Sovereignty Farms

First Fruit

OH MY GOODNESS! Tonight we harvested the first vegetable from the garden. It is a zucchini squash. Dan said maybe we should try to let future ones grow larger, but this is amazing - the first veggie of the 2004 garden!!!!

Goodies in the Garden

Dan put some Andro down a while back to help with the ants that were eating the strawberries. It appears to have helped. There are some strawberries ripening now that are all in tact. Also, the strawberries are sending out runners. I am glad, as you can never have too many strawberries.

The carrots had a slow beginning but they are really growing now. I had to thin them out and it was neat to see "baby" carrots when I pulled them.

Apparantly the little critter that was eating the sweet potatoes didn't get to the roots of one of them. A little sprout is emerging. I need to get Dan to put chicken wire on the new one too.

As I mentioned before, something is eating the leaves of the eggplant. I'm hoping it is a non issue since I am really interested in the fruit. The flowers are forming. They are nice, pretty purple flowers.

The beans look nice. They are forming white flowers now. I need to attach them to the trellis. For some reason I thought they would have trendils or something to attach themselves but I guess not.

The potatoes look great; very healthy. I am not sure when they will be ready. I should punch a hole and see if anything has formed yet.

The summer squash leaves are HUGE. There are nice yellow flowers on them already. I need to read up on how to trellis them ir if I can prune the stems when the start overtaking the garden.

No flowers yet on the okra or the watermelon or pumpkin.

2 of the 3 Roma tomaotes I planted look healthy. It is probably best that we only have 2, since we have so many other tomato plants.

The corn is growing tall, but it is weird. Some of them are leaning over rather than standing up straight. Dan has to keep uprighting them.

The three other tomatoes that I had to move to the back bed were looking very sad for a while. I was expecting to lose them. Tonight it seems 2 of the 3 are going to be ok. The other one is still in question.

Having this garden is so rewarding. And with the irrigation and mulch, it really tends to take care of itself.

New Pictures

New pictures are up. Since they are not on my server, but Typepad's, they may take a bit to load. I made them smaller, but it didn't seem to help. You can view them on the right tool bar - labeled May 21st

Awesome Authors

Once again I changed something on the side bar so I need to make a post. I removed the Best Gardening Books and decided to change it to Best Gardening Authors. There are links to one of their books from the sidebar. This will take you to Amazon and from there, if you click on the authors name, you can see more books by them. Linda, I think you will especially like some of these books :>

Ponderings

It is pouring down rain right now. I'm not at a window, but I can hear it on the ceiling here at work. So much for laying out more mulch tonight. Or working today (I'm day dreaming about gardens).
I'm not sure if it is me or if all gardeners are the same but I have more imagination about gardening than time or money to actually do it. I can finally begin to see my ideas for the woodland garden coming into shape (even though it is only about 10% done). Part of the pine bark mulch path has been laid. And I put pinestraw on either side of it. It makes the Hydrangeas really stick out, even though they are just babies.
I don't think much will happen this year with the yellow and pink garden. I have a lot planted there, but it needs time to take off. Next year will be amazing, I'm hoping.
Even though I have more than enough to handle right now, I continue to ponder the front yard garden. This fall (with lots of help from Dan) we will till up the large beds there on either side of the walk, amend them and then build a picket fence around before planting the area. I really want to paint that fence white, unlike the other fence that Dan built which remains a natural color.
So the things in that bed will be all purple and white. every shade of purple. Maybe a few hints of light pink. It is part sun in most of the areas. One section is full sun so I will try a white rose there. I'm still compiling the list of flowers to go there. Irises. Coneflower. Verbena. Beautyberry. Annabelle hydrangea. I have to really be careful what I plant where. I could put a hosta right beside a rose and it would be ok because of the strange light coming through the Black Walnut trees. I will probably try to do as much evergreen as possible since it is the front yard. maybe Wisteria on the arch over the gate. Phlox. Do they have purple daylilies? Heuchera. bee balm. Aster. delphinium. Liatris. Catmint. Monkshood. Geraniums. Astilbe. tri-color sage. Butterfly Bush. Lenten Rose. Plus Hosta which I love. I'd like to put some small cyress in there too. Sedum. Baptisia.

Playing Catch-up

With all sorts of chores and tons of rain we haven't been able to work in the yard much. Today we got quite a bit done. Dan mowed the yard and did weed wacking after his last weekend to coach baseball.

I put landscape fabric in the pathways of the veggie garden and then put pinestraw on the paths and the rows, too. Tomorrow I need to spread out the okra and rearrange the cages around the tomatoes. Also, I have a few more baby Roma tomatoes to put out...I grew them from seed. The roses around the veggie bed are looking wonderful. I get excited thinking about the climbing roses getting big and spreading out over the fence.

I pulled the pansies in the front bed, but left the Gaura (it is a perennial). I replaced the pansies with pretty white impatiens. I also got some sun coleus. It is - from outside to inside - lime green, yellow, hot pink. Very nice. This is the first year I have ever planted this annual, but I was inspired by my friend Lori. She is just getting the gardening bug and liked this plant. I put it in the yellow and pink bed - about 36 of them. In this same bed I planted some lilies (last night really). Creamy Yellow Asiatic Lilies - about 25 of them. I am excied about them. I had some Asiatic lilies at another house, and this guy, Joe, brought one into work last year and they just smell heavenly. Plus, a Phlox Paniculata Shortwood (pink). This and the lilies don't even have foliage yet, so I will show pictures to you later. OH YEAH. I love Creeping Jenny and just have never bought it. Well, I bought a little quart today. In that bed, in a pot, I put 3 cloeus and then took the Jenny and divided it into 3 pieces and put it in the pot so that it hangs over the edge. I am pleased with it - I just have to remember to water it.

At Lowe's was a new Hosta - Whorlwind. It was kinda small but I got it and planted it in the front walk bed on the other side of the Heuchera than the other hosta. This will kinda balance it out.

I am planning on working the back Hydrangea area tomorrow, but I worked on it a little today. I planted 3 tuberous begonia, 3 Peach Blossom Astilbe (these are more like pink than peach and I got them for the pink and yellow bed but I wanted so more color in the back), and Claridge Druce pink geranium. So, the other thing I worked on was re-arranging the Hydrangea. I took the largest of them (not as they are now, but those that will eventually be the largest) and in the back of the fence I planted them so that they frame a walkway into the main part of the garden. This included adding a few other Hydangea that I had gotten in the mail a ways back but not planted yet. H. paniculata 'Unique' went into the walkway area. And to fill the holes left when I dug up the other walkway ones, I planted H.m. 'Beaute Vendomoise' (which has HUGE flowers - some of tha largest), H. q. 'Snow Queen' and a dwarf H. m. 'Hornli'. There are a few more holes so tomorrow I will plant the other Hydangeas I got at Aldridge gardens. Also, the big project will be to put down some landscae fabric and then pinestraw a large part of the area and put pine bark mulch down in the path ways. There is no way I will get it all done tomorrow but I will work till I am out of materials.

OK, so then....I took a shower and then a 2 hour nap in the hammock. THAT WAS GREAT. Then dan and I went on a motorcycle ride for a few hours. It was so nice. And I came back and filled the bird-feeders up with seed. I got a new one that suctions to the window. I hope they come to it.

OK, more tomorrow. And I will take pictures of things then.

New Pictures

I am still working on a little hack so that you receive updates when I add photo albums, not just posts like this. But until then, I will use this method to let you know there are some pix out there on a new photo album. I am having a lot of problems with pictures in my post, so from now on I think pictures will show as albums and I will just narrate in my posts. We'll see.

A Guest in the Garden

Last night it rained. And today it is overcast; it looks like it will pour any minute.
I looked around the garden this morning and all seemed well. Some of The Fairy roses are beginning to open. The Calla Lilies are coming up. The Lady Banks rose is no longer blooming but the canes are growing like mad. Shasta Daisy and Gallardia are beginning to open. Actually, they may be to compacted into that area. I am thinking of moving some of the Gallardia over by the daylilies. They are orange so it will be a nice match. I want to make sure the Black-eyed Susan's and Sages have enough room to grow.

Turns out the Tea Tree survived. Ther eis new green growth at the bottom. I need to prune the common sage - it is blooming with purple flowers. Even the Thyme is growing (which i always have problems with). The Artemesia is going wild. I already pruned it back, but it looks like I need to cut it back harder. It is covering the Blood Grass and other things already.

There was a large pink bloom fully opened on the Peony I inherited. It was very nice. I picked it so I could look at it all day. I wish I new the Cultivar of that one. In the dog fence bed (I should start calling it the Pink and Yellow garden instead) the Azalea are all done blooming. The Lanata is picking back up. The Coral Bells are coming alive - they looked so horrible when I planted them. Also, the Lamium is growing well. i love the color - a silverish green (not grey but silver) and the pink flowers are nice. There are small flowers on the Strawberry Begonia. One of the Bleeding Hearts is turning yellow so I will be cutting it back this weekend, but the white ones are coming up now. I have never received more complements than on that plant. I need to get more for the back yard. Also, one of the ferns I planted in that bed is coming up. Not the other though, which is the same kind. And there is much new growth on the Muscadine vine.

I have not yet planted the Hydrangeas I got last weekend. They are on the driveway looking very nice. Many of them are blooming away.

I went to the woodland garden and looked around. It was dark. I called an arborist today to get a quote on thinning out the chestnut tree to let a little more light in the area. The Goatsbeard are good. As I was looking at the fern though, I literally did a doubletake. There by the tree was a turtle. Probably a box turtle. I couldn't believe it. i looked closer and he squirmed back into his shell. he was pretty big, like the size of a dinner plate. His shell was black and brown and orange. And actually, I am not sure if he was actually a "he."

I have decided not to make the sitting are in the back as big as I originally thought. First, I need more room for plants. Second, there is no need for all that sitting space. So that is where I will plant these new Hydrangeas. I may need to reorganize some though so that the taller ones are in back. Also, I decided to make an allie on the back part of the fence with some of the larger hydrangeas. It will lead to the main walkway in the woodland area. And I am going to put newspaper and LOTS of pinestraw down this weekend to get rid of that grass and use it as a mulch instead of shreaded pinebark.

Int he veggie bed, something ate all but one of the sweet potatoes. I need to put something around it so that it doesn't disappear too. There are flowers on the pepper plants already. And even little green tomatoes on one of the larger tomato plants. WOW. Funny also, the corn is growing, but the ones near the house are significantly larger than the ones near the fence. I still need to move that okra. With some Sweet Potatoes gone, there is some space now:>

hope to get more pictures on line soon once this rain stops and I can mow. Tonight is Justin's birthday so it won't be then. We will be eating cookie cake.

Cool Quote

Saw this today and really liked it....

"The only things in your control are your thoughts and then your actions. Positive, powerful thoughts lead to positive, powerful actions, and when done with repeated consistency this cycle leads to greatness. Dream it! Pray for it! Believe it! Work for it! And then be ready when it happens!" - Greg Werner

Mother's Day Garden Tour

This morning I woke to a vase of flowers and cards from Ashley and Justin. It was a Happy Bonus Mom's Day gift. I thought it was very sweet.

They went home early to be with their mom, and we went to meet Dan's mom and Mike. We went to a stream and had a nice picnic lunch. Then we went on the Mother's Day Garden Tour. That was fun. You can see a few of the pictures in the Photo Album labeled Garden Tour.

Here are the Hydrangeas I bought yesterday. I didn't have time to put them in the ground today.

This is a pink double - I can't remember the name right now.

This is another double - Fuji Waterfall.

This is a little blurry, but you can see the stalk coming up from my Nippon Lily. These berries should turn red sometime soon.

Finally, the Peonies are opening nicely. I'm sure they wonn't stay open long. The pink ones are not open yet.

One of my Oakleaves are blooming.

Can you believe how large the tomatoes are?

And the New Dawn has one single bloom. After seeing so many climbers today, I hope that this one will be like those someday.

P.S. Do you like it better with pictures IN the post or with links like before????