Master Gardener IMA Grounds Tour

It's so nice and thriving in September.  I want to live in a greenhouse.

Long Weekend

Hello!  I had a four day weekend and it was amazing.  The Lady Bean went to see her grand parents and I stayed home (and mostly in the yard).  I accomplished many 'yardie' things.  I even secretly built a tipi structure from some old fallen limbs and saw my very first swarm of bees... eep.  It's a bit unsettling.  Here's a video of what a swarm looks like.

 Now for the lawn stuff...

Yes, you've seen this; a photo from the day the window boxes went up.  I'll have new photos soon, but let's compare...

The front of the house a few weeks ago.

The front of the house (two years ago).

Different angle.  I still hate that Yucca, but it's long gone.

The back corner of the lawn on Sunday.

The same area two years ago after I removed a large pile of trash which included: a mattress, box springs, porch railing, various types of fence, glass, garbage, etc.  The mattress was growing things.  Ick.

Two years ago I bought a glider that matched the chairs on the front porch.  I bought it for 75% off and I had the perfect spot for it.  It would live in this corner (above photo; adjacent to my future, fabulous garden) surrounded by all the pink peonies that I had scavenged from Freecycle.  I had such great plans.  As you can tell from the more recent photo, that never quite happened.  The glider sat in the garage for two years.  I never even opened the box.  Oops.  

Everything is different now though!  Amidst a swarm of bees, I put the glider together.  I have a few pillows to sew and then I'll take new photos and you'll  see my project that was two years in the planning is finally finished.  Woot!  Why do I put pillows on all of my outdoor seating?  I don't know!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo,

swarm of b

Pin-doing

I'm impressionable or maybe I'm just curious, but I have a tendency to run out and do what I read or see.  Yesterday Apartment Therapy told me that geraniums are easy to grow so when I went on break from work, I bought some (of course I pinned the article first).  Today they are already living in my yard.  Several days ago I was reading Young House Love's 2013 Pinterest Challenge.  They did window boxes so I rushed home and pulled mine out of the garage.  They are up and flowing with flowers now.

How did I choose my honeymoon location?  I read about it on Poppytalk.  How did I choose this year's first anniversary vacation destination?  I saw a photo of an amazing place on Pinterest.  Once I figured out this spot was in the US, it was on.

I've read a lot about people sitting and pinning, getting lost for hours in all that visual candy, but not exactly doing.  That isn't me, obviously.  I can only look at a screen for so long.  I have to be doing.  So my new term is pin-doing (say it all together and make it flow).  Sometimes it isn't exact pin-doing, but adapting something I've seen into something else.  Regardless, I usually pin it for keeping or find it pinned.

Anyway, I've made peace with my addiction, but sometimes I think the internet should just stop showing me things.

This was taken the day I read about window boxes.  Yesterday, the lawn was mowed, the beds were edged, and geraniums found a home.  I'll post the progress next week.

xoxo,

an ever curious b

I forgot.

I forgot to do my thing; my unannounced Friday thing.  I forgot to instantly gratify (the three of?) you with "Instagramification"... oops.  I'll do it now.

I added some little art in the kitchen and found a spot for the mixer.

Kale chips because our CSA share is full of kale and I wanted to try something different.

It looks like a little book with a rainbow/cloud machine.

Welcome back summer porch and good morning kitties.

The hat arrived and I like it.  I thought it was a fedora, but the brim is wider.

It's coming!  I wish we were as cute as our cartoon counterparts.

The quick update:

I got the hair into the garden and I actually touched it.  Ick.

I made wheat and herb baguettes.

I met with our friend/officiant/organizer (he's a one-stop shop) and day of event wedding concerns came up.  I have found solutions and future tragedy has been averted.  WOOT!

Had I remembered to do this Friday, it would have been garden pics'.  We'll do those too, but later... there's so much to share.

Kisses,

BeeeeeeeeMerry

Gardening

 

This is (almost) how the garden currently looks.

 This is how the garden looked just a few months ago.

This is how it looked a year ago.

I have three 4'x4' beds and one 2'x2' potato bin.  I tried to put everything in last year, but it didn't work, I got the super poison ivy.  This year however, there were a few very early weeks of warm weather and that's when I finished building.  So I am in my first year of gardening and I've already learned so many things.  I'd like to share them with you.

Squirrels

First of all, squirrels are jerks, really horrible fuzzy little jerks.  Damn them and their little squirrel hands.  I tried to start some seeds this year and I used the break apart biodegradable starter trays.  When I first started them I left the trays outside; the squirrels tore into them.  I moved them inside until they were ready to plant.  The squirrels tore the little pods out of the ground and took the micro greens.  I decided to re-plant with some purchased starts and some seeds.  The squirrels scooped out my row of seeds. 

Birds

Birds really like nearly ripe strawberries.  I've also read that they like other berries as well, but I haven't experienced that yet.

Seeds

It is best to sow herbs and greens directly into the ground.  You can start them inside, but greens are an early crop and herbs are resilient.  They do best directly in the ground.

Otherwise I can tell you that herbs thrive and don't require much maintenance.  My herb garden has exploded.  I'll post pictures soon.  I don't have a picture of the re-planted third bed, but it's coming.  This weekend, I will probably be planting again  (squirrels are jerks) and adding fences.  I think if I tack chicken wire to the sides and maybe do netting or more wire over the top, I will also get to enjoy strawberries and salad greens.