Surprise! My unknown bloomed! I still don't know what it is or where it came from, but it is lovely!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Clippy Notes for today
On one of my Freecycle trips last Fall I picked up a hummingbird feeder. I put it up yesterday to see if I can entice some of those flying beauties to my feeder.
While at the DG I also found a smaller one that I put up on one of our tiki torches.I took a walk around the garden to see what is happening today:
Purple Iris from Audrey in Grand Prairie. These were in a pot and I moved them to the ground last year.
Purple Iris from Audrey in Grand Prairie. These were in a pot and I moved them to the ground last year.
Strawberries going red!
Last spring we bought a hydrangea and this year it is going to bloom! I'm so excited! 
This is an unknown that is coming up. We'll see what it does.
I found this trellis being thrown out so I brought it home and started this bed. The plant on the far right side is a zucchini. The tree is bird gift that we moved from the front planter. I have morning glory seeds, lettuce seeds, and marigolds planted in this bed and some jalapenosSaturday, March 21, 2009
Garden Notes
Friday, March 20, 2009
While cleaning the kitchen sink this morning, I realized that we have a lot of dishes in the sink that we leave to soak and I end up throwing the water down the drain. I decided to take my mop bucket and just see how much water I can save throughout the day. With what I had in the sink this morning (I confess, I didn’t do dishes last night because I didn’t want to empty the dishwasher and Huny said he wasn’t going to do it either) I was able to fill the bucket about ¼ of the way up. WOW. I used that to water my Bay tree that I have in a pot by the front door. I emptied the coke and beer cans from yesterday to start the next bit and we’ll see what the rest of the day brings.
Last night I put some old Cypress Vine seeds (unknown trade and date) to soak to plant out this morning by the tree stump in the side planter. These are very old seeds so I hope that they come up.
I have a basket of seeds that I have carted with me everywhere since I started seed trading in 1997. I sorted them all out last night and so now I must get some more beds going to get these flowers planted. I can’t really trade them since they are so old, but hopefully some of them will come up. Quite a bit of them are from my old garden and it will be like seeing old friends again.
I did plant some old poppy seeds that are coming up like crazy. I have no idea what color they will be. It will be a very nice surprise. The first time I planted poppies, my friend Audrey and I got some from then Kings Creek in Cedar Hill. We came home and threw out the entire packet. The next spring we had an explosion of red poppies! It was wonderful! I forgot about that when I threw these out, but then I really didn’t know if they would come up. They did and it reminds me of that first time. There are poppies everywhere.
I started a new bed yesterday against the back fence. When I was out on a Freecycle trip I found a wooden table and an old trellis that were being thrown out. I also found some bamboo that was cut down (these will be used for my tomatoes). I HAD to start a new bed with the trellis, of course, and I planted some of my old morning glory seeds, Spanish Flag seeds I got from Select Seeds in 1998, and I HAD to buy some new plants and got a French marigold, jalapenos, and I found a zucchini (Black Beauty). Huny screwed the trellis to the fence so I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I’m pleased with the way it turned out. When the zucchini grows out it will cover quite a bit of that corner and we also have pumpkin seeds going in that corner as well.
I went around the yard and planted quite a few of the morning glory seeds. Some of the ones I planted are Heavenly Blue seeds from a trade from Overton, KY, date unknown, MG seeds from an unknown trade and date, ‘Blue Star’ Morning Glory seeds that I bought from Select Seeds in 1998!
I also went around and put out a few Sunflower ‘Velvet Queen’ seeds that I bought this year (Livingston Seed Co.)
Put out some Marigold-Harlequin that I got from Seymour’s Selected Seeds, date unknown. First discovered in 1870 and today used for the back of the perennial border. Annual.
Planted lemon basil ‘Sweet Dani’ (2002) and sweet basil (1994) both Ocimum basilicum between my heirloom tomatoes. Two rows of Sweet Dani and one of the sweet basil. I have some seed from my garden from last year, but I want to use these old seeds and see what happens.
While cleaning the kitchen sink this morning, I realized that we have a lot of dishes in the sink that we leave to soak and I end up throwing the water down the drain. I decided to take my mop bucket and just see how much water I can save throughout the day. With what I had in the sink this morning (I confess, I didn’t do dishes last night because I didn’t want to empty the dishwasher and Huny said he wasn’t going to do it either) I was able to fill the bucket about ¼ of the way up. WOW. I used that to water my Bay tree that I have in a pot by the front door. I emptied the coke and beer cans from yesterday to start the next bit and we’ll see what the rest of the day brings.
Last night I put some old Cypress Vine seeds (unknown trade and date) to soak to plant out this morning by the tree stump in the side planter. These are very old seeds so I hope that they come up.
I have a basket of seeds that I have carted with me everywhere since I started seed trading in 1997. I sorted them all out last night and so now I must get some more beds going to get these flowers planted. I can’t really trade them since they are so old, but hopefully some of them will come up. Quite a bit of them are from my old garden and it will be like seeing old friends again.
I did plant some old poppy seeds that are coming up like crazy. I have no idea what color they will be. It will be a very nice surprise. The first time I planted poppies, my friend Audrey and I got some from then Kings Creek in Cedar Hill. We came home and threw out the entire packet. The next spring we had an explosion of red poppies! It was wonderful! I forgot about that when I threw these out, but then I really didn’t know if they would come up. They did and it reminds me of that first time. There are poppies everywhere.
I started a new bed yesterday against the back fence. When I was out on a Freecycle trip I found a wooden table and an old trellis that were being thrown out. I also found some bamboo that was cut down (these will be used for my tomatoes). I HAD to start a new bed with the trellis, of course, and I planted some of my old morning glory seeds, Spanish Flag seeds I got from Select Seeds in 1998, and I HAD to buy some new plants and got a French marigold, jalapenos, and I found a zucchini (Black Beauty). Huny screwed the trellis to the fence so I don’t think it’s going anywhere. I’m pleased with the way it turned out. When the zucchini grows out it will cover quite a bit of that corner and we also have pumpkin seeds going in that corner as well.
I went around the yard and planted quite a few of the morning glory seeds. Some of the ones I planted are Heavenly Blue seeds from a trade from Overton, KY, date unknown, MG seeds from an unknown trade and date, ‘Blue Star’ Morning Glory seeds that I bought from Select Seeds in 1998!
I also went around and put out a few Sunflower ‘Velvet Queen’ seeds that I bought this year (Livingston Seed Co.)
Put out some Marigold-Harlequin that I got from Seymour’s Selected Seeds, date unknown. First discovered in 1870 and today used for the back of the perennial border. Annual.
Planted lemon basil ‘Sweet Dani’ (2002) and sweet basil (1994) both Ocimum basilicum between my heirloom tomatoes. Two rows of Sweet Dani and one of the sweet basil. I have some seed from my garden from last year, but I want to use these old seeds and see what happens.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Spring Salad and Johhny
This is Johnny (named after Johnny Depp). My friend gave him to me several years ago for my birthday. For a couple of years in the fall, he rode every day in the front seat of my car. When I moved to Maryland, he took a vacation and hung out in my Huny’s attic. After I returned to Texas he was moved to the front yard and became our door greeter. He was quite happy there for a couple of years, but then he got sad (his head was coming apart from his body) so we took him down and up to the attic he went for a rest.
This year we are working on our backyard farm and I thought to bring him down to guard our newly planted garden. I fixed his head to his body (he’s happy again) added some hair, attached him to a long pole and planted him in place of honor in the center of our planter. To give him a ‘spring’ in his step I added a sprig of bluebonnet to his hat.
This is the garden that he is guarding:
Radishes (French Breakfast -- Raphanus sativus)
Strawberries
These are the starts of turnip seeds that I got in a seed trade. I’ve never had a turnip. But I figured I’d plant them. What does one do with a turnip?
Onions, radishes, chives, elephant garlic.
Scallions, lettuce, more strawberries.
To celebrate Johnny's makeover, I harvested some of our lettuce (Red Sails and Black-Seeded Simpson, in the background) and we thinned out some of the radish.
After a thorough wash, we had a very nice salad for our supper.
It was delicious! I have never, ever had fresh lettuce from the garden, and never had radishes that didn’t come out of a bag. It was the best salad I have ever eaten!
Happy Spring!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Advice of the Day
After dinner sit awhile, after supper walk a mile.
Or, at least walk in the morning before you start your day. Every chance I get I walk. It's not for a mile, but the route around my neighborhood works for me. It clears my mind and gets thoughts going for the day.
Or, at least walk in the morning before you start your day. Every chance I get I walk. It's not for a mile, but the route around my neighborhood works for me. It clears my mind and gets thoughts going for the day.
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