Gardening

[cineater]

Wow, that's cool.  Tomatoes and peepers have to be buzz pollinated.  The bee actually disconnects its wings from its body and then vibrates those muscles that normally work the wings to vibrate (buzz) the flower so the pollen falls out.

[cineater]

And the truth comes out, fuck.  My new garden club, the one I just wanted to have a backseat in, stuck me with another bed.  I already have 9 beds I care for and various spots at my other club's main garden.  I saw this one last year and thought that sucks.  I brought them some plants for it and some mulch.  That's probably what did it.  It's far from my house and has no water source so you have to bring water.  I stayed away from it last year.  Didn't want to push my opinion since some other people were in charge.  But I've been conscripted.   

Anyway, I've got a Gold Star Memorial bed.  The other folks backed out.  I'm honored to garden up a spot for people who have lost someone in military service.  Not prepared but I'll step up.  Give me a minute, I won't let you down.  But I'm thinking that's all I need is to impress the parks department.  They already kind of know my name.  Yeah, I'm going to have to fly under the radar with this one.

[cineater]

I had to peel and stick 1200 plant labels.  It took 9 hours and two pots of coffee.   

[cineater]

Today they seeded the drain basin next to my house with native grasses.  It had all been trees but that is against the city ordinance.     And after they left, I was over there planting native wild flowers.     Talked to the city lady and she said it would be okay.  My plan is to fill up the area behind my friend's house.  The wind blows the wrong way for those seeds to spread so after that, I'll go to the top.  This is going to take many years but eventually, it will be mostly wildflowers.  Then again, I put out a call for native plants.  My friend's section could be done this year.    

I'm doing what they call a salad bowl.  They won't be planted in groups and spaced apart.  It will look more like a mixed field of diverse plants.  Brings in more kinds of bugs.  You don't work it, just mow it down about now once a year.  Better to weed whack it high but the city is going to be in charge of that.  That has to be 3 or 4 acres.  Not doing that.

[cineater]

We'll see if this works.  We had to cut back the Thornless Blackberry bush.  I cut the live canes to 12 inches and just stuck them in the ground.  I'll see if they root.  I did this last year with a pear branch and we got a tree out of it.  Doesn't work I can get my hands on some babies.

Put some in my native planting area.  Not a native but I plan to let it grow wild and it's good for the wildlife so sort of native.  

At the rate I'm going I'm going to have a good section of the drain basin knocked out by the end of the month.  I'm planting the top of the slope on the west side so when the plant goes to seed and the wind blows, the seeds will blow into the bowl.  They put out the native grass seed over a week ago.  We've had some good germinating rain so I'm expecting the grasses to pop up any day.

[cineater]

Damn it, more aphids.  Is it just a year we are getting them, was it in the soil, do we have an infestation in our growing houses that will come back next year?  We have an aphid pandemic!

A couple more weeks until the plant sales.  Everybody is coming in on time, starting to bloom.  Marsha is an amazing woman to coordinate all this.  In the mean time the gardens are kicking into gear.  3 out of 21 gardens still need a spring clean up.  The garden educational programing starts next weekend, actually Thursday night.  Not sure how all this came together but the calendar is full.  Marsha and I get going and we get this organization on its feet.  I nominated her for a state award.  She was totally caught off guard.  Hope she gets it.  We do this for no money, it's fun but damn it's a lot.

[cineater]

Last Sunday with a full greenhouse.  Our plant sale is spread out over two weekends this year.  Hoping for a reduction in plants next Sunday.  Then again it smells so good in there and it's so pretty I hate to see them go.     Then again, not enough coffee in the world, my ass is dragging.  Have to stay away from Marsha.  She's either laughing hysterically or she just may kill you on the spot.     And she can switch that mood pretty quick.  Anyway, if you're looking for God this Easter, in the greenhouse with me, it's beautiful in there.

[cineater]

It's been a cold spring.  Hopefully the last time I get the frost cloth out.  We even wrapped the cherry and peach trees tonight.  The figs haven't even come out from their winter protection.  The last few years we have been harvesting lettuce by this time.  Stuff is growing but it's slow.

[cineater]

My friend is having one of her retaining walls redone so I was over there digging out natives.  This time I'm working on the bowl of the drain basin on my side of the drainage ditch.  I have to wonder what the 30 some odd neighbors think.  Every few days I show up pulling my green wagon with a bunch of plastic sacks full of plants.  I set the bags out and go about planting.  When I leave there is green clumps in a field of yellow hay.  It's kind of a strange landscape.  I feel like I'm in a fish bowl when I'm out there.

I have areas of palm sedges along the drainage ditch.  Throwing tree branches in a pile for the wildlife.  Might try growing some mushrooms in there if I can keep the one neighbor from picking it up and burning it.  I keep explaining natives to him and he keeps telling me the city may realize their mistake and come in there and redo it.  He wants them to sod the place with grass.  Nothing I can do about it, not my property.  Just hope people don't come in and dig up the plants.

In the meantime, I sowed seeds for Shrubby St John's Wort.  Great germination, probably 50 came up.  The plan is to line the fence line with them.  I'll probably have to grow them up first and plant them this fall.  They look like this:

[cineater]

She's dead.  The lady who pushed the city to take down the trees in the drain basin because she didn't like the tree branches hanging over her fence.  She was hit by a car in the Walmart parking lot and died last fall.

We have a mated pair of ducks that moved into the creek that runs through there.  We're not suppose to have a creek because it should drain fully to dry.  It's not level at the drain end and it backs up leaving about 5 inches in there all the time.  I like having a creek but the other neighbors are starting to get worried about mosquitos.  The city is going to look into it.  They wouldn't give me an answer if it was suppose to be like that.  I hope they don't have to tear it up again.  Migratory Bird Act says they can't do anything while the ducks are there if they establish a nest.  I hope we get some baby ducks.

[cineater]

Plant sale is over!  Two days of being stuck in a room with flowering plants, you know my head hurts.  We did pretty good in sales.  I only got about 15 flats to put out in my beds.  I let the leads pick from the left over annuals and then I design and plant with what is left.  Marsha destroys what is left after me so we can recover our soil.  I'm not good with killing a living plant but I have no shade and I'm not taking celosia.  It's too bad of a reseeder.

My lettuce bed is going down.  It got to stay for the sale but it's ready to harvest and there are hungry people.  It is so beautiful!  It is a mass harvest so the tops get cut off and it will grow back one more time before it is done.  In the meantime, the summer plants are big enough to go in now.  I'll hold them for a few weeks but I'm hoping it stays cool.  I didn't know it but the summer design last year made the rounds on a couple of photographer's facebook pages.  Cool, it was a show stopper.  I've got another attention getter planned for that bed.  Hope it does what I plan.

The Rose Mallow didn't come up very well so it didn't sell.  That is the native hibiscus and they don't want to hold it over until next year.  I'm getting them!  That is going to look so good out there along the creek with the palm sedge.  I hope people don't start stealing my plants out there thinking they are wild.  The city was out there today.  They admit there is something wrong with the creek not draining and admitted they asked the contract to clean out the sediment.  Probably the problem.  I again mentioned the nesting ducks.  He said he saw them.  Turns out he is an engineer.  Doesn't know shit about plants.

[cineater]

Score!  20 Rose Mallow, a flat of Turtle Head and another of Blue Lobelia.  Both of those are cuties. 

And a flat of Columbine.  Love it, have a yard full of it, but who doesn't have Columbine.  I was just going to collect the seeds off mine and go Johnny Apple seed it.  Missouri's native is red unlike Colorado's which doesn't like our heat that is purple.  Love that one.

[cineater]

https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/279755014_5133824266663562_3132568791737571523_n.jpg?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-6&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=41jgdvOBP6YAX-c8kcg&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=00_AT9HM5K9fVHViiiRfwG6N-fttvRgkvS_zyb0QWeQq913xw&oe=627E76A0

There's my lettuce!  The bag is for the summer flowers.  I'll plant the top and the sides.  That's one wing of a butterfly shaped bed.  The other side looks the same.

[cineater]

Record rainfall and we have standing water.  It's been wet and cool so the pansies are running behind.  They are just starting to bloom.  I have a garage full of summer plants waiting to get harden off and go in.  Timing is fucked up this year. 

[cineater]

Shit, we're jumping into the 90's.  I'm down to 16 flats.  The plants would be okay in the sun but the roots wouldn't be in the soil if I plant them now.  I'd have to water.  I'm going to have to hold off until the weather improves next week.

[cineater]

https://www.facebook.com/MUExtStCharlesCo/?eid=ARCX0O6vW8HbZU3KjbL03GZv7vgadOcZk9XtogRGa6Y3BnIwPVCilwIEEN9SxooYKLcWL_gsxAcNqADZ

Del was afraid the lettuce would bolt if we didn't take it all.  That's not me but that is my trunk on the way to the food pantry.  31 pounds of lettuce.

[cineater]

I think I have the butterfly shaped garden worked out.  The yellow Portulaca, moss rose, will make up the tower of flowers.  The purple and white Dianthus mixed with the accent yellow plant, Joseph coat and Plains Coreopsis will make up the upper wings.  Not sure if I got the mahogany or the yellow in the plains but either will work.  In the lower wings, multicolor snap dragons and the Garden Leader Pink Gazania.  I have two orphaned eggplants for the middle.     I always grow a few veggies in the middle to show you can inter mix those with your flowers.  And they are purple so it works.

[cineater]

It's so hot out there, the plants are staying in the garage today.    

[cineater]

Finally got around to my yard.  It's nice to be home.  Doesn't take long to whip it into shape.  Got a little planting left to do.  The leaf mulch comes in Tuesday.  Keep the push on I'll be done by Friday at the garden.  We went to mid summer temperatures but were getting back down there this week.  Good thing because that heat was kicking my ass.  I'm down 5 pounds and I'm sure it's because I sweated it out.

[cineater]

Woohoo!  The annual flowers are in and all my beds have mulch.  Jim told me he put some mulch down on some stuff I let him plant for me.  Er, he decorated with mulch.  I came along and put 4 to 5 inches on top of it.  That's mulched.  I weed once per month and rarely water.

We have been running a good 10 to 15 degrees hotter than normal.  Out there at the crack of dawn and on the couch all afternoon recovering.  Try to garden after dark with a head lamp and it attracts all the June bugs.  Never think gardening isn't dangerous.  They fly right into your head.   

Really happy with the basin.  The native plants I put out there all took.  I Johnny Apple Seeded the shade area with Squaw Weed.  My Columbine is going to seed and I'll spread that around out there.  I was walking the area and can see the seeds they put in for wildflowers are coming up.  It will take most of them 3 years to grow before they stand out.  I still need to transplant the scrubs and raise them so I can plant in the fall.