Gardening Monday

The first day of no school for the kids and we are recovering from the beach (pics to follow shortly).  The garden was a bit dry after a few days of relying on the rain here.  The tomatoes continue to produce and grown nicely.  One of the cherry tomato plants is looking VERY dry, but I am hoping it will be fine now that it has a bit of water.  The fruit/vegetable are still there so I think it will recover.  Unfortunately the de Bourbonne cucumber are looking terrible.  Many of them are yellow and they are growing curved which I know I know is not a good sign.  I think this Floida heat is too muc for them.  Plus I am wondering about an infestion of some white bugs from the green beans - it's possible that I will need to invest in some galic spray to keep away pests.  The thai egg plant are beginning to flower - purple thus far.  And the asparagus bean plant is ready for a trellis so that is a project for later this week. 

And the flowers are finally beginning to bloom.  What looked like this last week . . .

. . . now look like this

Happy Monday!

Good Morning from the Beach

Progress

". . . Sweep down the cobwebs of worn-out beliefs,

And throw your soul wide open to the light

Of Reason and of knowledge. Tune your ear

To all the wordless music of the stars,

And to the voice of Nature; and your heart

Shall turn to truth and goodness as the plant

Turns to the sun . . . ."

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1855-1919)

 Poem entitled Progress

Gardening Monday

Despite having a stomach bug for the past ten days, the garden continues to progress.  I picked the green beans clean and pulled out the stalks as production had decreased to just a few errant beans.  The second plants started from seed are about a foot high and ready to be planted in the garden tomorrow.  Tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are still flowering but no fruit (vegg? - the great debate rages on) yet.  The baby cucumbers have started coming in with a handful that I plan to pick tomorrow.  I hope the rest develop quickly so pickles can be made.  The asparagus bean and Thai eggplant are growing lovely and green - not sure what to expect as this is the first time I have grown these.  As for the herbs - the parsley continues to flourish; the rosemary started from seed is just beginning to poke through; the sage and thyme seem to be recovering well. 

Pictures of it all soon, but for now I am off to meet my secret love for a farewell meeting as (1) I finished painting the bedroom and some accents are needed and (2) the kids are out of school for summer vacation this Thursday and my dalliance will have to come to a heartbroken end (at least for a bit).  I might even have some beach pictures next week as FIL has offered us his beach condo for this weekend to celebrate the end of school.

Have a good Monday!

Back Next Week

Have had stomach flu and trying to finishing painting master bedroom and bathroom before the kids get out of school next Thursday.  Until then, enjoy a cup of coffee

And enjoy the view!

Happy Mother's Day!

Grammie's Garden 2007

Hello, my name is Hexe and I am addicted to IKEA

It started out so innocently on Valentine's weekend.  When I finished painting the den, Hubby and I decided we needed a desk.  The lap top needed a home and the kids needed a place for homework.  It was a gorgeous weekend - cold and sunny.  So we drove an hour to visit IKEA.  I'd been before, but it so overwhelming at first that I could just stare; my mind unable to comprehend the various room configurations.  So we found a desk - nothing fancy - just an area for books, the laptop and maybe a bit of space for homework.  And it was good.

But then, I finished painting the living room.  And Hubby in his frugal manner was about to pull out the ten year old couch pillows which totally clashed with my new paint job.  I had to drive by the IKEA for an appointment, so I figured I'd stop and JUST SEE if they had any pillows.  And how could I resist these

(And the four large flower pots which now are filled with veggies and herbs . . . )  But it was still good.

So the living room is painted we've rearranged the furniture and there is is this very empty lonely wall and lots of books throughout the house.  Another meeting and another visit to you know where.  But I was strong this time, I just looked, not one purchase ( well, except for some ligonberry  "saft" and a chocolate bar to console myself . . . ).  And then yesterday, another meeting and I knew I had guests coming tonight for dinner and these books were everywhere and

PH is still saying it's all good, but I think that he is damn glad I only have one more meeting over near IKEA.

Gardening Monday

My approach to gardening is to consider the process magic.  You plant a seed in dirt and stuff you were going to throw out, add a little water, some sun, and magically the thing grows.  I do realize there is a science behind the process - ph levels, soil consistency, temperature consideration.  But thus far the magical approach works for me.  Now that said, it doesn't always work exactly when expected.  Such as last autumn when I put in lettuce and grew some sad looking wilted plants because it is still an inferno here.  However, I was rather surprised when during our cold snap in January, my dormant lettuce took off and for several weeks we had fresh lettuce through April.  I also know that in the interest of the science of gardening, I should be documenting what I plant, when I plant, and the results, so the following year I can better prepare.  I even have a book to write this down in - except that I haven't.  So in the interest of science and to force me to take some pictures even during a busy week, I decided to start documenting my garden here on Mondays.  Feel free to give advice or just laugh at my utter ineptitude.

This weekend we did a second pick of the green beans which are still flowering.  I plan to use the beans in a summer salad for dinner with a friend on Wednesday.  The first batch was quite good so I have high hopes for the salad.

I know last year I had about half a dozen good picks before the plants stopped producing so in the interest of continuing the green beans through out the summer, I started another round of plants inside.  I also started some more rosemary inside and the kids sunflower seeds and the asparagus beans outside in pots.  The asparagus beans are a new try that are suppose to do well in humid Florida summers - we'll see.

The tomato plants that went in at the same time as the green beans are still not producing many blooms.  I suspect the late frost may have taken its toll, but as there are a few blooms, I'll give it them a couple more weeks before clearing out the plants.  The potted black cherry tomatoes are coming along, although still no blooms.  I think I might have to actually read something about growing tomatoes as I am told they are easy to grow and I seem to have some tomato growing deficiency.

Thankfully my de bourbonne cucumbers have boomed thus demonstrating I am not a total failure at gardening.  Can't wait to turns these babies into pickles!

And I won't mention the unknown pot.  I put in peppers and thai eggplant in two separate, unlabeled pot.  One died and one is growing green leaves and I haven't a clue which is which - I suspect it is the eggplant growing as I have seen a pepper plant before and these leaves does not resemble the memory, but who knows.  Another magical surprise!

The parsley and rosemary in the ground continue to flourish.  And in the interest of attempting to expand into flowers, I planted this

Under the mulch is about a foot of stones from the former owner's rock garden (it was truly hideous!).  As very little grows in the area, I decided to try a pot of bougainvillea (new river) in the back, some angelonia in the middle, and a few celosia in the front.  As the front two are annuals in Florida, I can replace with the seasons.  We'll see how this experiment goes as I am known for killing the most of hardy of flowers and have less tolerance for my non-edible plants.

Next week - maybe one more attempt at flowers.