Fairy Gardens

Just before Christmas, I received a gift certificate for one of my favorite markets. I was enjoying shopping for holiday food when I spotted an interesting display. It was a collection of miniature gardens and accessories. Little pergolas, bird baths, rustic fencing and gates, benches, paths, all set off in containers  with small plants.

Thinking ahead to the January blues, I indulged myself with a fairy garden kit. Then on Christmas, my son gave me a bonsai kit, with seeds for little pine trees and moss. I have a lot of moss outside, and for once it is not covered in snow this time of year. That will be useful as I have never grown moss from seed, and wonder how easy it is. I can see a busy winter working on little gardens. They certainly have to be more manageable and less back strain than the outside version. 

So It Goes

Again, it has been awhile since I posted. But inspired by my daughter's new blog, I'm back.

Funny that my last post was the October storm. It  was the only bad weather we've had, so far. What a beautiful, mild late fall/early winter season it has been. Christmas has come and gone, the days are already a little longer, and I found half a dozen dandelions in my yard the other day. Even though there are surely snow storms ahead, spring seems close.

Early Snow

The power line did come down, under the weight of the snowy branches, this time last week I had no power, never a happy situation, no matter how you think about it.
But we are back to normal again, and it is a golden autumn day. It is probably the early snow, but I am starting to think about Christmas.

Time Passing

It has been a very long time since I posted. Once spring starts, it is full speed ahead. So I'll try to make up for it in the next weeks, but no promises.
I have been gardening up a storm, of course. May is a wonderful month, so much good weather ahead. I have such full beds that I am selling perennial collections online.

First Day of Spring

And what a wet, dreary chilly day it has been. The best thing I can say about it is that it stopped snowing.

Meanwhile, as my heat blasts away merrily, I put a grow light on the succulents. Just for a few hours, but each gets the light that is missing today. I am planning some table top succulent gardens this year, and I want as many plants as possible available. I have a very good selection in the garden, but of course I don't want to take all of any planting. But they seem to have come through the winter well, I've been harvesting new growth as the snow melts and replanting them inside. They're taking off, with all the careful attention. Wouldn't we all!

One project I'm planning is to plant some hen n' chicks in a straw bale. I purchased a very small straw bale, roughly a foot long in A.C. Moore, and spent the required ten days "curing" it. This is just keeping it wet, so the straw starts composting and will support growth. The straw bale gardens I've seen on the internet are all normal size bales, and I do want to try them, too. They'll be perfect in a new garden space I'm starting. The bales can go right over the rough ground, keeping down weeds while the plants grow from the bale.  Then by next year they'll be rotting away, right where I'd want them. Should be interesting, we'll see. But the succulent bale will be part one. Stay tuned!
  

3 Ways to Jump Start Gardening Season

This early spring weather makes many of us want to get outside and get to work in the garden. But it is March, and in this area that means it could snow next week. Still, there is a lot to do before full spring hits.


1. A little raking makes a big difference. In many of my beds, there are dried stalks, etc, left from last  season.  Pulling them out improves . My Lamb's Ear was a flattened mess, the bamboo rake helped perk it up. This also works for grass. I don't rake too deeply around the plants, I leave some leaves for protection.
But under larger bushes and trees, in corners by fences or the house, getting rid of the old leaves blown in my winter winds makes things look more attractive, instantly.

2. It's kind of early to hook my hoses up again, but the furniture that didn't get put away needs to be wiped down. The same with any odds and ends that never made it back into the house last fall. Everything non organic looks better with winter's dirt wiped off. My trusty leaf blower does a great job clearing debris off the patios and other hardscapes.

3. Trimming the dead wood off perenniels, making sure matted leaves don't hold down emerging bulbs, checking out what made it through the winter alive, there are so many things to do. But don't let it overwhelm you. Start small, make lists, and try to do at least one thing a day, your garden will get prettier and prettier as springs marches along.

Actually Out There

The snow is about gone, what a relief. It died a sort of slow death by rain this week, gradually shrinking and getting dirtier and then finally the full melt. So I was able to get a good close look at the front garden.

Of course it is much too early to rake the leaves out of the beds. They add protection, especially necessary now that the snow blanket is gone. Anyway, I never like to rake too many of them out. I'd rather use the trowel to dig them into the soil a bit. It is on the spot composting. I started to use that method many years ago out of laziness. Instead of fully raking the garden in spring, I'd leave some leaves behind. Then when I was planting, of course they got turned into the ground. They condition the soil, which improves the texture, and add nutrients. On top of the soil, they act as mulch. The mulch I purchase goes much further, if it is on top of a layer of leaves. And it all decomposes, making the soil better and better, every year. I have been gardening in this spot for 24 years, and the soil has gone from having the texture of cheap cement to being reasonably black and friable. Laziness doesn't usually work out so well.

But there were many things I could do in the garden. There were dead stalks to cut down, as I leave many in place to feed the birds. There were dead annuals which succumbed very late in the season, I added them to the pile in the driveway. I bolstered up a butterfly bush that had heaved out of the ground. A bucket of soil was needed to get it straight with all roots protected again. Then I got the trimmers to clean it up a bit, but was distracted by the slimy stems of the left over herbs.

By the time I got rid of all the dead stuff in the pile, my Chihuahua, Niles, was shivering. Niles is not much for the cold. Snow storms with him are challenging. I brought him inside, and then got to work on some of my big finds, succulents in odd spots I had forgotten about. I brought them in and potted them up, succulents are going to be big in my garden this year. I have a sunny room that is slowly filling up with them. Rescued from the cold they're really taking off. To them, it is May.

Well, I'm off to trim the butterfly bush.  And before I know it, my garden will look more like this.