Garden Ramblings

This wonderful rain has really helped our garden and yard!!...and also the weeds. Everything is growing!! D's potatoes seem to be doing the best, but the 50 tom. plants and the 25 various pepper plants are really taking off too!! Honestly, I didn't mean to plant this much, but if someone gives you something or you find you accidentally bought 9 pks instead of 6 packs, whats a gardening girl to do?? ;-)

T planted broccoli, cabbage and sunflowers this year.  The cabbage he doesn't even like, but claims its lots of fun to grow. 

J didn't  really plant anything out in the garden this year, but does have 2 blueberry bushes he planted in early spring.  They are doing really well, and he's anxiously awaiting for those 2 berries that the plants might produce this year.

All I have left I want to get in is some pumpkins and some birdhouse gourds. They have been on my list to get planted for a couple of weeks now, but so far I haven't got it done.  

Last year we laid newspaper down and then laid straw on top of that for mulch and weed control.  It worked really well, with the weeds finally poking through the very last part of the season. This year, since our garden was a "second" year, the weeds/grass hadn't really been a problem, so I only laid out straw. *sigh*  There is grass poking up through the straw all throughout the garden now.  I guess weeding will be a major part of my life this summer, and I know now that the newspaper really is worth the extra time it takes to lay down.

This is my first year of having an herb garden, and this weekend I cut Basil and Parsley and dried it in the oven.  Our house smelled like pizza. (Admitting it DID become a bit overwhelming the longer it was in the oven...it even gave T a headache.)  Having little jars of herbs you grew yourself is ALMOST as satisfying as canning!  I have some rosemary I am going to do next.  FUN!!

My new flower beds are doing great!! Most everything I've planted from High Country Gardens has doubled in size, and my
bee balm is about to bloom already!!  I ordered 3 "Frenzy" Gaillardia plants and only have one left. The other 2 leafed out a little bit, and then suddenly died off, within a week of each other.  I am kind of wondering if they got stepped on (There is one plant on each side of a rock path that one of my dc kids LOVES to walk on everyday... and T has been known to ride his bike through my beds. Ugh) .  I guess I could wait and see if they come back next year.