A New Zone

Well, we had an unexpected move this last season, and I'm no longer a Zone 5 Gardener.

Check out my new adventures at Zone 6 Gardener.

Back Again

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from this blog, but I am back again for the 2013 gardening season.

It's been a busy spring so far:

• Taking down last years tomato cages
• Dumping compost on the garden beds
• Pruning trees, bushes, and roses
• Trying to take out lawn ivy
• Getting rid of the old outdoor sports equipment cabinet
• Cleaning up the patio and yard
• Planting onion sets

The weather here is getting warmer but frost free doesn't usually come around until mid-May here.  They have rezoned our part of the county to technically Zone 6A, but frost dates don't seem to remember that.

Spring Things

The Old Homestead

Blue and purple clematis along the stairs to the back deck.

Our front flower bed.

The centerpiece of the front flowerbed is the witch hazel which is getting quite large.

Lots of flowers blooming.

Lilacs are in bloom and smell wonderful.

Our cutting garden got a dose of mulch and later this summer is getting a fresh coat of paint on the wall behind it.

Our black elderberry is jumping our of the ground in front of some of the daylillies.

A new planting of peonies is taking root between rhodadendrons, rose of sharon, daylillies, and a red hot poker.

The garden bench is almost taken over by purple clematis.

A new addition of clematis this year is already blooming.

The river birch is getting large enough to shade the deck.

Even the smaller river birch is growing like crazy.

The buckthorn bush is quickly becoming a buck thron tree.

New miniature roses grow along the wall in new beds put in this year.

One of my two plantings of bamboo adorn the patio gate.

The built-in bench is looking good framed with flowers.

Gnorm the gnome is still hanging around by some boxwoods.

Another bamboo planting.

More gnomes and more flowers with roses lurking above.

The rose bushes are preparaing to bloom and will probably reach 6' tall this year.

Lots of flowers adorn the area around the bird bath.

The flower bed along the back fence is even looking good.

The cherry tree had a nice bloom and is turning burgundy now.

Another boxwood and friends along the patio.

A nice seating area in front of the buckthorn tree.

Daylillies

More Pictures

Tillandsia Pot

Tillandsia is an air plant that takes no soil.  It needs a place to sit but no soil.  They have to be watered like normal plants, but pull all the nutrients they needs from the water.

We keep forgetting to water them.

To get them watered I made a regular pot with a plant in the top with a drain hole that runs down by holes for the tillandsia plants.  When we water the plant on top, the tillandsia plants get watered too.

Hen and chick on top with tillandsia plants in holes in the side.

Hen and chick has rock mulch around it.

Tillandsia plants are hot glued into place in holes on the side.

Spring Update

Back from vacation and there is lots of planting and spring growing going on.

Yellow tulips just bloomed in the last couple of days.

Black lace elderberry that we planted last year is getting off to a good start.

We planted our blue festuca grass which should turn into little blue fluff balls.

The river birches are leafing out and looking good.

The cherry tree buds seem brighter this year.

We'll have a cherry tree in bloom before long.

Out chives are off to a good start.  Time to split them soon.

The old homestead looks pretty good with all the daffodils in bloom.

Even after cutting a few, there are still lots of daffodils along the front flower bed.

The phlox out back is in bloom.

The later blooming tulips are getting close to blooming.

The rose bushes I planted last year are green.  I am hoping they hit 5 feet this year.

The garden is ready for tilling.

The horizontal tomato cage platforms pull out for tilling -- very nice.