Tag Archives: Plants

Vegetable Garden Planting

May 21, 2020Country Life, GardensGardens, Plants, Vegetablescindyhazelett

We spent most of the day yesterday putting in our vegetable garden. We tilled one row and planted it with seeds for icicle radishes, turnips, and beets, less than a week ago. All of them are up already.

Yesterday morning hubby gave the rest of the garden it’s final tilling. I made hills and planted the cucumber, yellow crookneck squash, and zucchini seeds, while hubby planted green bean and Romano bean seeds.

We worked together planting four types of tomatoes that we purchased as plants. We chose lemon boy, Romas, pineapple, and Mr. Stripey varieties. Mr. Stripey is my all time favorite tomato. I search it out every year. It has the perfect, slightly sweet tomato flavor. Since it is a combination yellow and red tomato, it is lower in acid, but still has great flavor.

At this point, hubby had to go mow the yard before the rain set in. So, I finished up planting sugar snap pea, a mixture of lettuce, and spinach seeds. I watered all the vegetable plants after that. Hubby watered them again before dark.

I watered all again this morning, and mulched the tomatoes with grass clippings. Garden 2020 is off to a good start.

And then before coming in for the evening, the smell of the lilacs and lily-of-the-valley was so sweet, I had to bring a few sprigs inside so I could continue to enjoy them!

Spring Planting

May 19, 2020Cooking, Country Life, GardensBaking, Flowers, Gardens, Plantscindyhazelett

This was a busy day. This morning I baked bread since we were nearly out. Then I made an oatmeal cake with chocolate frosting.

The afternoon was devoted to planting many of the flowers we purchased yesterday on our trip out into public for the first time in over two months. I planted the usual six hanging baskets for our porch.

From there I planted some urns and pots for the patio garden.

Dahlias and mounding vinca

Dahlia and Petunia

I bought a new dianthus to add to one of the flowerbeds. We already have some, but they have been coming back for many years and I thought we could use some new stock. This one is a nice, bright pink.

I didn’t plant these bleeding hearts. They are a perennial that was here long before I bought this property. The blooms are peaking right now, so I wanted to share them with you.

Gardening season has begun in earnest. We will plant the rest of the vegetable garden this week. Our radishes and turnips are up already in less than a week!

Flowers and Social Distance

May 18, 2020Gardens, Thoughts On LifeFlowers, Plants, Social Distancecindyhazelett

We bought flowers for the gardens today. It is the first time we have been inside a store of any kind in over two months. We, of course, wore masks.

Most folks were wearing masks and polite, keeping their social distance. Some were not wearing masks, but kept their social distance. I saw a few wearing masks beneath their noses, but covering their mouths. I guess even if they weren’t protecting themselves, at least they were protecting others and making an effort.

And then, there were those few who wore no mask and did not keep their distance. One lady was shopping while yapping on her phone. She seemed intent on following us up and down the aisles and looking at flowers where we were standing. We did not seem to be able to get away from her. We finally went to another area of the garden section.

During checkout, there were not enough markers 6 feet apart for the amount of customers. A man without a mask apparently did not have a concept of 6 feet. He kept inching closer and closer.

I am not an “in your face” person, but I was just shy of telling these shoppers to back off. This is not a game to us. Our family has high risk concerns. Please consider how your behavior affects others. If you are not going to wear a mask, at the least, give others space.

Once we returned home, it was time for planting! We got just a handful of flowers tucked in before it started to rain. So, we know what tomorrow holds. More planting! The beautiful blooms made me feel like I had trays of jewels awaiting me. I guess I do.

A Satisfying Weekend

May 17, 2020Country Life, GardensFlowers, Plants, Springcindyhazelett

It was nice enough to sit on the patio this weekend. It was enjoyable to sit and appreciate all the hostas and other plants that we moved into last year’s new raised beds. In fact, after a long winter and disappointing spring, we are enjoying many plants.

New growth is everywhere at this time of year. On a walk through our little township park, we saw many May apples. They remind me of little parasols.

The last of the viburnum blossoms overlapped with the first lilacs of spring.

And the large scarlet azalea is once again a showstopper.

April 25, 2020Country Life, Dogs & Other Animals, GardensDogs, Gardens, Plants, Workcindyhazelett

The last couple days have been filled with gardening.

Yesterday we split enough hostas to fill the back of last year’s new raised bed. We also started lining the English ivy bed behind it with hosta.

Hubby used the tractor to haul decomposed wood chips to the vegetable garden. I split one of our smaller groups of daffodils and ended up planting 51 bulbs. I also split my comfrey plant in two. I like the comfrey because it draws hummingbird moths like nothing I’ve ever seen.

Today we tilled a smaller, new flower bed to prepare it for planting. I also transplanted a columbine, and planted a lily that I overwintered on the side porch. Hubby transplanted a volunteer cedar seedling.

Then, I sat on the patio with the dogs and read. To be honest, I am kind of hoping for rain tomorrow so I can have a break.

Preparing the Gardens

A Bright Spot

January 22, 2020Gardens, Thoughts On LifeGardens, Inspiration, Plantscindyhazelett

My husband and I like to have plants around in the winter time to enjoy, and to give us hope that spring is on the way.

This parlor palm is a plant that I brought home from work when I retired at the end of November. It was gifted to me by a former coworker when he retired. I am particularly proud of this tree because it was spindly and only had a few branches when I got it. This was through no fault of my desk mate. Our office had no windows and he would keep the poor thing going by putting it on a filing cabinet in the hallway every weekend.

I was moved to my own office eventually and it had a window. The window was shaded by a large pine tree but the palm liked it better than having no window. The palm grew a few more branches even if they did have brown tips.

When I retired, I brought the palm home and it now has a large window with good light. The palm has grown a number of new branches in the past couple of months and is as healthy as I’ve ever seen it.

It sits on one of our mantels along with a lantana and a mandevilla that I dug up before frost and am wintering over to put back in the raised garden beds again next year. The wreath is made with bittersweet berries that my husband harvested from our property for just this purpose. The orangey red of the berries is cheerful in the darker months.

I even dressed the parlor palm up for Christmas so it fit in with the festivities.

It is important to create bright spots in our world that make us feel good and remind us of good times. It is a healthy thing to do. This palm fits the bill because I think of growth, greenery, and new life, as well as my thoughtful coworker when I see it.

How can you make a bright spot in your world?

Flower Walk

April 30, 2019Country Life, GardensFlowers, Plants, Springcindyhazelett

Early spring always calls for a walk around our property to look for signs of life. And it is so exciting when you find some. It means winter is on its way out. And while I like winter, there is a time for everything and this is the time for gardens and warmer days. Above is the lungwort nestled amongst the vinca vine. It is a native perennial. You can identify even without the flower, by its mottled leaves.

These are the only trilliums we have. Trillium were once endangered in Ohio. They do not like to be disturbed so I have never moved them. They are also nestled amongst the vinca vine. The lungwort and trillium like to grow in shade. They reside in our pine grove under the tall trees.

Pale pink blossoms belong to the viburnum. The bush and its flowers are not particularly showy but the smell is amazing. Worth growing for the fragrance alone.

This is the beginnings of flowering on our red bud trees. I was not familiar with them before we bought these from the county extension office but I am a big fan.

These trees are also from the county extension office. They are river birches. It amazing what you can grow from sticks not even as big around as a pencil.

We have many plants from the extension office because we like the try new things. Their offerings are selected to do well in our area. We have several of these bushes from one such experiment. They are plum bushes that grow little football shaped plums. So far the bushes have only produced a few fruits and the birds enjoyed those before we had the chance.

Onward spring! I look forward to many more blooms.

Native Plants

May 20, 2018Country Life, GardensPlants, Springcindyhazelett

Walking around our property I see that many of our early bloomers are native plants. The bleeding heart or Dicentra looks so delicate.

And we are lucky enough to have a trillium with five stalks. They are not very common. I just learned recently that another name for trillium is wake robin.