Actual Weekend

Oh man, I am killing it.

Front Bed

Ok, so yesterday (Saturday) I left the soaker hose on the front bed for like, 8 hours, so that the soil would be damp and easy to work.  I know that hose works well, and even with all that time, it wasn't really wet, or even damp, just kind of the right normal level.  So either that area drains beautifully, or it really really needed some water.

I kind of tried to get myself to start on it yesterday afternoon, but I just couldn't.  I stood out there looking at it for a while, at least?

This morning, I was ready for it.  I started digging out some of the first clumps of the red Daylilies, and promptly destroyed them by breaking off stalks that did not bring with them any roots.  So I slowed down on that a little bit.

I did ultimately move more than half of the little yellow ones.  In the process, I think I turned and loosened nearly all the soil in there.  I even pulled off lots of the mulch as I was doing this, so I have half a tub full that I can put back on if I want to.

Now the center is really nicely full of daylilies.  In the back row, I've got the Clematis, who seems very happy, and two Echinacea.  In front of that, to the right, I left the very large clump of tall daylilies.  I was originally thinking I would divide that into individual stalks, but I got really scared after my attempts to do that initially with the other red ones.  And I'm not even sure what color these are, they might be that dusty pink color?  Who cares.  Anyway, their size and shape and location makes perfect sense- they're directly in the middle, and they're the largest plant and almost the tallest.  If I moved them, it would almost need another serious plant in there.  In that same area, moving towards the left, there are the two Black Eyed Susans, and the rest of the space is filled in with the yellow daylilies, moved from the areas in the front and broken into smaller clumps and spread out.  These were a lot easier to divide.  A lot of them do have buds on them, so if everything is ok, I might see some flowers in the next week or two!

Ok, of course, to put all the stuff in the back, I had to dig out the Liriope.  That wasn't necessarily hard- the difficult thing was trying not to mangle anything else as I tried to get in there.  There were only the 3 big ones and the smaller one that was way in the back left corner.   There's also one in the back end of the right side, that's not too big but it could have been divided no problem.  I decided to leave it there because it's not bothering anyone.  And way way under the hedge on that size is a little one that doesn't seem to be growing at all. Like, it's not quite dead, but no one cut it back because they couldn't see it, and it's not showing new growth.  If I was like, in need of more Liriope, I could go get it, but I don't see that being a problem.

So of the Liriope I dug up, one was pretty small and I just transplanted it without doing anything to it.  The other 3 were divided into at least 4, maybe 5 pieces, which wasn't as controlled as I thought it would be.  I thought I'd be cutting them into nice quarters, but it was kind of just pulling off chunks that looked right.

I ended up with plenty of little Liriope to fill in the front of that bed, and it looks so much better.  They're not so small that it looks like they were just planted, but it looks much more controlled and cared for, and obviously better designed.  I should have take a "Before" picture.  And then of course I finally planted the few purple annuals in there.  There are 2 Calibrocha on the right side, where I didn't really change anything else.  The other 4 Calibrochas are in the front center kind of to the left, mixed in with the Liriope, and the purple Sweet Allysum are along the front, mixed with Liriope.

Then I threw down a lot of bone meal.  Maybe too much.  I will need to make sure it's covered with some more dirt and maybe mulch, and then give it another nice long watering.

I still want more annuals in there, but maybe I don't need it.  I got a mixed pack of Petunias, and at least one of them is dark purple, so I can put him in there.  If I do get more, which I should not do, it has to be more of the same kind of thing.  

That big Daylily in the middle might start to bother me if it does bloom some kind of weird red, which is what I'm remembering.  Of course, I can certainly dig it out in the fall and move it.  It would be nice to have a deed purple day lily in its place.  White Flower Farm has 2 good ones, but I am not really going to pay $15 for a single bare root day lily, come on.

Also!  I was able to get a lot of the tulip bulbs out when I was digging around, which I had really hoped would happen.  They're drying out now, and I will bag them up and save them to replant in the fall.

Sidewalk Bed

I did plant the rest of the red Daylilies that I dug up.  I really should water them since I just put them in...  I also put in one of the saved ornamental grasses.  One section that we replanted a month ago is still just a pile of sticks, so I just lifted it (which was effortless) and plopped the other guy in there. I do still have another ornamental grass chunk, so I might put it in there.  I would also like to get some kind of nice annual for that bed.  Last year I did some Lantana and I thought they were pretty good.  I could also spread a bunch of Sunflower seeds and just see what happens.  They'll face the wrong way... but that's ok, I'll plant them on the other side, so when people walk up the path they see them all.  And that will only cost like, $5 or $10, and take almost no work.

Now, I could dig up and divide all those Liriope in the Sidewalk Bed, and spread them around, and that would fill it out even more.  Just kidding, I am absolutely not doing that.

The Yarrow that are in there now are looking great- they are very full and bushy, but no signs of flowers yet.  Maybe I'll give them some bone meal.

Side Bed

I watered this spot this morning, and after a few hours there were some puddles forming.  So I'm a little bit concerned about the drainage there.  I was able to remove that fern from the center.  It was really overcrowding everything, and it doesn't really make sense for it to be in the center of the sunniest spot I have.  Now the Zinnias are getting more sun, and the roses have more room to grow out.

The only other thing I want to do is maybe dig up the really big hosta.  It's getting too big for the spot it's in, and it's a little crowded.  If I could divide it, I would put the other half in the back, maybe the corner right near the sidewalk.  It can totally cover the Muscari that are there, because those will come up in the spring before the hosta is really growing, and as it gets bigger it will just cover that spot without interfering with them at all.  That's the spot that's most likely to get stepped on or to be clothes-lined by the hose, so I would like the idea of having a tough anchor plant there.

There are quite a few leftover Gladioli popping up in there.  I'm kind of tempted to just pull them out, bulb and all, and add them into the container that I have the others in.  I like this plant a lot.  It's so easy, it gets these huge, dramatic flowers that make great cut flowers, you just plant some cheap bulbs in early spring, which is when you want to do that kind of thing, and you get the reward for it quite quickly.  And if I just do them in a container, recovering the bulbs at the end of the year will be easy.  Maybe I should give them some bone meal too.  I don't really like them as bedding plants.  They kind of pop up and spear right through the other plants, and then they're kind of awkward and tall when they're mixed in the other plants.  Yeah, I'll just pull them out and replant them.  And after they do bloom, I should remember to leave them there, with their leaves, so they can keep growing and be just as good next year.  I did replant some of last year's, so I don't know how they will do.  I also wouldn't know which is which- it's half re-used bulbs, half old bulbs from last year that I never did plant.  The fact that the ones I just left in the ground are coming up is a good sign, I think.  They really shouldn't have survived winter at all.

So I should cut back the Muscari at some point, although they aren't really bothering me.  And I think I will go ahead and transplant the last few Zinnia starts that I have upstairs under the light.  I did a tray of them yesterday.  And hey, maybe I'll give them some bone meal!

In the window box, the sunflowers I transplanted look like they are doing well.  I also planted a lot more seeds (the Elf sunflower) directly in there, and at least one of those has sprouted.  It would not be a bad idea to put some kind of short, trailing annual in there.  If I had more of those pink Nasturtiums, I could have planted them in there... That window box is going to dry out a lot, and I don't think the Nasturtiums are all that drought tolerant.

Raised Bed

I haven't done much with this besides water it.  I think the tomatoes look great.  And as I'm watching them, they definitely are getting sun from 7 am to 2 pm.  Over the next few weeks, it will get closer to a full 8 hours.  I still have a lot of kale in there.  I was supposed to harvest it all yesterday, because that was the coolest night we're going to get in a while.  But I don't totally want to rip it out yet, because I don't have anything to put in there.

I'm really disappointed with the Swiss Chard seeds that I started.  This was the "Rhubarb" kind I grew last year with great success.  They all sprouted just fine, and then they just didn't do anything.  They're still there, and they still have just one set of leaves, and they're looking really thin and sad.  I might not have kept them watered all the time, but they don't look like the straight up died.  And usually if I kind of dry them out, if I get them watered again, they either come back, or they're totally fried.  I started a tray of the Bright Lights Swiss Chard, which I bought this year, and they seemed to germinate faster.  Maybe they'll be better, maybe last year's seeds aren't as good?  That seems odd, because usually they either germinate or they don't.

The Beans have all sprouted and they're going strong.  I think they're going to like it there, I think they will get a lot of sun, especially in the morning.  In front of them I have those few Strawberry plants, and they're ok, I guess.  They're definitely not going to produce any berries this year.  But I'll give them a shot, and maybe they'll spread a little and get established and next year will be better.

In the meantime, I will probably use that space for more herbs.  I've got a lot of Basil starts upstairs that could probably be transplanted any time.  And they will get a lot of sun there.  I've got a few sad little cilantro plants in there now, and they're already trying to go to seed!  Those fuckers.  I don't even know what to do with them, I feel like it's hopeless.

Next year, I might want to plant Tomatoes in that second part of the raised bed, since it will be the third year growing tomatoes in the main part.  I think it will be ok, although I worry that it's not deep enough and that below that, it's not draining so well.  But Mel Bartholomew thinks it's totally fine to grow a full sized tomato it just 6 inches of soil!  And a square foot of area!  Totally fine!

Near the tomato plants I have now, I planted some of the tall sunflower seeds in the back corners, between the cages, and some of those have sprouted.  I'm thinking they will definitely look nice, and they might provide some extra support.

The chives are kinda meh.  I had two very nice plants in there the last few years, and only the one of the right side came back.  I planted a new one on the other side, along with a Parsley plant, which seems to be doing very well.

The Radicchio seem to be ok. I'm really hoping they will hang out throughout the summer, so in the fall I will have these big, full, dense Radicchio heads.

Patio

Oh my god, this hedge.  (I've decided it's a Holly.)  I was pruning it, and it's full of these gross caterpillars making all this webbing everywhere!  They're so gross!  So I bought a caterpillar killing spray (active ingrediant: Spinosads) and sprayed pretty much the whole bottle.  But I'm checking on Mike McGrath's archives and he definitely pushes BT as the best caterpillar attack.  I couldn't find that at Lowe's, so I got this stuff, but I will probably need to order something with BT.

After pruning the hedge back so I could open the lid on the grill without singeing the leaves, there was this space of the wall, so I put out two pasta dishes with water and some BTI granules, in hopes that the birds will use it as a bath.  Nothing yet.

I planted a few more small bunches of Liriope in the patio bed to fill it out, and it looks really great.  Although, one of the biggest Coleus has a bunch of webbing on it, I think it's from those same asshole caterpillars.

I did plant some stuff in the wall container.  First I dumped out all the soil and lined it with a trash bag with slits cut into it.  then I refilled it with mostly that same shit soil, and put in that spiky plant that exists for this purpose only, and about 6 Petunias of various shades of pink.  And that's it, I will not be putting in anything else.

On the other side of the wall, the Morning Glories seem to be doing ok.  One has already made its way inside the wall.  I have planted a lot more seed in there, all after soaking for a day or two to get them to just start to sprout.  I really hope they take off, they look so nice on there.

This little gutter garden thing, I don't know... when I water it, no matter how I do it, it all kind of tips forwards and dumps out a lot of dirt.  I'm going to try to drill some holes in the front and zip tie it more upright.  The lettuce I transplanted in there hasn't really grown at all.  I mean, a little, but it's very slow!  The Arugula that I just threw in there is actually doing pretty well, and it does look nice, and it's easy to harvest.  I've put a lot of Nasturtiums in there, some as transplants and some just as direct sow seeds, and they seem to be doing ok.  I don't know how they will hold up in the summer heat, with my infrequent watering.

I really, really need to sweep that shit out.  I will do that today, for sure.

Things to do:

• Dig up and divide the big Hosta and plant half of it in the back.  Tomorrow
• Transplant the last 3 Zinnias into the side bed. Tomorrow
• Transplant the Basil starts into the raised bed in front of the Green Beans. Tonight
• Fix up the Gutter Garden. Tonight
• Pull up the Gladioli from the side bed and transplant them to the container with their friends.
• Water the front bed and put down the rest of the mulch.  Tonight
• Water all the containers.  Tomorrow morning
• Find something with BT and spray the shit out of the hedge.  Later
• Plant the last ornamental grass in the sidewalk bed.  Tomorrow
• Get some Sunflower seeds and plant them in the back of the sidewalk bed.  Later
• Sweep up all the mess on the sidewalk. Tonight
• Harvest the rest of the Lettuce and Kale.  Tomorrow morning
• Get more pink Nasturtium seeds and plant them in the Gutter Garden.  Later
• Bag up the rest of the clippings and yard trash to save for compost.  Tonight
• Sweep out the patio.  Tonight
• Pack up all the tulip bulbs for fall. Tonight
• Put away the really big container, and any other containers I'm not going to use.  (That should be most of them.  I should also wash some of them.  I now have a ton of little plastic pots that I can use for seed starting and stuff like that, perhaps more than I need.) Tomorrow

Damn, once I got all the crap out of there and swept up all the filth, that is a nice looking patio!  Let's have a party!  But no one can come inside!  Seriously though, if I am going to have a party, it should be June 13th.  

Oh my god, what do I need to do before I have a party?  I mean, I need to get cushions for the ottomans.  That's the least important thing, what is wrong with you?  I need to vacuum and clean the kitchen and clean the bathrooms and have the guest room ready.  And fix the dishwasher door!  And fix the bench we broke at the last party. 

Weekend Plans

Ok, thank god we're going to have a 3 day weekend.  I will finally get my yard to some kind of reasonable stasis, and then I can just try to keep it from dying over the summer.

I've got 3 days.  Of course, I have way more work to do inside.  Most people would look at my very small garden and say, wait, what is it you have to do?  Water and pull weeds?  And those same people, if I let them see my house, would stage an intervention.  Other than Drake, he gets it.

I need to do something fun at some point,  or I will be very cranky. Longwood would be fun, maybe.  Drake and I will hang out one night, Sunday would be better.  Monday will be devoted to doing stuff inside.

Let's break down the stuff I have to do outside into the specific areas:

Front Bed

This is the biggest amount of work, and admittedly, most of it is not entirely necessary.  I want to rearrange everything.  I don't think the Daylilies are going to flower at all if I don't divide them.  I got hardly any blooms last year, so I really don't think I have much time left.  And the placement of that Liriope has been driving me crazy for a long time.  I bought annuals to plant in there last weekend, and I don't want to put off planting them for much longer.  And I can't plant them until I've moved the other stuff, obviously.  I've got the Clematis in there, which is fantastic.

Let's talk about the Clematis.  It's already growing like crazy, I can't even tell you how happy I am to see that.  I'm not really expecting a ton of blooms this year, but if I get a few that would be awesome.  Most of what I've read online says it will bloom the first year.  I mean, there was one at the nursery that already had a big bloom on it, but that kind of makes me nervous so I bought a more compact one.  I think I see a bud on it.  Yep, I just checked, there is totally going to be a flower.  Unfortunately it is facing the back, but that's ok Clematis, you do what you need to do.

Anyway.  Before I go moving everything, it would be ideal if I could remove and save most of the mulch.  Then I would be able to dig stuff up without just mixing in a bunch of shitty wood crap.  And when I was done. I could put it back down again.  Ideally I wouldn't need to, if it's as densely planted as I'd like.  And when would I do that?  Well... I could do it right now, couldn't I?  What else am I doing?  Ok now that I'm looking at it, I don't know how I would be able to do that, since it's mostly spread around a bunch of Daylilies.  I would pretty much need to go in there and take it out in handfuls.  And that's not impossible or anything.

Before I try to dig stuff out, I was planning on soaking it down for a while so I could get stuff out with the least amount of damage.  If I am going to remove the mulch, I would want to do that before turning on the soaker hose.  So that means I either have to do it tonight, or Friday night.  I guess either would be ok, or I could split it up.

Then I was planning to run the hose Saturday morning, while I'm getting my hair cut.  Then when I get back, all freshly coiffed, I can get right into a big muddy pit.

Then I'm thinking I will start from the outside and work my way in.  That will mean pulling up the Daylilies that are around the perimeter first.  I'm hoping that if it's nice damp soil, I'll be able to pull them up in clumps, and not damage the roots too much.

I should be sure to differentiate between the full sized red Daylilies and the little Stella d'Oro ones.  I want to move the red ones to the Sidewalk Bed.  I'm not really sure where... Like, near the front where they will be seen and everything, but other than that I'm not sure I care.  Actually, they are clearly different in their leaf structure and form- the leaves are bigger and broader, and they form these distinct fans from each stalk.  And by my count, if I divide them into individuals, I'll have around 12 of them. Oh my god yay!

And once the Daylilies are all out, I will start working on the Liriope.  They won't be so bad to dig up, not like the ornamental grasses, but they are pretty big.  There are 4 that I definitely want to dig up, and a 5th one under the hedge that's not bothering anyone but it's not really contributing anything.  And there's another one way underneath the hedge that hasn't seen real sun in a few years, and if I feel like it, I could probably get it out without much trouble and get some use out of it.

Then I think I want to move that weird Black Eyed Susan that's off to the side, and put it kind of right in the middle, diagonally between the other two of them, and the two Echinacea.  Yes, that will be good.  Once that's done, there should be nothing I need to do to that back section, and I won't have to go stomping around back there.

What about that stupid Hosta?  Oh my god; it's so stupid.  I stand by my original intent in putting it in that bed- it's green with chartreuse streaks, and I thought it would compliment the Liriope nicely.  And it does, that design choice makes sense.  But it's taking up a pretty nice spot, and it's grown a little, but it's not that great. I'm not sure it's worth the effort to move it, but if I'm totally rearranging that bed, I might just have to.  I could pretty much put it anywhere, so I will just wait and see what ends up working.

Once I've gotten the Daylilies and the Liriope pulled out, I'll start back-filling with Daylilies.  Now, should I put any fertilizer in there?  I think yes, I think that's another reason they aren't flowering.  Maybe Green Sand would be the best, because it's kind of slow- release, and it's not so high in Nitrogen.  Ok, let's buy some Green Sand.

So I'll divide all the Daylilies into smaller clumps, probably not quite individual clumps because I don't want to stress them out too much.  And I'll work from the center out, spacing them about 6 inches apart, as instructed by the internet.  And then I think I will try putting the compost down on around them as a mulch.  That's got to be a good thing, right?

By then, it should be pretty much filled in the center, with like, a foot around the edge.  Then it's time to divide the Liriope.  This should be easier to figure out than the ones I did a few weeks ago, because they've got a lot more new growth.  And I should have 15-20 good sized clumps. I don't really want to like, make a solid border, at least not right now.  And I think it will look more natural if I space them out a little.  And then, in the spaces between them, that's where I will plant those few annuals.  Now, don't go planting these long lived perennials in some stupid pattern just to accommodate the $10 worth of stupid annuals. I don't think I need to worry about that too much.  These Liriope are like, a foot in diameter, and the base, and I know they started as normal sized nursery plants.  It did take 10 years, ok.  But before too long, even though I'll leave spaces in between them now, they will fill out nicely.  I think I will start from the sides, since that's the part I don't see as much, and it gets a little shade. And then if it's a little sparse in the front, that's cool, that's where we can showcase the "annual color" and have more impact from it.

Of course, if I start this and I feel like I just want a few more Liriope clumps to fill it out, I can just dig one up from the Sidewalk bed.  Honestly, I don't think they look right in there.

What else... if I find any Tulip bulbs during the excavation, I will pull them out and dry them and save them.

Oh, that fucking hedge bush thing.  I did a lot of pruning this evening, and it's crawling with these awful caterpillars that are making nests all over it.  So I want to get that spray Mike McGrath rec recommends for killing caterpillars and only caterpillars.  I think it's BT?  I think these are the things that turn into those bizzare awful tiny white moths that I saw last year. They were swarming it in June, and making it impossible to sit out there, during the few weeks I would actually like to hang out on my patio.

So let's buy some BT.  Or whatever it is.

Side Bed

Most of the work here is already done.  The roses are amazing, of course.  I still haven't taken the tags off, which is super tacky, so I should do that.  In the same effort, I should deadhead them so I get some more blooms soon.  I mean... should I fertilize them?  They seem like they're such rockstars they just don't need it, and in theory you shouldn't fertilize in the first year in general. They're probably so doped up already.  A little deadheading and pruning will probably be good for them.  And if I really feel like I need to do something, I can throw some compost on them.

Oh, I should finally cut back the Muscari.  They came up so late I didn't want to, and the leaves aren't really that upsetting to me.

A few days ago I just threw down some more Zinnia seeds.  I'm not sure if they will really grow.  The ones I started inside and transplanted are looking great.  One is already blooming, and the others all have nice buds.

The front of that area looks a little sad now that the creeping phlox is finished, so maybe I could just put a row of Vinca in there?

If I'm feeling really ambitious, I could try to divide those Hosatas.  They're nice in there, I think, but it's a little crowded.

I was thinking I could line the back with Liriope, but I'm thinking now that I'll want to keep it all in the front bed.  And seriously, I don't want to have too many different kinds of plants in there or it will look like a big mess.

The fern does not make any sense there.  I like the contrast in texture, but it's kind of right in the middle of things, and it's supposed to be a shade plant.  But because it's right up in there, I don't know how I could get it out without upsetting the rose.

There is a Gladiolus coming up in there that I missed when I pulled them all.  They are really not supposed to survive here, and we've had some fucked up winter.  It's quite far back, close to the house, so I guess it wasn't as bad there.  If that area is really that good, maybe I should use it for plants that are kind of on the edge of hardiness.  Yeah, the only things like that that I really want are Rosemary and Camellia, and they're plants that are really living above ground.  Just because there's a thermal gradient from the house that keeps the soil a little warmer doesn't mean the atmosphere around it will be that way.  But it's worth a shot.  In the fall, I could try planting the Rosemary there and see how it does.  It's probably just as likely to succeed as it would if I brought it inside.

I was thinking before that I would take some clumps of Liriope and make a nice little border with the 2nd raised bed.  I can't really plant much there, because I'll be walking around there, and it will get a lot of run off, but if I don't do something it will just be all weedy.  If I had unlimited money, I would put in some kind of Stepable, and some more of those stepping stones, so it would make a nicer little path.  I'll need to walk back there a lot when the Green Beans come in.

Patio

I really, really need to sweep this shit up.  I haven't done it yet because I know I'm just going to make more mess. And that's the same logic I apply to cleaning my house, which is why I live in filth.  But it will make a very big difference when I finally do that.

Of course, I have a lot of pre-compose in various containers.  That really big container I got from Costco is great, but I don't have a very good use for it.  I kind of thought about just filling it with sunflower seeds.  But where am I going to put it?  There is no room left in the Patio, I don't want it to just be this ridiculous mass of containers. At least not again.

I'm not even sure I can keep the Hibiscus in there.  I love that Hibiscus.  It's at least twice as big as it was when I bought it, and I'm so happy it survived the winter inside. It is a little tall and leggy, but I don't want to prune it.  I'm hoping it will leaf out more as it gets warmer and sunnier.  I'm pretty sure I should fertilize it at some point.  It's been in that same soil for almost a year now.  I guess I shouldn't expect to see buds yet.  It's a tropical plant.  I shouldn't even have had it outside for so long.  It's really a trooper.  And it wouldn't keep growing if it wasn't healthy, right?

Anyway, that giant pot will have to come inside and go up in the attic.  I don't have any good use for it, and I really don't have any space.  I will use that space next to the Patio Bed to store the trash bags full of pre-compost.

Beyond that, I just need to get all the crap out of there.  I've got some actual trash, so that should theoretically be easy to part with.  Then I've got a bag of mulch, which I may need after I rearrange the front bed.  I've got two nice ornamental grasses that I can't quite part with, so I will plant them in the Sidewalk bed.  In the plastic tubs, I've got a Liriope that I could just section up and plant in the Patio Bed, or use it in the front bed if I have the need.  And I've got a little extra potting mix that I will use to plant the Jalapeno.  And of course I've got the Tulips that I did pull, drying out so I can pack them.  I don't know, I wanted them to do that out in the sun, so if they were able to take in anymore sun, they could, and so they would dry faster.

Let's talk about this Gutter Garden.  It wasn't a bad idea.  It does look nice, all full of lettuce.  In the future, I'd get that started earlier.  I did transplant a few Nasturtium starts, and sowed the rest of the seed in there.  Some of the seeds have sprouted, so I think we're going to be ok.  But it's not all that sturdy, so when I water it, it just leans forward and dumps it out the front, like a shitty gutter.  So I think I need to do some triage.  I'll just drill some holes in the front, and zip-tie the front and loop it into the zip ties in the back, so it doesn't have so much play in that direction.  This is going to be impossible to keep watered in the summer, being so tiny.  You know, I know they were cheap, but for not a lot more money, I could have gotten a second thingy of Wooly Pockets, which would have filled the space really well and would be a lot more forgiving of watering issues.  Well, when thest become unmanageable, we can switch.  

Hey, so!  I also need to do something with that wall planter. Well, actually, I don't need  to do anything.  It's just there.  It's a very nice planter, it's quite big, I replaced the liner last year, it's one of those things that's up at eye level so it's very impactful.  It dries out like crazy, so before I do anything, I would want to line it with a trash bag or something, maybe something heavier.  (Cut a bunch of holes, obviously)  I bought one of those stupid spike things just for that purpose.  The rest could just be anything that spills over the side.  Petunias or Calibrocha would be the obvious choice.  And I would probably want to go with pink, maybe pink and yellow, to keep it in the right color palette.  Actually, what if I  just went all yellow?  That's a nice contrast to the pink inside the patio, and it would look good with all the purple that's in the front.  So if you're looking at the front bed, you'll still see this thing, and it will be a very nice contrast.  (I'll also have true blue Morning Glory all over the wall.)  Sure, if I find a nice flat of yellow petunia or calibrocha or both, I'll get that.  Eh, get whatever you can find.  If it's pink, or yellow, or purple, or blue, that's great.  I did Thunburgia last year, or maybe the year before, and it just got so long and spindley, it didn't look good at all.  But all I need is one thing, and like, 3-6 of them.

Sidewalk Bed

Oh my god, this whole thing.  Ok.  The Yarrow is doing phenomenal.  It's all big and full and bushy, it's so great.  I would like to put those last two ornamental grasses back in there.  One of the divisions we put in there is just a pile of dead stuff, so that will be easy to remove and quickly replace.

Like I said, I do not like the Liriope in there.  Of course, it's not so bad that I feel the need to do anything about it; that's a very low priority.  If it seems like something I can manage, I might start digging those up so I can use them in other places.

I will have lots of those red Daylilies to put in there, so that's exciting.  I think they will do well there.  Last year I put in some Lantana, which were very easy, they didn't really need any watering, they looked nice, everyone was happy.  I am really trying to not buy so much, but it might be worth getting a few and spreading them around.

The weed situation over there is insane.  I will definitely pull whatever I can this weekend, but I know it's a losing battle, and it will be a weed breeding ground for a while. The only way to prevent that is to fill it with plants, and I just can't do that yet.

Raised Bed

Well, not a lot to do here!  I should just put down some compost on top of everything, and pull weeds, and water.  I do have some Basil starts under the lights that I could transplant.  At this point, I'm not sure if they would do better or worse outside.


Other

I should sweep the sidewalk, to keep everyone happy.  Then I should just clean up the junk and make sure it looks nice on that little shelf.



So actually.  I'm going to designate Saturday afternoon to this, and Sunday morning.

Saturday- all the Front Bed stuff.  That's enough for day, seriously.

Sunday- deal with the Patio situation.

Ok, so what did I get done, and what do I still need to do?

Finished:

• Planted all 4 Knock Out Roses in the side bed. 
• Transplanted the Zinnia starts in the side bed (12 total) 
• Cut back the Hyacinth leaves (mostly because I was having a hard time visualizing the layout without them, certain areas were looking crowded and now it looks fine.) 
• Dug out the big dark green Hostas.  
• Planted the Hostas in the patio bed.  (I might want to further divide them and spread them out in there to look more balanced and fill it out.) 
• Planted the whole patio bed- Hostas, Begonias, Coleus, and small Liriope making a little border in the front.  
• Set up a soaker hose in the Patio bed. 
• Dug out the Liriope from the back center of the front bed. 
• Planted the Clematis in that spot near the back, and set up the Trellis.
• Set up the soaker hose in the front bed. 
• Pulled out all the failure peas.  Sifted through all that soil to get out most of the roots, drilled holes in the bottoms of the 32" containers.  Refilled them with the soil and transplanted the Morning Glories.  
• Transplanted the dwarf Sunflower starts to the window box.
• Direct-seeded the bigger 4' sunflowers into the raised bed and the back of the side bed.
• Planted the Better Boy Tomato into the raised bed with the cage.
• Planted the Basil, Parsley and Chives in the raised bed. 

Still to do: 

• Set up soaker hose in the side bed.  
• Direct-seed some more Zinnias into the side bed.  
• Sow some more dwarf Sunflower seeds in the window box
• Plant the Green Bean seeds in the raised bed
• Sow more Morning Glory seeds in the 32" containers (buy more Morning Glory seeds)
• Harvest all the lettuce later this week. 
• Plant Jalapeno in a container.
• Plant Sweet 100 tomato in the raised bed (once the lettuce is gone) 
• Pull out Tulips from the front bed (once they start to turn yellow)
• Move the red Daylilies 
• Dig up the Liriope from the front bed and divide them.
• Replant the Liriope near the front of the front bed.  
• Divide up the Daylilies and move them around. 
• Plant the annuals in the front bed. 
• Fill the wall container (with what???) 
• Cover the top of the raised bed with compost.  
• Sweep out patio
• Mix pea stems into compost
• Put crap away

A lot of those things are actually really easy.  We can do this,

Alright, I planted all 4 Knock Out Roses in the side bed.  I put 2 in there, and it just looked stupid, so I put a third.  That way they're not in a line, but a triangle, so they look a lot more natural  Then I thought there was another big empty space, and I just put the fourth one in there.  It's funny, because I originally bought the roses to put in the front bed, but I just liked them so much I bought 4.

Instead of the Rose, I could plant a Clematis.... I want one so bad!  I've wanted one for years, before I even gardened I wanted a Clematis.  Why have I denied myself for so long?  And if I did that, I wouldn't need to remove as much, they're kind of small in their footprint.  I could go buy that tomorrow, and Wedgewood.  And I could buy something for Mom, and if I'm really lucky, they might have the Nasturtium seeds I want.  So, they open at 9, I should get there at 9.

And I just spent another $100 at Wedgewood.  I finally got my Clematis.  I got the Jackamani Superba, which seems like the most common and hopefully easiest variety.  (Blooms on new growth, which sounds great.)  I dug out the stupid Liriope way in the back of the front bed, and put the clematis in there, and put my obelisk trellis around it.  It feels like it might be too far back and might not get enough sun... But it wants "cool roots," so it should be good that it's got plants all around it, and once it starts growing up, it will get plenty of sun.

I also bought a bunch of annuals to put in there to fill it out and give it more color (although it's looking pretty full already).  I got all purple stuff, to match the purple Clematis.  6 purple Calibrocha, that are decent size and not quite flowering all the way yet, and a 6 pack of purple Sweet Allysum.  I don't know when I should go about planting them.  I was originally going to divide and move around all of the Liriope and all of the Daylilies, but I just don't think I can get all that done.  I need to at least move the Liriope out of the very middle, and I would like to move the big Daylily that's near the middle, I think it's red.  Shit, actually, the one in front of the Juniper is red, and so is the one in the back left corner.  What's the thing in the middle?  Hopefully I find out soon.

If I had all the time and energy, what would I do?  Well, I would divide all of the Daylilies and replant them, probably more towards the middle of the bed.  I would move the red Daylilies to the sidewalk bed, because it needs more plants for sure and the only other flowering thing I have in there now is also red, the Yarrow.  And I would dig up and divide nearly all the Liriope, and replant them closer to the front, in a border.  That might end up looking a little too formal, if they're all in a row.  I'm not really good at planting with that much precision, or at maintaining something that specific.  Maybe it would be better if they're all dug up and divided, and planted near the front, but in more of a natural looking pattern.  It might end up that way anyway even if I try to make a row.

I think the Daylilies can be divided any time, at least that's what White Flower Farm tells me.  They say the reblooming ones should be divided every 2 years, but I don't know if that means they can be, or if they need to be, or else they don't flower much.  These did not flower so well last year.

Anyway, that's the best case scenario.  What actually happens will be far less.

So about that side bed- the Roses are all in there, and they look so great, and now that whole area will look great forever no matter what I do.  I planted the Zinnia starts in there, kind of mixed in around the roses.  They're supposed to get quite tall, so I wanted them near the middle.  I planted the 6 that were really big, the ones that I had already moved to a big container, and I did 6 newer ones that were in small containers.  Next I have the mini sunflowers- I've got 6, in plastic bottles, with nice root growth happening.  Since they're supposed to be 14" or 18", I was thinking they should be more towards the front.  Or, I could plant them in the window box.  I think that would be totally cute, to have a row of mini sunflowers up there.  I think I have some Zinnia seedlings upstairs under the lights that I could be transplanting.  It might be better to let them get further along first.  Also I'm not positive that's what they are, it's either that or Basil.  And at this point, there's no advantage to starting them in there; I should just direct sow any seeds I want, right into the ground.  Yeah, let's do that.  I think I'll just do the Giant Flower ones.  Yes, they will probably get obnoxiously tall, but they'll have such awesome flowers!  And they seem to be healthier plants than the Cut and Come Again, but that's not based on a very well controlled study.

Raised Bed- I am ready to plant the first tomato on the right side of the raised bed, with the nice big square cage.  I think I'll plant the Better Boy first, because I assume it's a longer season tomato.  (actually, they both say about 70 days.  But I think this is going to need more sun, because it's not going to be as huge as the cherry tomato, and it grows much bigger tomatoes.)

I will plant the Basil in the space between the two tomato cages.  I've got them oriented diagonally, so that gives some nice space in the middle front.  In the back, in the spaces between the wall and the cages, I'm thinking I can plant some Sunflowers.  Quick searching online found no reason not to plant them near tomatoes, and some people confirmed what I expected, that the tough stems can be extra support for tomato vines.  So I'll just throw 3 seeds into those spots and see what happens.

I've still got the last few Romaine heads, and all the Kale, and all 6 Radicchio, so I don't have the room to do the other tomato just yet.  I'll need to harvest the Lettuce soon, it's already getting to be too hot.  I'm planning to do it the end of this week, because we're supposed to get a few cool nights.  I'm kind of disappointed in the Kale, it's still pretty small.  I can certainly eat what's there, but it's not growing all huge and the leaves are like, the size of a spinach leaf.

I'm going to leave the Radicchio there.  I think they will survive the summer, since they get some nice shade at that end.  And I think they'll keep growing.  They've only just started to grow enough to form an actual head, so I think if we can keep them from bolting, they'll grow more and by the fall I'll have nice full grown plants.  Then when it gets cold, that will be the perfect time to harvest them.  If they start to look like they're not going to make it, I can just rip it out.  Or I could harvest 3 of them and leave the other 3 to see what happens.

And today I will go ahead and plant the Green Bean seeds in the little raised bed.  I've got the trellises in there, I've got the big ones near the end where the wall is taller, and then two of the small ones at the other end.  I'm planning to alternate the green and purple beans.  Of course, I know they're going to get crazy big, and outgrow those trellises before July.

In front of that, I've got the Strawberry plants, and they've been in there about a month.  I ended up not using all the bare roots, because I was trying to space them as directed, but I wish I had planted all of them, because only around half of them are growing.  I don't think I'm going to get any strawberries this year.  I might fill in the space around them with the Swiss Chard.

And once I plant all this, I want to cover the top with the worm castings.  I'm a little worried, because at least the first round of it was full of some kind of seeds.  So I've gotten some crazy weed situations on the seed starts, and in the containers with the herbs where I used some of this worm casting to make the potting mix.  I guess I'll just do it anyway, and hope for the best.

I will also plant the Parsley and the new Chives in the left end of the raised bed.  I'll still have the other tomato and the jalapeno, which I can't plant until I have the space.  I'm tempted to plant them into larger containers for now, but of course I don't have enough potting soil.  Now, I could just grow the pepper in a container the whole time.  Then I could bring it inside over the winter and make another attempt at perennializing it.  It would also mean it would get much more sun, and I'd have more room in the bed for other stuff, like Swiss Chard.  (Seriously, how much Swiss Chard are you going to grow?  Well, a lot, probably.  I eat it a lot, it's easy, it looks great, so yeah, let's grow a ton of it.)

on that note, what's going on with seed starting?  I've got 6 Morning Glories that are literally climbing up the walls they're so eager to get planted.  That should probably be the most important thing I do with this small bag of potting mix that I have.  I've got one of the 24" containers planted with the other 6, and I should do a second one with these 6.  Of course, I want to have 3 containers eventually, so I'll probably end up direct seeding the other one.  That will give me a clear distinction between the started and the direct seeded, so I know if the future which is a better approach.  I want to put them where the peas are now.  The peas are growing really fast, but they're a long way from making any peas.  I don't even have anything that looks like a flower yet.  It's been 8 weeks, so like, 56 ish days, and they're supposed to be 60 days to maturity.  I really don't think I'll get anything off of them in the next week.  And in 2 weeks, it will be too hot for them to even grow, and they'll shrivel up and die before producing anything.  What a waste of space.  I could just rip them out right now so I can put in the Morning Glories.  They didn't even get into the trellis netting very much, so it won't even be hard to get them cleaned up.  I'll throw them in the compost outside, and if they really are high in nitrogen, it should move it along a little faster.  Then I'll just transplant those others in there, which will be super easy, and they'll start to grow really fast.  I might get flowers earlier this year.  Now, do I want to plant them all in the 24" containers, or all in the 32", or what?  I mean, the 32" seems like a better idea, obviously, because they'll have more space, they'll fill the whole wall.  The only downside is the volume of soil needed.  Well, ok, I only have the 6 that are in the smaller one, which I can easily move, and the 6 I still need to transplant.  The third container can just wait a minute, and I'll buy potting mix this week.  Also, there are no drainage holes in those containers, so I'll empty the soil into something, drill some holes, and refill it.  And I think I will try to use those little tray things that make a reservoir for some water.  I know Mike McGrath thinks it's a bad idea, but I'm going to be really negligent about watering this summer, I know it.

Shit, you know?  That's all the Morning Glory. I don't have any more seeds.  I think I had scraped them and left them to soak, and forgot about them for a week.  Well, whatever, I can buy more at any store, everyone has these.

Ok, I put the Sunflower starts in the window box.  I'm going to sow a few more of the Elf sunflower seeds in there.  At some point, I might put in some other annuals to trail over the sides and give it some contrast.

So I've got like, 3 Nasturtium starts, and I think I will just go ahead and plant them in the gutter garden, probably in the bottom.  I'll also sow all the remaining Nasturtium seeds in there.  So for seed starting, I've got 2 trays of Swiss Chard, 3 trays of Drake's succulent thing, at least one of Basil, and I don't really know what the rest is. I mean, I think it's Basil.  It might also be Zinnias.  I think those are the only things I planted recently.  As the other things start to be ready to transplant, I'll fill the other 6-packs up with the succulent things.  I'm hoping the Swiss Chard starts to grow a little better.  They might need some food.  If they all do well, I'll have 12 plants, which is actually fine, I'm sure I can find space for them.  I might start another tray, because I wouldn't mind having more.  But those are the only seeds I should even be thinking about starting any time soon.

By August, I can start some of the fall veggies.  I think that's the best way to do it, because then they will reach maturity in like, October, when it will be a much better time to harvest them, because it's cold.

I also want to keep trying with these stupid Elephant Ears.  They haven't shown any kind of growth, but I will move them upstairs and put them under the lights.  The warmth and the light should get them going, if they're ever going to work.  Although, I don't really know what I should do with them.  The Patio bed is now very well filled with Coleus, Begonias, some Liriope in the front, and the two big Hostas in the corners.  Elephant Ears would not fit.

Fuck that Shit

So, I was thinking about that Rhododendron.  I bought it for like, $10 3 years ago. It is not a healthy plant.  It would take several hours to properly transplant it, and it is not a a healthy plant to start.  in the philosophy of whats her name, it does not bring me joy, so fuck it.

I went outside, in my bathrobe, and ripped that bitch out.  It already looks better.

And now I don't have to dig a hole in the woods.  And I can plant me bomb ass roses whenever I want.  And I don't give a fuck about what anybody sayin' right now.  

Things to do this Weekend

Last weekend, Drake and I got all the ornamental grass dug up, divided, and replanted.  Well, almost- I still have lots of quarters sitting there that I just couldn't deal with planting.  I was going to pack them up and bring them to the Flower Market, but they are way too big to fit in any containers.  If I am feeling like being a good person, I could try to cut them into smaller sections and then pot them up.  That would also enable me to water them and clean them up.  Then I would need to label them... I think I will print out some kind of label at work and tape it to the container. Then I would need to get them all into my car and bring it to Mom and ask her to bring them to the Flower Market, which she might not want to do.

We also divided two of the bigger Liriope, and I broke them into little sections and planted them in the patio bed.

Anyway, so much work to do next weekend

• Transplant Rhododendron.  I should of course dig the new hole first, and then try to dig up a lot of roots and move it in the afternoon.  and once I do that....
• Plant the Roses!!!  I can certainly plant two of them in the side bed- one will probably just go into the leftover hole.  The other will go kind of where the old Hellebore was.  and once I do that...
• Set up the soaker hose.  
• Move Hostas.  I think I want to move those baby bright green ones to the Patio bed.  I think they're supposed to stay tiny, I think they might be intended for containers.  Then I have those two big hefty blue-green ones.  If I gave them to my neighbor, they would probably do great for her...  I could move one to the back corner, which is probably one of the shadier parts.  Actually, I think I grew sunflowers there last year...  
• Plant Zinnias and Sunflowers.  I have the good Zinnias in the container, those will go near the back.  The sunflower starts will go near the front, and hopefully they will be their advertised size, less than 2 feet.  At that point, I can probably direct-sow some seeds of both the zinnias and the sunflowers.  

If I'm feeling ambitious, I will dig out the Liriope that's way in the back of the front bed.  I can also move the tulips there, but I think I would need to put them into a container so they can continue to do their thing.  Then I can cut it into small sections, and I think I'd like to use them as a border at the back of the side bed.  God, that liriope, I will need to cut that one thing into like, 12 sections. 

I think I need to move the Echinacea to make space for the Roses.  It's almost too big already, but after a year it would get way too crowded, and then it would be even harder to move them. I'm thinking I could put then in the side bed, on either side of the air conditioner.  

Vegetables!  

I can definitely plant the green beans.  I could do that now if I wanted to.  I have to be sure to put the trellises in at the same time, because if I wait for them to grow, I'll just end up messing them up.  

I should probably harvest some of the Romaine this weekend (if not tomorrow).  I could even bring some in to work if anyone would want them.  Or I'll bring them to Mom's.  We can make a big Caesar salad or something.  

Spring Veggie Recap

Ok, so what did I try to grow this spring, what worked, what didn't, what will I do differently next year?

Come to think of it, it is May, and I have not yet eaten anything I've grown.

In the raised bed I have Romaine lettuce, Bok Choy, Kale and Radicchio.  The Radicchio will probably just stay there until the fall, I think that's the kind of time they need to get to the size I was hoping for.  The Kale haven't really grown at all, which I don't really understand.

The Romaine and the Bok Choy are getting bigger.  It would be totally acceptable to pick them now, but I feel like they can still do a little more.  I wanted the bok choys to look more like the ones I'd buy in a store, with a nice base on them, but they're pretty flat to the ground.  No idea what I could do to help that. Maybe it needs calcium, to make more of that crunchy part, like cucumbers do?  I was thinking of putting down some worm castings to feed them, but I got lazy and just gave them Miracle Grow.  It was 10-10-10, so it would only be good for non-flowering plants, like those.  And now I've used it up and I'll never buy it again, ok?

Oh my god, the Radishes were such a failure.  They sprouted, I took them outside, and now they've got one set of leaves, they're weak and spindly and there is nothing resembling a radish at the roots, not even a beginning.  Going back to my notes, it's 45 days from when I planted the seeds.  That's 50% longer than the days to maturity advertised, and they are obviously not going to do anything.  I'm not sure this is worth ever trying again.  I mean, I could try in the fall.  They might be the kind of thing that likes to get going in August and then get picked in October or November.  But this was terrible!  I thought I'd at least get radish greens to eat.  I will certainly never buy radish seeds again, because I have tons.

The Peas are the biggest disappointment. (you hear that, peas?)  It's been 45 days since direct seeding for them, as well.  And they do say 60 days to maturity, so maybe I should be fair to them and leave them for another 2-3 weeks.  I'm just anxious to get the Morning Glories going strong so I can have that nice flower cover by mid summer.

I wish I had planted more lettuces.  I think even the supposedly easy things to direct sow like Mesclun and Arugula should be started under lights, for best results.  I could have transplanted them at the beginning of April, and I would have tons of greens now.  All things I can do better next time.

I guess I did start the Morning Glories too early.  I saw on Burpee that they should be started inside as early as March 1st, and that was already beginning of April, so I hurried to get them all into some soil, and now I just don't have room for them.  I should have waited to start them based on when they could be transplanted.

I started some of the Zinnias a little early, too.  I did kill half of them, so that solves that problem.  But the next round don't seem to be going as strong.  I think part of it is the seed starting mix, I've run out and I might have made my own out of something?  I think I even used some worm castings?

I cannot for the life of me get a Creeping Thyme plant to grow from seed!  I kind of get there, and then it dies.  And it has the lowest germination rate, it's crazy.  Cilantro seems to be ok- it takes a while to germinate, but they seem happy.  I think they're happier outside, of course.

Patio Bed!

So I haven't been actively thinking about what to put in this raised bed on the patio.  I still have a lot of crap in there, just dead plant bits, and I'm just going to bury it, because it will add bulk and not cause any problems.  Beyond that, I'm just going to buy a ton of potting mix and dump it.

Ok so what plants?  I could move some stuff I already have to  bulk it up some more.  I will certainly have some liriope, because they need to be divided and moved around.  You know, in theory I could fill it with the ornamental grass, and I'd have a total screen, but that's not much fun.  So Liriope sounds like a good idea.  I have a few Hostas in the side bed- 2 of the Patriot ones, and they're getting pretty big.  And I have like, 3 of these solid green babies that haven't gotten much bigger in the last two years. I've heard that the variegated ones don't do as well in full shade, that they need to be very green, chock full of chlorophyll, to thrive with so little sun.  I also heard they variegated ones are more susceptible to slugs, which is what I think happened to mine.  If they were in the raised bed, I don't know if slugs could get to them.

Actually, will the Liriope look ok next to those green and white hostas?  Probably not.  I mean, it won't look bad, to have that area full of any kind of plant.  I like the idea of having some perennials in there, so I don't just keep buying stuff.  Yeah, I'm thinking Liriope, the small green Hostas, and maybe a fern or something.  What about heights?  The liriope can be up to 20" high. Those little hostas are like, 6" high and not getting much bigger this year.

Anyway, Annuals to fill it out.

• Tuberous Begonias- 24" - pink - $25
• Rex Begonias- 8" - foliage - $8
• Caladiums- 12" - pink, white, green - $10
• Elephant Ears - 6" - 6' - solid green - $15
• Coleus- 24" - green and white, green and pink - $7
• New Guinea Impatiens- 20" - pink - $6
• Bedding Begonias- 12" - little pink flowers - $6
• Sweet Potato Vine - 6" - chartreuse  - $7

I have like, 10 good Coleus plants, which is awesome.  I planted those Elephant Ear bulbs in small containers inside a long time ago, like a month ago, and I'm not confident anything is going to happen with those.  Those things get HUGE, so even if I have to buy a plant, it might be worth it because it would be so impactful.  And WFF sells them for $16 each, which is not bad.  

Really, there should be something that trails over the side.  I guess it can be Tuberose Begonias, but that would require so many of them and they are expensive.  Sweet Potato Vine is the more obvious choice, and it grows like fucking crazy, and it's cheap.  If I do get some Tuberous Begonias, I think they would be better near the back, because they are going to be almost 2 feet tall.  Now, should I have Tuberous Begonias and bedding Begonias?  I want something with flowers, and I've got one Tuberous Begonia from last year.  Yeah, I think just a few of those, and no other flowers.  The Coleus will bring a lot of color.  I don't think I need any Rex Begonia, even though I think they're cool plants.  If I do see some Elephant Ears, I'll get one or two.  And no Impatiens.  

So I'm out looking for pink Tuberous Begonias, Elephant Ears, and Sweet Potato Vine.  Maybe at the Flower Market I'll look for more Hostas. 

In a few weeks, I can start thinking about the window box and the hanging basket thing.  Maybe just Petunias.  

Speaking of the Patio, I should probably pull out those peas and plant the Morning Glories in there, and maybe plant the Nasturtiums in the Gutter Garden.