Garden Update

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A lonely pansy peeks out from among
the sedum. Self seeded from last year.

The weather has been pretty flaky here in Brooklyn, NY these past couple of weeks. May brought us unseasonably warm weather with a couple of days past the 80 degree range but not a lot of rain. June, on the other hand, has brought much needed rain with much cooler temperatures. This has caused much confusion among my plants and they have shown their displeasure in a number of ways. My Alexander Darby rose, which produced some beautiful buds, drooped miserably when the colder weather hit us so the resulting blooms were sad looking. The rain has been a boon for my crops as well as for my weeds. Weeding is my least favorite thing to do and the garden has become a little scruffy looking for lack of diligent weeding.

A white heath aster shows up in one of
my pots. Take a look to the left of the
flower...I caught a bee just about
to land on it

To add to that chore, last year's bountiful morning glories left hundreds of seeds in their wake, all of which appear to be sprouting simultaneously. Seriously, there are parts of the front garden that are blanketed in morning glory seedlings, all of which must be ripped up and thrown out before they begin their insidious twining around the fence.

Lovely lavender survived the winter
to bloom fragrantly this spring.

And my tomatoes! Oh dear, what a predicament that is. I think I must have thrown tomatoes into the compost at some point without removing the seeds. So, of course, when I used my compost for planting my containers, the result has been dozens and dozens of tomato plants sprouting in every conceivable nook and cranny where they were not deliberately planted. I really don't know where I'm going to put them all but I hate the thought of throwing them out.

A mysterious plant (weed?) showed up
in the garden. Planted by a bird perhaps.

In spite of my garden woes, it continues to surprise me in many ways with blooms and plants in unexpected places. I have more than a few plants that I didn't plant but just showed up spontaneously. Last year's sweet allysum reseeded itself and is blooming beautifully with tiny white flowers floating over fluffy masses of greenery. A lonely pansy showed up in the middle of my sedum and a white heath aster has bloomed its daisy-like head in between some other plants. Then there are these two plants with large leaves that appear as if they will bloom into the second coming of Audrey II (from Little Shop of Horrors). I don't know what they are or where they came from but they're getting so big so fast I'm concerned about my lavender plant which is immediately next to it. In about a week I should know if it's a winner or bound for the trash bin.

I'll keep you posted.


Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

My December Garden

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Snapdragons

Spike plant and Ivy

It is the middle of December here in New York and Mother Nature still amazes me. I still have flowers blooming and my cilantro is still perky. In the glass shed I use as a makeshift greenhouse, there is a pot of white snapdragons that won't quit. It just keeps blooming and blooming. Right next to it there is a pot that contains a spike plant and some ivy that is as fresh now as it was in June.

Cilantro

Sweet Allysum

Lest you think that the only plants performing well are in a sheltered environment, let me introduce you to some of the others that are planted outdoors. Although my white sweet allysum which grew and bloomed like gangbusters all summer is waning, it is still putting on a show with a handful of tiny white snowball blooms.

Lavender

Pansies

In raised beds on either side of the allysum I have lavender and cilantro. The cilantro doesn't grow tall in this weather but the leaves are still fragrant and tasty and I just harvested some for my kitchen. In my backyard I have purple pansies that apparently missed the memo that winter was upon us and are still blooming with impudence.

I've been making adjustments to the hoop house I erected over the raised bed in my front garden. Last year I dismantled it for the winter and covered the bed with a layer of bubble wrap to insulate the soil somewhat and protect the onions I had planted. It seemed to work well enough. This year I'm trying something different. I'm planning to keep the hoop up and covering it with plastic and have added a ridge pole across the top of my hoops to strengthen the structure. I'm making a fitted cover for the hoop house from a roll of heavy duty plastic. I'm going to order special clips to hold the plastic in place and plan to install openings that will allow me to access the interior of the structure. I've never done this before and have no clue how this will work out so wish me luck. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Until then...

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Keeping Myself Grounded

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Anyone who has known me for more than five minutes knows I love my garden. Getting down and dirty with my plants is my favorite form of meditation. During the cold months I find myself poring through seed catalogs, gardening magazines and Pinterest for all manner of garden inspiration. As it turns out, Pinterest was the inspiration for today's garden project -- a tipsy tower of plant pots. Here is the original image that inspired me on the left. My rendition of it is on the right. Looking at them side by side I notice that mine looks short, stumpy and less elegant by comparison and yet I like it all the same. Next time I'll use taller, more elegant pots but for now I'll content myself with my happy jumble of petunias and violas.

Next on my agenda of garden projects is my raised garden bed. I procured the PVC lumber and had it cut, screwed it together and placed it in my front yard where it will serve as the new home for my vegetable garden. I have bought the landscape cloth, soil and amendments I need to fill the bed and have plants ready and waiting in the wings. I've been longing for a raised bed for so many years. Now I've finally gotten off my duff and done it. More on that project in the near future. Stay tuned.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva