Signs of Spring

Evergreen pansies are the first to flower in my 2010 garden. What welcome faces! They are surrounded by lots of babies so it will be fun to watch them spread. I have a bunch of weeding to do around them as well. I need to figure out the best way to mulch while still allowing my self-sowers to grow. I've been thinking about putting in more ground covers, especially creeping thyme, to help control weeds and make the area prettier.

This little crocus is smaller than appears on-screen. I didn't even see it from the kitchen window but discovered it when I went outside to take pictures of daffodil shoots. I'm very happy to see something emerging after digging it in this fall. Directly behind the crocus you can see one of my perennial carnations, looking very woody but with a tiny bit of new green growth starting near the base. I need to research how to trim it up for spring.

On the left you can see what is most likely a pair of daffodils emerging from the soil. You can see them just barely pushing up. On the right may be a crocus or a thinner-leaved daffodil. I'll know within weeks. There are lots of tiny alyssum seedlings scattered all around the flower bed. It's nice to have been gardening for at least a few years now so I'm getting to know my flowers from the weeds.

First in 2010

Well, it looks like the Irises are up a little early this year. They are in the back near the south wall of the house. Maybe their location makes the conditions a bit warmer and now they think spring is upon us already. Or maybe I got them in the ground too late and they are just plain confused. Just hoping they make it. I think if there is a freezing snap, I will get out there and cover them with some bark mulch. Is that a good idea? If they freeze this year, will they have a chance next, or will they need replaced? Right now we are in the upper 40's, so no worries for the moment.

I've been devouring the Territorial catalog. I lost the first one they sent me, and then last week another just showed up in the mail. I asked husband if he ordered me a new one and he said no. So it's a catalog miracle and I'm very happy to read and re-read it. I've to it with a highlighter a few times, marking which tomatoes and other plants I'd like to try. (Then I left said highlighter out in the living room and toddler promptly found it.....) Then those irises decided to pop up and now I really can't wait to get started. I'm planning a field trip to the Territorial nursery this spring. It might be a good idea to organize a seed share with my fellow gardeners.

The new flower I plan to grow this year are Hollyhocks. They can grow up to 6 feet tall. How fun! Almost time to convert the basement back into a working greenhouse.

Thoughts in Winter

It's so dreary in my garden that I don't feel like posting any pictures. I should document winter though so maybe one of these days I'll get to it. Well, it is hard because it's dark most of the day.


I did get all the bulbs dug in before Thanksgiving. So glad I did because we had a very long cold snap of below freezing temperatures, and the ground is much easier to dig in when it's not frozen. It's good to know that the work is done, but I am worried that some of them are in too deep. I bought a mixed bag that is supposed to give you a varied garden, and it said to put them in 6 inches. But some of the flowers in there were crocuses and I realized a bit too late that crocuses really shouldn't be in deeper than 2 inches. So I'm a little worried but I'll try not to let it bother me. If they don't come up, there's always next year for another try. And if you're wondering, no, I am not about to dig in the ground searching for crocus bulbs. I am not the kind of gardener who digs up tulip bulbs to store in the garage for the next year, so you can be sure I won't rummage the ground for crocuses either. Not at this point in my life anyway. I am looking so much forward to spring when I know that some of those bulbs I planted will pop up and flower!


I have been pondering my vegetable garden and would like to share what I would not grow again, what I would grow again, and what I'd like to try.


Would not grow again (not guarantees though, I am free to change my mind):


Broccoli. I tried to grow broccoli this year and it just didn't work out. The plants look amazingly healthy and are still out there, green in the garden with pretty yellow flowers atop. But I got nothing I considered to be usable heads of broccoli. What I did find was covered in tiny gray aphid like creatures, and they could hide so well I'd never be sure I cleaned them all away. I didn't use any pesticides in my vegetable garden this year and would like to keep it that way. Anyway, broccoli not worth my while this year and I plan to save it's space for something else next.


Cucumber SMR 58. What a strangely shaped cucumber. The package said good for pickling and slicing. To me, the flavor was bitter as if for pickling, but the strange shape was good for nothing. Toddler did eat them up, but I'll try a less-bitter slicing cucumber next year. "Fountain", "Babylon" and "Green Slam" from the Territorial catalog sound promising, and I can't help but consider growing "Rocky," listed as growing miniature, bit-size 2-3" long cucumbers. Oh, the choices and yet the lack of land to grow them all.


Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes. They did give me lots of tomatoes, but they are such big monstrous plants that they needed constant attention to keep them staked up.


What I would grow again: (in the order of which they come to mind)


Chives More!
Parsley More!
Strawberries
Spaghetti Squash
Zucchini. I'd like to try growing "Eight Ball" and a yellow just for fun.
Carrots. Maybe I'll try a full size this year and see how they do.
Green Pole Beans So tasty. I grew Kentucky Blue Pole beans and will again.
Dill. More, and planted closer together, and successive plantings.
Cilantro. Much more this time, and remember successive plantings so I don't run out when they bolt.
Lettuce. Never expected it to do so well and feed us for so long as we waited for other veggies to catch up. I loved having the mixed pack of seeds.
Radishes. Not too many, but fun to have around. Maybe grow in containers.
Roma VF Tomato. Compact, healthy plants throughout the season with lots of fruit.
Miniature Bell Peppers. The pride of my garden, but I might try growing "Yum Yum Gold" next time around. The description says they have few seeds, which would be nice. The mini bells I grew this year from Territorial were just full of seeds. It's OK, just a bit of a pain to prep. They grew so well that I still have a few bags of them in the freezer.
Basil. My plants (grown from seed by me) never look as good as the ones they sell outside of Trader Joe's, but I'll work on improving them. We had a few pesto dishes and that was fun.
Sugar Snap Peas. I've always grown peas, even once in a pot on an apartment balcony.



Alright, that's all I can think of for now. And that's just the edibles. Not including the blueberries, which are technically husband's.


What I want to grow:


Leeks I've never even bought them at the store or cooked with them, but they sound neat on all those cooking shows on TV.
Yellow Doll Watermelon. OK just kidding, but I should give my dad some seeds and see how he does. It says they mature in 76 days and are 5-8 pounds. I think it's possible!
Spinach. I read somewhere that Western Washington is the spinach capital of the US. So why haven't I grown any yet?
Determinate Cherry Tomato. Looking for a small plant with tasty fruit.
Snow Peas. For stir-frying.
Shelling Peas. To shell and save in the freezer. I'll plan to have one cage dedicated to each type of pea.


I might add to the list later, but that is all for now. What is it about seed catalogs?

Another View

I took this photo about 30 minutes ago from the veranda. We hadn't seen Mt. Rainier in several days due to poor weather, but got lucky with a view today. OK this is not really IN my garden, but let's say it inspires the gardener.

I haven't been doing much outside lately. I've moved on to my indoor hobbies for the most part. A few weeks ago I dug in a lot of bulbs around the back yard. I still have a lot more to put in the front flower bed, but I am putting it off because I would have to dig into the alyssum. The alyssum is still flowering a little so I hate to get rid of them. Maybe I should just get it over with but it's so hard to toss out a plant if it still has even one flower left. I also like to leave them to set seed. Better an alyssum than a weed, and better a plant than me out there weeding. I think the crocuses are starting to sprout while they wait in the garage to be put in the ground. I should get to it soon. I did clean out the petunias and prune back some scraggly plants. It is very fun to think of the surprises that will pop up out of the ground in spring. I hope I planted the bulbs in right.

View from My Window

I wanted to share with you the view from my kitchen window. This is where I'm looking most of the day it seems. Three meals a day and two snacks in between for the kids, and we are often in the kitchen. When we open the window we can enjoy the scent of alyssum. I let the alyssum take over the front bed. Better that than the red clover that's trying to conquer my entire garden.

We acquired three California Wax Myrtles. They are evergreen and native to the area so they should do well. It was either them or arbor vitaes, but I do like the color and look of their leaves better. We hope that they grow quickly to create a nice screen. We were told they should grow at least 8 inches a year. I think I'll make a little bulb garden in front of them.

A report on fall vegetable gardening:

The radishes have done well and have not been eaten up as badly as the spring batch was. We (toddler and I) pulled a few more carrots yesterday. What's not growing well is the lettuce. The lettuce is just sitting there a few inches tall and doesn't seem to be growing at all. Must be too cold. The cilantro and dill are gone. Parsley has not sprouted, but there are two volunteer pea plants. I think I picked the last 3 green beans yesterday.

A Day's Harvest

Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, miniature bell peppers, the last few tiny zucchini, one small, oddly-shaped cucumber, a handful of green beans and a bunch of "Easter Egg" radishes. Not a bad harvest from my little garden as summer creeps away and fall sneaks in.

Harvesting While Planning for Next Spring

Just into fall and we are still harvesting. Today we had spaghetti squash, miniature red bell peppers, and a cucumber with dinner.


I have three bowls of Roma tomatoes on the counter along with one of cherry tomatoes. I need to chop, seed and freeze the tomatoes.


I'm still harvesting handfuls of green beans. Every few days I'll have enough beans for two dinner servings. There are still a few green onions growing, but their tips are starting to yellow so I'm trying to use those up. There are two or three zucchini out on almost dead plants, so I think I'll pick them tomorrow. The alpine strawberries are producing several red berries daily, which toddler enjoys to forage.


Let's not forget the carrots, though it's easy to do since they are mostly underground. There are still several carrots growing. I've been harvesting them as needed or when toddler thinks it would be fun to dig in the garden.



The broccoli is producing, but the heads are so tiny that they just flower before they seem big enough to pick. I haven't had any, but it's another thing that I let toddler pick and eat as desired.



As far as herbs, there is still basil and oregano growing which I should probably harvest and dry before the cold gets to them. The chives and parsley should be fine left to grow through the winter.


In hopes of a later fall harvest, I have a set of radishes started. Some are ready to be picked and served to toddler, who loves them. Also started are three lettuce plants, more green onions, cilantro, dill and parsley. I'm not sure how much these late plantings will produce, but I had the seeds and the ground so it's worth a try.


Today we had a field trip to Furney's Nursery to find bulbs to plant for flowers next spring. Here is what I have to put in the ground:

1. Narcissus "Tete-a-Tete"
2. Blue Hyacinth orientalis
3. Anemone Blanda Mix
4. Crocus chrysantus
5. Bearded Iris Raspberry Blush
6. Dutch Iris Blue Ribbon
7. Iris danfordiae
8. Chionodoxa luciliae
9. Puschkinia libanotica

Quite a list. I'm sure I'll get tired of digging! But the hardest part is planning, deciding where to put them.