Author: Pam

New England native, Florida resident. Blogging about boating, beach-combing, gardening, camping, and knitting. Work for Zazzle as a designer since 2008.

Planting Day is Coming Soon

greenhouse and seedlings
Almost planting time
I realize that many people have already planted their vegetable gardens, but here in the northeastern U.S. we just had snow this past Saturday! Not in southern NH where I live, but in the north. It was very cold and windy.

I have learned the hard way to be patient and wait for warmth (June) to plant my store bought tomato, basil, and zucchini plants. If seedlings are planted before the ground is warm enough, they won’t grow well. This is especially true for certain veggies, like green peppers. The reason we are told to make hills for planting squash and such, is so the little mound of dirt will warm up.

In the northeast we have had a ton of rain over the last week or so. I have put out a few seeds (carrots) and on the one nice day we had I added some marigolds to the garden. But my tomatoes, basil, cukes, and zucchini are still waiting in the green house. If the sun comes out, I move them out onto the deck for direct sunlight, but they go back into the green house for overnight. I love my little green house! It has really come in handy to store the seedlings and they are doing quite well. Some 90 degree days are coming this week, so I’ll get them into the yard by the weekend.

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A First Attempt at Fabric Pot Gardening

fabric pots
Growing Potatoes in Fabric Pots

I first learned about fabric pot gardening while reading a Wizzley article written by someone who also loves growing things. On his page he suggests growing potatoes in a pot made of black fabric or burlap.

Instantly, I loved this idea!  I don’t have to dig up the ground and get it ready to plant – whoo hoo – I hate that part of gardening.  I ordered three yards of compost / loam mix to add to all my garden beds and just used some of it to fill my black fabric bags.  The one on the left in my picture has potatoes and you can see one sprout shooting up through the dirt.  Once the shoots grow to 6 or 8 inches I will add more dirt.

The other pot has carrot seeds.  I figure they might do well in a good bag of soil instead of in my yard.   It’s always a chore to get the garden areas ready for planting.  I started at this house with an overgrown backyard so my first year here was spent clearing out the weeds and blackberry bushes.  Last year I expanded the garden area and added good dirt.  This year I am adding more dirt, but it’s easier to add it to bags and the chance of weeds invading a bag is minimal.

My backyard is quite small and my garden holds vegetables as well as flowers I’ve planted and flowering weeds.  Flowers of all kinds are good for attracting beneficial bugs to the garden area.  I am currently growing cold weather things like peas, basil, and strawberries (from last year).  I will have to wait until the first of June to get the cukes, tomatoes, basil and zucchini into the ground.

This type of gardening is experimental, but I am hoping for good results.  I even bought a large, round fabric bag and will set that up as soon as I get more dirt.  I started my own zucchini plants (5 of them!) this year from seeds I saved last summer and I may have to put a couple into that new pot along with some of my tomato plants.

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A Birdbath For the Robins

Robin in birdbath
An Evening Ritual, Robins Bathing

My car has been on the fritz so I’ve been stuck at home for days. I usually stay home as much as possible and since I work from home, it’s not so difficult. My daily ritual includes getting up early working most of the day until my son gets home from school, then I head outside to dig, plant and shovel dirt into my gardens. After I come inside and shower I sit in my chair and watch Special Report and it’s right around that time of day that the Robins begin their evening ritual of splashing in the birdbath.

It’s a safe time of day for them because my cats have been brought inside for the night. They get busy digging for worms in my lawn (or, non-lawn) and then go get cleaned up in the birdbath. When I am outside watering new plantings I always clean out the birdbath and add new water. They certainly do enjoy it and they are fun to watch. I’m not a very good photographer when it comes to animals, but this shot of the robin has him looking straight at me!

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A Death in The Hydrangea Family

I’ve been waiting, with little hope, that my pee gee hydrangea (grandiflora) would begin to show some green. Of all the new hydrangea additions to my yard last Spring, it’s the only one that seems to have died.
I managed to get a few photos of it’s pretty white flowers last summer, and I had hoped it would grow nicely in the new season, but it’s not to be. By now I would be seeing some signs of growth. My son stepped on it and I think that is what did it in, but maybe not. It may have already died over winter.

white flowers pee gee
Little Pee Gee

The others – the Pinky Winky, Limelights and Endless summer are full of leaves so I know they have survived over winter. I found a Pee Gee tree when I was out at the nursery the other day and those become so pretty. I am jealous of people who have big yards with room to grow flowering trees. Recently the whole area where I live is alive with color. From fluffy white and pink specimens to the gorgeous Japanese magnolias (my favorites), I envy yards with those typed of ornamentals. I hope to get a photo of the flowering dogwood tree I saw last year just down the street. It was a beauty.
Anyway, my attention is turned to the remaining hydrangeas in my yard. I look forward to the blue flowers especially.

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Skittle Finds a Slithering Playmate

Skittle was happy to have a little, squirmy playmate the other afternoon. I guess this is a baby garter snake. I don’t know my northern snakes very well, except that they are not poisonous.
If this was Florida, that little snake would most likely be a pygmy rattler and my cat would now be dead.
I wonder if cats can tell bad (deadly) snakes from good?
She didn’t harm it. We saw the snake later out in the grass.

Little snake plays with cat
Skittle Finds a Playmate
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What I Bought at The Nursery

I shop for annuals once a year, usually at the end of May or beginning of June – like most other people who live in New England. If we shop too early, the plants have to wait somewhere until all chance of frost has passed. OR, they can go into the cold ground and take their chances. All plants cost too much to risk dying in a freeze, and I can’t be bothered to go out and cover my plants. I just wait and try to get them into the ground at the correct time. And slowly but surely I am learning how to garden in the north.

potted plants on the tailgate
Home From a Trip to The Nursery

So on my recent trip to “House by the Side of the Road”, this is what I came home with (my hanging fuchsia was on the front seat):

Tray on the left: Celebrity tomatoes:  These grew the best in last years vegetable garden.  I grew 5 varieties and these and the grape tomatoes were wonderful.  (I also bought grape tomatoes).  Pink Wave petunias- I guess these are a specialty because they were quite pricey – but I will use them in my hanging baskets.  I got six and will divide them between at least 3 baskets.  (These are plastic basket hangers I have kept from previous years).

Tray with flowers:  Zinnias, 3 packs of Marigolds (always have in my veggie garden), Cosmos (faves of mine) and Red Star impatiens – reddish pink and white stripes.

On the right are the perennials:  Right in front, with that big bud, is the Oriental Poppy.  To the left is the Monk’s Hood, and to the right is the Joe Pye Weed.  In the back are two hostas.

I plan to buy more perennials this Fall when the prices come down.  I especially want more Peonies to go around my deck, or maybe some new varieties of hydrangeas.

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