Border Gardens

In the midst of renewing this area.  So far...a few hostas and a few inpatients. 

Veggie Garden...commentary soon to follow.

I really like the way we set it up this year.  The husband suggested placing the beds horizontally, and I agreed.  It makes for a much more functional set up for me.

I decided to lay mulch,....which I must lay much more of...and stepping stones.  I call it my English garden.

Along the fence are cucumbers, morning glory, and dahlia's from Daddy's garden.

My goodness...it is 7/23 now and this has grown so much!  Closest to the front is eggplant,  followed by peppers, followed by cherry tomatoes...sweet 100.

Right in front is more eggplant, followed by spaghetti squash, followed by sweet 100.  There are string beans planted in front of the spaghetti squash.

Regular tomatoes, followed by sugar snap peas.  The baby plant to the right is zucchini.

These were supposedly bush pickle cucumbers...but they climb.  I guess you never know!

Cucumber close up.

Sugar snap peas supported by left over fencing and a broken umbrella structure.  The garden boxes were also built by my fantastic neighbor who is a jack of all trades and the best neighbor a person could have.

Romaine lettuce in front of the sweet 100s.  I was able to harvest about two heads of romaine before it bolted and I put it into compost.  Perhaps next year I will stagger these plants to one each week so that I get it use it all.

In the back is lemon balm...if you want any...I will give it to you.  This stuff grows like a weed but I do love it.  In front of that is bee balm (supposed to keep mosquitoes away), followed by a black eyed-Susan given to me by my friend Anne.

Irrigation

My friends have been asking me about irrigation and those watering globes. The watering globes are beautiful but I find that they clog easily and they may better garden art than they perform any function.  Plus, they only old enough water for a baby planter for perhaps a day. I use wine bottles and beer bottles.  There are always plenty to have after hosting a party, you get to recycle, it creates interest, and the best part, it works.  The magnums hold enough water for a large planter for a few days when it is really hot and longer when the weather is more moderate. The theory is that when the soil is saturated, it expands and takes up more surface area and when the soil is dry, it contracts, hence leading to water escaping from the bottle.  Now, if you are concerned about the same problem with dirt clogging the hole...I find that it is a minor problem.  I wind up with about a quarter of an inch to an inch of dirt at the bottom of the bottle and it doesn't impede the watering process so I could care less.

Basil, cilantro, marigolds, and parsley.  I am thinking that this one may need a little more room. What do you think?    The wine bottle in back of the trellis is my fancy irrigation system.  It looks wine-country sheik and it makes sure that my plants get what they need.  I find it is easiest to fill these bottles with a regular watering can (that does not have the rain head) and it fits perfectly!

Meditation Garden

I used the broken up front walkway to create a medication garden.  Give me left over materials and I will give you a new garden! Honest reason for starting a garden in this location?  The grass was not growing and it looked icky (my technical word of the day) and so I decided to beautify the area.

Love this! Got this at RiteAid...I know right?? RiteAid?? My girlfriend Christine made me go with her (well, I wasn't kicking and screaming) because all of the garden stuff was 50% off. 

Love these chimes, they sound like water.

 

Morning coffee spot.

Side garden.

The Deck Boxes

The deck.....

The flying saucer looking thing is a patio heater.

As previously stated, my 'in' planters were old planters spray-painted.  Also...the brown cushions are recovered.  F.y.i., if you cushion fabric has gone to hell but the stuffing is still good, recover with a shower curtain from and save yourself some money.  And this comes from....the woman who hates to admit that she has ever sewn anything...shh don't tell Mom!  Oh wait...she reads my blog.  In that case, be proud Mom!

Basil, cilantro, marigolds, and parsley.  I am thinking that this one may need a little more room. What do you think?    The wine bottle in back of the trellis is my fancy irrigation system.  It looks wine-country sheik and it makes sure that my plants get what they need.  I find it is easiest to fill these bottles with a regular watering can (that does not have the rain head) and it fits perfectly!

Marigolds....love those! Marigolds, pansies, basil, and morning glory.

More basil with a Corona bottle for the smaller planter.

You guessed it! Marigolds, pansies, and morning glory!

Marigolds, mums, and morning glory.

Sunflowers (dwarf) from seed.

Marigolds, pansies, mums, and morning glory.

Pansies...from the fall....what a lovely surprise!

I use the cell packs that my other plants came in and play with my seeds until I get bored of it...or run out of room....or both.

Deck Garden

This is the current state of the deck.  I love these deck-hugging boxes and I have bought two a year for the past two years....but I think I have enough now.  They are awesome because I don't have to worry about the wind carrying them away.  The trellises that you see have been created from garden fencing that was not keeping the puppies out of the garden and so I decided to re-purpose them as trellises and I love it!  It seems to give a mission feel to my deck garden.  The lime green planters are old planters that my Nana gave me and I spray painted to freshen them up.  I seem to be having a lot of fun with the spray paint this year.  

Sugar snap peas on a home-made trellis.  I planted them late this year, well every year, but what do I really have to loose? A few seeds? A dollar for a seed packet?  Oh...but what could I gain is the better question :).  I figured that as long as it is growing well in this location, I shall leave it and when it starts to wilt, I will put it in a shadier location to prolong the life of the plant.  Let's see how it goes!

By the way, late for peas is anything past March and well...I never seem to get my garden on until the end of May.