouses and at the bird feeder. Molly’s favorite spot on the porch was Monty’s favorite spot.

Molly in her favorite spot on the porch next to the potted catnip.

The circle of life goes on, as they say. Monty will always be with me when I’m in the garden or relaxing on the porch. And now my girls are there with me, too. Happy belated birthday, Molly and Izzy! (Their first birthday was July 5th.)

Izzy enjoying the view of the garden.

A Tribute to Monty

It’s been much too long since I last posted. Planning for and going on vacation for two weeks really threw me off schedule. As I adjust to being back home after an awesome trip to Oregon, I find myself reflecting back on what happened a year ago.

Last year on July 27th we had to have my best friend and constant companion, Montague, put to sleep. Monty was with me for 15 years. He was my little shadow. Everywhere I was in the house he had to be right there with me. But Monty got cancer and I couldn’t let him suffer.

The vet once told me that Monty had “behavioral problems. ” Kind of an understatement. He wasn’t a friendly cat and most people were afraid of him. He could be sweet one minute and bite your hand off the next. But he was a momma’s boy and loved me probably more than any other creature in the world has or ever will. Even though we have two adorable, loving sister cats now, I still miss my Monty.

What does this have to do with gardening, you wonder? Well, Monty loved the screened-in back porch that overlooks my garden. He would nap on the porch or sit there watching me work in the yard. He loved to watch the birds, butterflies, and squirrels in the garden. In fact, when it got towards the end and Monty was so sick with cancer, the only place he wanted to be was on the back porch. Brian and I took turns sleeping downstairs on the sofa so we could leave the back door open for him at night.

Monty napping on the screened-in back porch.

Putting Monty down was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but we knew it was the right thing because he was suffering. We also knew the right place to do it. We had a mobile vet come to the house and put him to sleep in his favorite spot on the back porch, overlooking the garden with the birds, bees and butterflies.

When I sit on the back porch looking at the garden, I can’t help but think of Monty. Sometimes I feel as if his little spirit is sitting there with me. When we had Monty cremated I knew he belonged in the garden. His remains are in a stone marker with the hydrangea, daisies and roses.

Monty's final resting place in the garden.

A few days before we had Monty put down, I wrote a little tribute to him. It’s no work of art, but it sums up what he was like and how I felt about him: 

Tribute to Monty

You were a devilish little thing as a kitten. You kept me up all night knocking things off my dresser. Pouncing on me every night, trying to play. You tried to climb my bare legs when you still had claws, you climbed my Christmas tree and even tore apart paperback books. But I loved you anyway.

You stuck to me like glue, whenever I was home; following me from room to room. Never out of my sight. Always by my side.

You wouldn’t sit in my lap, but you loved to cuddle up close and lay your head in my lap. And sometimes at night you’d lay on my chest with your face right in mine.

When Brian came along you let him know who was boss. And you let him know every day since. You’d snub him, or bite him, or sit in between us. You always made sure he knew that YOU came first.

You’ve lived in three different places; from a one bedroom apartment to two different houses. But I know you loved this home best; with a greenhouse to sun yourself in the morning, with a screened-in porch to watch the birds in the garden, and with great, big French doors where you’ve met the neighborhood kitties.

I’ve called you by many nicknames through these past 15 years; Wookie, Ewok, My Little Bear, HR Poop-n-Stuff, Fuzzy Britches, Grumpy Bear, Muffin Man, My Precious Baby, My Little Buddy, My Special Little Guy, My Little Sunshine, Fuzzy Monster, Monsterque, Magellan (because you loved to explore), and My Little Shadow.

My steadfast friend, my constant companion, you always loved your mommy and I always loved you.

I will miss seeing your little black shadow out of the corner of my eye. I will miss you lying on my keyboard as I try to type. I will miss you sitting under my chair, or your fuzzy little body curled up by my legs in bed each night. I will miss you pawing at my magazine as I try to read. I will miss seeing your little face peaking through the curtains when I come home from work. And I will miss the squeaky sound your paws make as you walk on the hardwood floors.

My heart breaks to let you go, but I know it’s for the best. I want your spirit to be free, and as happy as can be. I’ve imagined setting you down at the entrance to a great, big, beautiful garden. And you trot off on your happy little way chasing the birds and the butterflies as they fly away with you. 

You will always be with me in my heart and I will always love you, my little shadow. 

Montague: My Little Shadow

My Big Project: Raised Vegetable Beds

For quite awhile, I’ve had this idea in my head to do raised beds for my veggie garden. I’ve had a vegetable garden ever since our first spring in this house in 2006. It started in some small raised beds that were built by a previous owner. They were old and didn’t last long. Then I dug out more space along the back of the yard to grow more veggies. It started with tomatoes and squash, and through the years I even tried my hand at potatoes and corn, athough not very successfully.

As mentioned in my “Fence Farce” post, last year the neighbor behind us had said he was going to put up a fence, so we had paid his friend to clear out our old, overgrown hedge. This allowed more room for the vegetable garden and sparked the idea that now was time to plan my formal “kitchen garden.” The fence still isn’t there, but my new kitchen garden is!

I spent a lot of time researching in books and online, drawing on scraps of paper, measuring, and finally drawing some designs on graph paper. Normally I’m not much of a planner when it comes to my garden, but knowing I wanted a formal look I thought I should have the “big picture” of what I wanted to do. You wouldn’t know it looking at my flower garden, but I love formal garden bed design. Let things spill over the edge, but start with a formal plan. I’ve always particularly admired French potagers and formal English kitchen gardens. The most fantastic kitchen garden in America is Thomas Jefferson’s kitchen garden at Monticello in Virginia. It’s massive and gorgeous — beyond what I can do. It’s a true inspiration.

So once I had a design plan I liked, I started to clear out more room in the very back of the yard, digging up sod and all of that. I decided on a basic cedar raised bed design that I got from Sunset’s website: http://www.sunset.com/garden/perfect-raised-bed-00400000039550/ (I followed it pretty closely, except for financial reasons we used 1' x 6' instead of 2' x 6' cedar boards and metal brackets for the inside corner reinforcements.) When I realized I had to do math, I pulled Brian in on my scheme. He helped me figure how much wood, soil and gravel I would need.

The space where the kitchen garden would go, looking from left back corner to right back corner.

Back left corner of the yard that my older sister helped me clear out.
Still gotta get that tree stump out of there.

We built the frames for the beds last October. There’s one 4' x 8' bed, four 3' x 6' beds, and two u-shaped beds. Originally I wanted either four L-shaped or triangular-shaped beds, but they wouldn’t quite fit. So they ended up being two u-shaped ones. I added compost from my compost bin, but that’s as far as I got before it got too cold.

Some supplies: Cedar planks and PVC pipes.
(I know you’re enjoying that view of our neighbor’s lovely car as much as I am.)

All of the raised beds except the other u-shaped one.
This was taken before I leveled off the ground. Fun job.

Early in the spring I got soil delivered. It’s a mix of screened topsoil and leaf compost. I added more of my own compost and Bumper Crop (an organic soil amendment with Mycorrhizae, Worm Castings, Kelp Meal and Dehydrated Poultry Manure – mmmmm, good stuff).

I never had any luck growing from seed in my garden, probably due to the many birds we have living in our birdhouses. So with the new beds, I used a lightweight row cover to start seeds outside. It worked like a charm. I actually was able to grow leafy greens for the first time since we moved into this house. In fact, I think I went a little overboard with the lettuce and romaine. We’ve been eating lots of salads.

In mid-April I planted seeds and put up the row covers. I also started the gravel paths.

Seeds didn’t do so well in the u-shaped beds because they weren't covered.
I used plants here instead.

In early May I still had the row covers on and had done more of the gravel paths.

Later in May I removed the row covers and viola!

I am still working on my gravel paths. It’s been quite a chore digging out sod and weeds, putting down edging and landscape fabric, and hauling the 3/8" Delaware River Stone from the driveway in my front yard to the very back of my back yard. The soil was difficult enough, but gravel is heavier!

So this is where things are at now: It’s all done except for the “entrance” path and the back left corner where I still have a tree stump. We’re thinking a small garden shed might go in that area eventually anyway. It’s been awesome walking to the back of the yard picking fresh greens, herbs and vegetables. I have more herbs right outside the back door and it probably would’ve been better to have the veggie bed there, too. But the best sun is along the back of the yard.

Standing in back left corner looking to the right.

Standing in back right corner looking towards left.

I don’t think I quite realized the scope of what I was getting myself into when I first drew up the plans for my vegetable beds. Overall, with walking paths included, the kitchen garden is about 15' wide x 50' long. However despite all the hard work, it’s looking really great and we’re enjoying the bounty of my labors. I’m thinking it was worth it.

Rainbow swiss chard.

Broccoli and pickle cucumbers (petunias on left, nasturtiums on right).

Now if I could just get Mr. Loud-Talking Friendly Neighbor to put up that fence he’s been promising to do for over a year now. It will make the vegetable garden look SO much better. (Update: He has the fencing, but no posts yet. Too bad it’s an ugly white vinyl fence. Wanna place bets on how long it will take to get the posts and actually put up the fence? I’m guessing another year.)

Zucchini, squash, and eggplant.

Carrots (and some weeds).

Beets.

Spinach.

Romaine and Buttercrunch lettuce.

Toy Bok Choi.

The Merry Month of May – gone but not forgotten

I am behind in posting some pictures of my flower garden from May. May is when things really start to come alive in my garden. In the words of poet John Milton, “The flowery May, who from her green lap throws / The yellow Cowslip, and the pale Primrose...” It’s a wonderful month, with cool spring breezes, that makes you want to work in the garden.

May is when the purple Columbine are at their best. They love to re-seed and pop up in different places each year.

Columbine close-up.

Columbine and my garden statue (we named her Winnie).
(Pretend you don’t see the neighbor’s play-set in the background.)

It is also when the Peonies show their pretty faces. These white ones are actually in my front yard (mixed in with the Azaleas).

We had a lot of rain after this picture was taken.
Unfortunately, the rain spoiled the rest of the buds.

I love the little reddish bits in the white peonies.

The bright magenta Peonies are in the back of my flower garden. This plant used to be in the front yard with the white ones, but seemed like the odd man out, so I moved it to the back yard. It struggled for a couple of years, but looks really healthy now.

Taken from the back of the flower garden, looking towards our shed.
(That’s the neighbor’s big house in the background.)

Other flowers that bloom in May are the climbing Hydrangea and climbing rose on the arbor, some other roses, white Dianthus, the purple spikes of the Catmint, both purple and magenta Clematis, purple Siberian Iris, purple Spiderwort, pink Weigela, purple Bellflowers, and some white flowering shrub (I’ve been trying to figure out what it is). May is a profusion of mostly pinks and purples in my flower garden, with a bit of white and yellow mixed in.

View of the flower garden from the steps of my back porch.

The arbor with climbing Hydrangea, pink climbing roses and purple Clematis.
That’s white Dianthus on the bottom right.

Fine Wine Weigela with roses and Catmint in the background.

Purple Bellflowers.

Purple Spiderwort, Catmint and pink roses.

Siberian Iris and light pink Abraham Darby roses. Yellow roses in background.

I had to include a picture of the Smoke Bush that I planted last year.
I love the changing colors of the leaves as the sun hits them.