The Meadow Garden

HAL A LU YA!   After years, my meadow garden is finally starting to grow.  I didn't start it right.  The idea is to cover the bed in plastic for a year to smother all the grasses and weeds.  I'm too impatient for that.  So I just mowed the area and planted some meadow flowers.  They didn't grow.  I tried the same thing the next year and they didn't grow then either.  

Three years ago, I got a few sad lonely plants that grew, but they weren't much to look at.  Two years ago I bought yet another tray of 48 plants (groups of 3), but delayed getting them planted (I keep having hip injuries).  And they probably would have died had I planted them.  It was Summer and that's a bad time to transplant flowers.

I had bought ten 10 gallon pots for tomatoes (my regular garden has gotten too shaded by neighbor's trees, so I needed to try them somewhere sunnier).  So I stuck the meadow flower transplants in with the tomatoes (3 to a pot).  They just sat and sulked.   

But last year in Spring, they burst into growth!  I transplanted them in the meadow garden.  They grew some, but didn't flower.  But hey, growth is good!

This year, I have many groups of 3-4' high tall meadow flowers!  I'm thrilled.  Some few are blooming, some are showing buds, and some are just growing tall.  Well, some bloom in late Summer and Fall, so they might bloom later this year.  

Here are some pictures...

I think this one is orange coneflower.

I'm not sure what this one is (and it is bluer/lavender than it looks).

I don't have a label for this one either.  But I took the pic a few days ago, and it is opening up to a 3"circle.  It will be a beauty.

There is also a perennial I planted elsewhere that is blooming now and should do well in the meadow garden when I transplant it this Fall.  It seems to grow well in difficult conditions.

It is a Maltese Cross.  I suppose the name comes from the Isle of Malta, or a "maltese cross" has 5 points to it.  But it a nice red color and seems dependable.

A few days ago, I took some of last year's meadow flowers that survived from last year in a tray and planted them in this year's tomato pots.  I hope they thrive like last year's ones did.  That would pretty much fill up the meadow garden.  

Since most of them are perennials, they will last a decade.  But there are also self-seeders and some spread from roots.  So hopefully, in a few more years, the meadow bed will be full of flowers.  

And most of them are favored by both common and struggling butterflies, native non-hiving bees, and minor insects who will be supported by the meadow flowers that are finally growing here.

My heirloom Brandywine and Cherokee Purple tomatoes are thriving.  I need to get cages set up around them.  I have more domestic common flowers I am planting in deck pots, but that's a future post.  😀

Flowers

Last of them except the pansies I need to plant around the mailbox and deck pots...

Asters.

 Balsams.

Veggies, Flowers, and Grass

I've got 9 tomatoes in 10 gallon containers.   Four Cherokee Purple and 2 Brandywine heirlooms (all about 2' high) and 3 cherry tomato hybrids.  My other 5 containers have bi-color corn and flat italian pole beans emerging.  It is a bit late for the corn and beans but they are "early" varieties, so I will hope.

Time to start some Fall crops.  Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts mostly.  Garlic cloves go in later.  Lettuces are growing in trays, but I need to plant more.  I recently read that scallion roots will regrow, so I am sneaking some in among the lettuce to see if that works.  

I also bought 3 dozen pollinator-friendly flower seedlings.  Three each of a dozen varieties.  It is late to put them in hard "normal" soil, so I am putting them in groups of "same 3" with the tomatoes (in exquisite container soil).  That way, I can transplant them together in "the real world come Fall.

I'm still staking and caging the tomatoes and haven't planted the flowers, so no pics yet.  But soon!

I have mentioned before that I had some tree-removal work done last Fall.  And a neighbor's tree was overhanging my roof and the roots were at the surface like railroad ties.  Annoying to bump over with the mower all the time.

So I had the tree company grind them down.  The neighbor came over and asked the tree guys to just take the whole tree down.  😂

But grinding out the roots left ruts low as bad as the roots were high.  So, same actual "bouncy" problem.  Well, I needed 50/50 topsoil/compost for the eleven 10 gallon containers anyway (and bought too much) so I filled in the ruts.

Finding a small amount of grass seed at a local DIY store in June is difficult and expensive.  They know they've got you desperate.  But Amazon always comes through, LOL!  Three pounds for $10 isn't the best deal, but I didn't want a 50# bag at DIY.  

Leveled the ruts with the good container mix, watered it to settle it, added some more to bring it all level again.  Sprinkled grass seed (I am in Fescue territory) all around.  Then added another 1/8" of soil to hide the seeds from The Birds.  

I am watering the ruts lightly each afternoon.  June sure isn't the best time of year to plant grass, but enough should survive to fill in.  And I bet that next Spring I won't even know where the ruts were!

So, doing a little of this and little of that, I'm keeping things going...

Damn hip...  😡   More about that some other day.

Flower Report

Spring is such a lovely time of year.  I love daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.   The tulips don't last very long (in terms of years) even when planted in wire cages to keep the voles away from the bulbs.  But they vary in lifetime.  I have some 10 yer old red tulips.  The fancy ones die young.

And once, I planted some yellow tulips among the yellow daffodils.  What was I thinking?  They showed up like ice cubes on snow.  LOL!

The hyacinths live longer, but they need cages from the voles too.  Tulips and hyacinths are vole-candy!  But the daffs are slightly toxic and seem to live forever.  I recall driving past a Washington DC hillside where Lady Bird Johnson had them planted in the 60s.  40 yers later, they were still growing and blooming wild.

So I love daffodils...

I planted a front yard box of a mix of early and late varieties 30 years ago.  They are still growing great!  Here are the late ones (and they are fragrant, which is unusual for a daffodil).

Some of the surviving red tulips...

In the daffodil bed, I planted a few caged tulips, 9 each cage.  Some still last.

But what happened here?  I don't recall planting any mixed colors in a cage.  And I'm pretty sure they don't change colors!  

My guess is squirrels.  I've read that sometimes squirrels dig up bulbs (thinking they are nuts they buried) and replant them elsewhere.  That doesn't really explain why "all in the same spot", but who knows how a squirrel thinks?  I do know that there are crocuses in my lawn where I never planted them.

But I enjoy whatever Spring flowers I get...

And speaking of flowers...  The pansies I planted last Fall had a hard time of it over Winter.  I thought none would ever bloom!  But about half of them are perking up now, so I will enjoy what I can of them before Summer heat kills them off.  

Years ago, I put in a flowerbed edging of "species" (old simple ones) daffodils and purple&yellow crocuses.  The voles ate the crocus bulbs (mostly), but the daffodis remain.

They looked like this, back then...

This last is the cat memorial garden.  I took the boxes off (don't worry, I know where each one goes) and covered the area in cardboard last Fall.  By Summer, all the weeds should be dead.  

And then I'll put down weed-blocker fabric so the kitty-angels won't be insulted with weeds.  OK, OK, I know they don't actually care.  But it matters to me.  I look at the spot often enough.  And they were my daily companions...

The Pansies

 First, here is the spot emtied of the dead tomatoes...

And here is the Winter's Pansy Bed in the same spot.  Might as well use it for something...

That was a lot of plantings for one day!

They are basically triangulated and I tried to not have the same colors next to each other, but I had a LOT of yellow ones.  And they look a bit weak right now (got a bit dried), but I watered them for 15 minutes, so they will perk up tomorrow.  And will grow.

Some had no flowers, so I don't know what color they will be.  That will be fun to watch.

I have saved a dozen for the deck pots...  Some of the best.  You'll see them growing and blooming soon.

Yard, Flowers

Pics of yard and flowers...

Yucca bloomed!  Doesn't happen every year.

The tomatoes are growing fast after finally getting planted a few weeks ago.

I dug this up.  It was probably lost while the house was built 37 years ago.

I spread seeds from flowerheads last Fall in the pollinator bed.  They grew like crazy.  

Apparently, they like the spot...

Cllose-up...

The daylillies are blooming...

And the hydrangeas are still blooming.

The Stokes Asters are still blooming after 20+ years.

But fewer this year.  I should divide and refresh them.

The new butterfly weed has returned again for a 3rd year.  I planted 6 once, but this one loves the spot and keeping showing up.

And there are more coming along in the yard and deck.  But they are not in full bloom yet, so I will wait to show them. 

Meanwhile, I have a Fall crop of flat italian beans emerging for Fall harvest. Need to plant snow peas, broccoli and garlic soon.

Flowers, Part 2

 And then there are deck flowers.  I haven't planted the pots with the new ones yet, but there are perennials.

The Oriental Lilies exploded the past few days.  From nothing...

To a few...

And more!

It will spectacular in a couple days.

And there is a volunteer in one deck pot from last year!  I will give it special attention!

And the lettuce/celery/pak choi trays are doing well outside now.  

I sure love Spring...

Flowers, Part 1

 Well, the blooming season has finally started!

The Stella D' Oros lilies started first...

I was amazed to see some Tithoniums blooming that I planted 2 years ago.  They are annuals, but described as "self-sowing".  Well, apparently they do!  I'm thrilled.  Self-sowing is as good as perennial.

This is something from the meadow garden I planted a few years ago.  Apparently they need a couple of years to bloom.  I don't know the name.  But they sure are a nice pure yellow!  And there are dozens of them.  I'll have to look through catalog to identify them.

This is actually some sort of weed.  Kind of pretty.  It doesn't seem to be a disease because they all look identical.  I'll allow them if they don't spread too much.

I brought variegated 'Snow-On-The-Mountain' from my parents home a couple of decades ago where it grew naturally.  They survive here in the hotter Mid-Atlantic area, but seem to convert to solid green leaves given the climate.  I am digging up the remaining variegated ones to transplant to shadier and cooler spots, but these do have nice May flowers.  

Garden And Yard, Part 2

The light stand in the basement is filled with trays of flower seedlings...  The lights were off for the night, so it looks a bit strange.

I think I missed watering those above recently.  They look a bit wilted.  So I watered them after taking the pic.

 The tomatoes are large for the small pots, but I gave them an organic fertilizer last week and yesterday, so that should help the roots grow.  When I plant them tomorrow, it will be deeply (they send out roots from any buried stem).  And I mix a slow-release organic fertilizer in the foot deep and foot wide soil I dig out and then mix back in.  Along with crushed eggshells (the calcium helps prevent blossom-rot).