The Mid-March Garden

March can be a crazy month, with the temperatures extremes back and forth, stormy then sunny, and you aren't sure if Spring will stay!  I have been ready to get into the veggie gardens to till the ground, but it is too wet.  So, working hard to exercise patience, I will hold off until the dirt in crumbly in my hand!  I didn't wait last year and the soil became hard pan by the middle of the summer.

The greenhouse plants are still growing.  I have had to trim some of the plants back to keep them bushy.  I know it is cutting off the blooms, but I will have better-looking plants in the middle of April when I can leave them outside for good.  

The 'Homestead Purple' verbena in this clay pot had started to grow and get longer then I wanted.  So, I trimmed it up, losing the first flowers, but I know there are more to come!

The Spring bulbs have done wonderfully this year!  I fertilized them all last fall and it has payed off.  One thing I would like to incorporate next year is planting bulbs in pots with the pansies for a 2-for-1 show.  I  just have to remember to dig the other plants out in the fall that may still look good.  Its a timing thing..

The Forsythia is in full bloom right now.  And my 'layering starts' are hopefully rooting in the buckets.  My fountain is starting to need some TLC.  So this month I want to seal up the leaks and clean it up so it will be in good shape for the whole growing season.

Gerbera Daisies just popping up

 And I have been cleaning and waxing the furniture, and dreaming about future plans, garden brunches, Graduation party, and summer BBQs!   What have you been dreaming of?


So, a few activites to accomplish for March:

• repot tomato seedling after 6 leaves appear, pinching off the old 4 leaves
• Start feeding blueberries each month and set out strawberry plants
• divide and take cuttings of Yarrow
• plant Clematis with an inverted pot ( to keep roots cool)
• Do paint touch-up on outdoor furniture and apply car wax for protection.
• till under 'winter crop' or leaves in veggie patch when soil will crumble in your hand
• Plant Lavender, mint and oregano when ground is cool.
• Divide Shasta daisies as shoots appear and fertilize
• Fertilize honeysuckle as new growth appears.
• Prune forsythia and azaleas after flowering
• Shop for roses
• Repot house plants if needed and top dress
• Cut back all hanging basket plants that you wintered over, fertilize and repot if need be
• keep reading and making plans for the days ahead!

Small vessel surrounded by Iris and Daylilies

February: Starting to burst into color

Narcissus about to "pop"

  It is February and the bulbs are starting to "pop" here in North Georgia. The flowers on my camellia bushes are starting to fade, but the forsythia bush will be all yellow soon! I  love the transformation that starts this time of year.  I would love to have one of every spring-flowering bush in my small suburban yard, but it would look chaotic, I'm sure.

Looking at the greenhouse plants 

  Well, here is what I have been doing the past
weeks.  I have been checking on my greenhouse plants and making sure with nice warm days, the plants have enough water and don't "cook".

new starts from last fall's cuttings

 I still turn on the heater at night when it starts to get lower than 45 degrees.  This "green house" is just plastic wrapped around the posts of our upper deck.  This winter, I just had an outdoor rug over the deck, so the plants received water when it rained, but then I had to make sure they didn't drown! In the Fall, I cut stems off of the plants that I wanted to make more of.  I then took the stems, removed the lower leaves and dipped the stems in rooting hormone.  I made a hole with a chopstick in soil of the container and placed the stem in the hole.  The summer annuals stems I gave extra protection by putting them in my plastic container terrariums.  Most everything has roots now, which is so exciting because now I don't have to buy as many plants to fill the pots and beds!

seed tray in terrarium

tomato seedlings

   I still love using the clear containers taped together as a top and bottom for starting my seeds indoors.  This year I put the seed trays in the containers.  They keep moist and warm by my sliding glass door.  I started different varieties of peppers and tomatoes, lettuce and spinach.  In 2 weeks, the tomatoes were up and growing and the peppers soon after. So easy!  When the seedlings have 2 sets of true leaves, then I will carefully transplant to bigger pots.

Pansies, vinca major, daffadils

   So, here are some things to do for February:

• By seeds and potting soil
• Start summer veggies, like tomatoes and peppers to get a good start before the heat sets in
• When crocus bloom, set out lettuce, cabbage, onions, peas.  Cover on cold nights
• Add lime to azaleas
• Start layering hydrangeas for new plants
• Plant fruiting bushes now.
• Pull mulch away from strawberries and let runners fill in.
• Fertilize spring bulbs after flowering
• pinch back pansies when they get long and leggy: will bush out and new flush of flowers

   I found a book, Sunbelt Gardening: Success in Hot-Weather Climates that helped me understand our Southern climate a bit better.  It talked about the effect of nighttime temperatures, that if there is no respite in high temps, the plants can suffer.  That is why we get tomatoes out early in the South.  It also talked about micro-habitats in your yard and suggested plant 3 of a species in different places and see which on thrives, saying there is a difference between preference (performs best) and tolerance (just survives).  Great read!  Also, Small Gardens: Inspired Plantings for Diminutive Spaces by Becke Davis was great inspiration for garden rooms.   So, keep digging and reading!

African daisy overwintering

January- A Month of New Beginnings

Pansies in a pot on back deck

   Well, I guess I "fell off the wagon" in the middle of 2012, when the garden was in the middle of growing and I was working in it!  Sorry to those who kept checking for updates.  But with a New Year, I want to share my journey of what I am reading, learning and doing in my gardens this year.  I hope you will join me.  It is a journey, just like life: circumstances, experiments, some disappointments, but mostly working in faith that things will progress and reaping joy!
  We have had the most mild winter weather for December and January!  It has sent the flowers into confusion!  Shasta Daisies have been trying to bloom and the mums never really killed back!  Some of the early Spring Irises have already bloomed!  So when this cold front comes through, I hope it isn't too damaging.  I have been trimming back things that were trying to grow, hoping that they will be more compact and bushy when true Spring weather comes to stay.  The Narcissus are shooting up and will bloom in a few weeks. Love to see the dots of bright yellow in the yard.

Narcissus sprouting

          Over the months of December and January, I checked out books from my local Library to glean some more wisdom to benefit my Southern garden.  I was inspired by Classic Plant Combinations by David Stuart.  For me, having some ideas to jump off of helps me think about my own combinations.  Another book was The Colors of Provence by Michel Biehn, which inspired me with recipes and drinking in the colors.  I also got some tips from pouring over the Johnny's Seed Catalog and reading up on some new veggies and flowers I might try.

So, here are some January Activities to do this month.

• Now is a good time to order seed for Spring and Summer flowers and veggies
• Layer Forsythia and Hydrangea stems under ground to make roots for new starts
• Prune cool-weather annuals ( dianthus, snapdragons, pansies) and they will put out new flowers in a few weeks.
• Prune summer flowering shrubs ( Butterfly bush, Barberry, Hydrangeas & Crape myrtles)
• Prune and remove above ground portions of perennials,(Shasta Daisies, Canna lilies, mums, Verbena, Lantana) if you haven't already done so.
• Fertilize Spring-flowering bulbs with 20-20-20 fertilizer and Shasta Daisies before they spring up.
• Apply lime (for pinker color) and Epson salts to Hydrangeas
• Plant Asparagus and horseradish, mulch heavily with compost and fertilizer  

HAPPY  PLANNING!

May Is Full of Color

red carpet roses in a vase

hydrangia blooming early

May is almost over, but it has been a busy garden month with nice, spring weather and rain showers some afternoons, which helps keep things watered.  We haven't had that for quite a few years.  The summer flowers are starting to go crazy, along with the poison ivy!  So be careful of the "leaves of 3, let it be!"  Make sure you know what it looks like so you can avoid it.

pepper plants in the garden

May Activities:
    ·         Plant summer annuals and herbs
    ·         Fertilize established flowers every 2 months
    ·         Pick strawberries
    ·         Mulch all beds for summer, so it is 2-4 “ deep
    ·         Put out hummingbird feeder; oil wire to deter ants
    ·         Mist houseplants frequently during this month
    ·         Cut back established mums by 1/3 and fertilize
    ·         Divide hostas
    ·         Start regular watering schedule
·         “Dead-head” (pinching off spent flowers) on most flowering plants
·         Can  still plant summer vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, squashes, cucumbers, etc.  Plant  on a cloudy day, so they are less stressed by heat.

purple heart, lantana & yarrow

Some Easy-Care Plants and Combinations

If you have lots of sun but don’t like to water often:

·               Ornamental grass, coneflowers and lantana(P:Perennials- come back year after year)

·               Yarrow(P), purple heart(P) and zinnias(A:annual)

·               Liatris (Bulb), Coreopsis (P), Verbena(P & A)

·              Blackeyed susans (P), Red-hot poker plant (P) and Ice Plant(P) or        Sedum (P & A)

·               Ornamental Grass,  Purple Coneflower(P), Sedum (P), and Blanket Flower(P)

·               Gladiolus(bulb), Irises (rhizome) and Daylilies(P) & Creeping phlox(P)

shasta daisies, gladiolus, yarrow

If you have afternoon shade and water moderately:

·         Shasta Daisies (P), Sages(P & A) and Petunias (A) (Supertunias can take more)

·         Roses(P), daylilies(P) and begonias(A)

·         Hydrangeas (P), marigolds (A)

·         Gardenia Bushes, Hibiscus (P)

·         Porch plants:  Asparagus fern, spider plant & begonias

 potted caladiums and elephant ear

If you have mostly shade:

·         Impatiens(A), Coleus(A), Hostas (P)

·         Ferns( A), Lenten Rose (P)Caladiums (annual bulb)

Basic Plant Care for Southern Gardens: 

1.      Mulch beds and pots well. 

2.      Water deeply (at least an inch) every week for the best flower production. 

3.      Pinch off faded flowers, to produce more flowers. 

4.      Feed with 3-month fertilizer granules when planting, or apply plant food added to water every other week.

herb pot

some carrots just pulled

Vegetable and Herb harvesting:  The more often you pick the fruit and vegetables, the more it will produce.  For instance, green beans, try to pick every day or two, refrigerating till you have enough for serving.  Harvesting in the morning or evening is best.  For Herbs, pinch off tips/ends to use leaves, like oregano, basil, etc in the morning before the heat of the day.  This will give you the best flavor and also encourage branching.  

birdbath with daylilies and gerbera daisies

Plant Care during your Vacation: If you can find a neighbor gardener that works with their own plants, then you should be set.  If you don’t have that option, here are a few ideas:

·         Place potted plants under tree cover or in afternoon shade, having a drip hose on a timer that will drip into the pots. 

·         I have also placed a 2 liter bottle with lid (add a nail hole to the bottom) into my pot to slowly drain into the soil. 

·         For Beds, a soaker hose on a timer is best, setting it for the morning hours.

flowerbed along back fence

     TIPs for Curb Appeal:  To make the most of the front of your house (and backyard)

1.      Focus on texture and foliage for a lush-looking all-season garden.  Flowers come and go, but starting with an ever-green background will carry it through all seasons. 
2.     Then punctuate with color.  This can be leaf-color, just as much as flowers.
3.  Repeat color to unify.  If you like blues, use plants with blues and purples.  If you like bright contrast, pick yellows, purples and reds.  Same with pastels.
4.      Plant flowers in groups of 3-5 plants, like in a triangle or group, rather than straight lines for more impact and interest.
5.  For less work and cash over time, use low-maintenance perennials to fill out beds, adding a few annuals.

Red carpet roses around Welcome sign

April has been interesting weather, cold fronts with overnight lows, then swinging to summer-like days.  Crazy!  But  I have been taking advantage of being outdoors to work in the garden, also sitting in the yard to enjoy the view and what it is becoming.  I think that is a good reminder for life.  Sometimes things are happening so fast that if we don't take the time to be present, in the moment, we will miss it.  When you think of your garden, relationships or spirituality, be present, in the moment, so you experience life to the fullest.

Wild honeysuckle over my fence

The April activities have kept me busy.  Our last expected frost date is April 10, but we had an overnight low an evening or 2 later that made everyone put tender plants under cover.  We have started scrubbing the birdbaths and trying to keep up weekly cleaning for our feathered visitors (and to keep the mosquitoes to a minimum, which seem to be bad already.)  Spraying & dusting plants with 7dust  that look like they are being snacked on.  Pruned the butterfly bush to a foot and already it is back up to 4 feet!  Sprayed and fed roses.  Hardening off plants/seedling before planting them in the garden.  Pinching back mum tips to promote bushiness (and to push back their blooming to Fall, when I want the color).  Still need to apply azalea/camellia fertilizer now that they are done flowering.

carrots growing

On April 21, I had 7 ladies come to my backyard for our Backyard Gardeners Workshop.  We talked about having the ground of your vegetable garden tilled up and amended a month or so before you want to start planting.  If the ground is extremely dry, water a few day before tilling.  A good way to tell if the ground is perfect for tilling: take a handful of dirt and squeeze into a ball.  Rub the thumb and fingers together.  If the ball crumbles apart, it is right for tilling.  If it stays a sticky clump, it is too wet to till, and will produce what is called "hard-pan"( no air pockets for good plant growth).

strawberries for my cereal

When planning your vegetable garden, you need to decide if you are planting in rows(a furrow, then cover over the seeds or square-foot gardening ( packing the plants/seed in one hole at a time).  I told the ladies how much stronger my tomatoes plants were when I took to heart burying all of the plant up to the top few sets of leaves.  Just gently curl the stem around into the hole.  Another thing I read was to fertilize when flowering, which will boost tomato producing instead of just plant growth.  One of the ladies asked what was the easiest veggies to grow.  I told her my preference is tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and green beans.  With the squashes you have to watch for pests, like squash borers.  But herbs are also easy-care plants, that do not need extra fertilizing.

a chickadee feeding

Another woman asked how much do you water.  Here in the Atlanta area, we tend to have rainy Spring and Fall, but dry Summers. I have found it is better to water once a week, deeply, then a little bit everyday.  I read where you can put a pie tin out where your sprinkler is.  Keep watering as long as it takes to fill up the pie tin.  This inch of water should be enough for that bed for the week, if you have mulch in place.  You can time how long it took to fill the tin and use that as a measure of how long to leave the sprinkler on.  I really encouraged the women, if nothing else, mulch your flowerbeds and gardens before summer temperatures start to bake things.  It will help you water less and keep things from stressing so much.

Red gerbera daisies, lavender irises and yellow daylilies

I was asked what my favorite flowers are.  I listed about 10 low-care perennials which come back year after year) that I love:  Shasta daisies(spread to fill in spaces, though droop a bit in the afternoon southern heat), gerbera daisies, coneflowers (Drought tolerent, for when we have water restrictions here in ATL), irises, daylilies (if they can handle the conditions on the side of the roads here, they can handle my minimal maintenance), mums and sedum (for Fall color), lantana and Homestead verbena( for drawing hummers and butterflies in summer heat) and lavender (draws the pollinators for my veggie garden).

Add caption

The Anatomy of a Pot:

1. Cover the drainage hole with a broken terracotta shard.
2. Layer the bottom of a big container with something other than potting mix, like pinecones or packing peanuts (uses less soil and container will not be as heavy to move)
3. Layer soil and compost mix about 2/3 up the sides of pot
4. Add thin layer of water absorbing crystals
5. Add a bit more soil if need be
6. Add plants: Thrillers (about as tall as the pot), Fillers (bushy plants that fill around taller plants) and Spillers (plants that spill over the side).
7. Top with mulch
8. Keep watered.  The smaller the pot, the quicker it will dry out.  If in full sun, it many need watering every day.  Feed as needed.

For Hanging Baskets:

red petunias, yellow calorbrachea, swt pot vine

1. Line basket with cocoa liner or moss.  I personally like the cocoa liner.
2. Add a plastic liner, cutting a few drainage slits.  I used black plastic bag pieces.
3. Add bio-degradable sponge in the bottom, which will hold moisture.
4. Add soil and compost mix to bottom 1/3
5. Add plants, filling around with more soil/compost mix.
6. Water with a fine spray.  Top with mulch.  Hang and feed as needed.

A word about fertilizing:  Some of the soil bags have fertilizer in it.  If is doesn't, add feed pellets that feed for up to 3 or 4 months, that way you don't have to try to remember to add Miracle-grow to your water.  But plants in pots may need a boost fertilizer in the middle of summer to look their best.

Nana Russler's irises in the garden

So, as we move into May, watering will become a regular routine and keeping those weeds from taking over.  Enjoy the last of Spring, because Summer is coming!

March happenings in the Garden

My Kawanza Cherry tree in bloom.

Creeping phlox

We are on the next wave of blooms here in North Atlanta: Kawanza Cherry and dogwood trees, Indian hawthorn and azalea bushes, with Homestead purple verbena and creeping phlox.  It is so colorful, but the yellow film of pollen all over everything is the price we get to pay.

 

We had our Backyard Gardener's Workshop #2 on March10th,  where I demonstrated how to re-pot your tomato seedlings after 6 leaves appear.  Have new container ready.  Use a fork to gently lift the sprout out of container, de-tangling the roots.  Gently place in a new container, burying the stem up to the leaves, adding soil to fill in around it.  This will make a stronger root system, and ultimately a stronger plant. Water gently. In the 1st or 2nd week of April, move the seedlings outdoors to a sheltered area for a few house each day, gradually increasing the amount of time.  This is called hardening off and will acclimate the seedlings to wind and stronger sunlight.  Watch closely so as not to let them dry out and bring indoors if frost threatens.

I also demonstrated how to re-pot houseplants.  Look up the requirements for the specific plant you want to re-pot.  Some lie to be root-bound, others do not.  Usually, you re-pot if the plant has outgrown the container, or looks like it is wasting away in Spring when it should be showing signs of new growth.  Have the plant watered a few days before re-potting, but not soggy.  Tap the bottom of the pot or squeeze the plastic pot around the sides, gently loosening the plant around the edges. Untangle the roots.  If multiple plants, pull or cut roots apart to divide.  Have a new container ready: 2 sizes bigger, if leaving plant whole.  If dividing, have a second pot.  Put plant in pot, gently adding soil up to where the soil line was before.  Resume watering , fertilizing once a month through the growing season (Spring and Summer).  You can give your houseplants a vacation when days and nights are warm.  Water with a dose of fertilizer and set them outside in a sheltered place for a while.  Before bringing them back in, apply bug spray, so you won't bring bugs into the house.

Spike, yarrow & Homestead purple verbena

We have had mild enough weather, that I have started to set out the plants that I wintered over.  I want to make sure that I have something bright and blooming April through September to draw the humming birds.  Flowers that draw hummers are tubular-shaped, like honeysuckle vine, cardinal flowers, sages, verbenas, snapdragons, nicotiana, petunias and calibrachoa.  To draw butterflies plant asters, butterfly bush, lantana, fuchsia, heliotrope, iris, nasturtium, blanket flower, marigolds, verbena, sweet alyssum hollyhock, cone flowers and phlox.

I "layered" some hydrangea branches this past month.  I take a throw-away plastic pot and make a slit down one side to the a hole at the bottom.  I pull that slit back and put the branch of hydrangea, up through the hole in the pot. Then I add soil around the branch, covering at least 2 nodes(places where leaves would come) on the stem and water gently and regularly.  In a month or so, the buried nodes should produce roots instead of leaves.  After this happens, you can sever the branch below the new roots and have a new bush started!  Pretty cool.  You could do this with many different bushes.

mums, Shasta daisies & garden girl

This past week I started watering the filled pots and beds.  Things were starting to get a bit droopy with the absence of rain and warmer temperatures.  I also dug up some Shasta daisies that were out-growing their space and crowding other plants.  I try do this every 2 or 3 years if they need to be contained.

volunteer cilantro

  I added some more herbs to the herb garden, lemon thyme, dill (for make pickles out of the cucumbers) and Texas tarragon.  These are new for me, so we will see how they do.  I have been harvesting the cilantro that came up volunteer (fallen seeds from last year) and drying it with my dehydrator.  I just trim the side leaves with scissors. Love having cilantro on hand for all the Mexican meals and salsa that we like.

Strawberry flowers, soon to be strawberries

I dug up the stray strawberry plants and put them in the patch where there were holes. They are flowering and will have berries to eat in a week or so. So excited!  Nothing like strawberries straight out of the garden.  In the South it is good to mulch them with grass clippings or straw so that they don't burn out over the summer.  Keeping them well-watered and picked every day will produce the most strawberries.




My next Backyard Gardener's Workshop will be April 14th.  I will demonstrate how to plant summer vegetable and herbs in the ground, and talked about the anatomy of healthy pots and hanging baskets.

March is Here

 My Garden activities for March:

Violas in pot

• Re-pot tomato starts after 6 leaves appear, pinching of cotyledons.  
• Enrich melon patch
• Start feeding Blueberries
• Divide and take cuttings of yarrow.
• Plant  starts of lavender, mint, oregano & cilantro when ground is cool.
• Divide Shasta Daisies as shoots appear
• Fertilize honeysuckle as new growth appears
• Apply car wax to outdoor furniture and do paint touch-up.
• Re-pot house plants is needed or top-dress with new soil.

Cedar waxwings flocking to fountain

It is March here in North Atlanta and the Spring flowers are in full bloom: tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, grape hyacinth, forsythia bushes, camellias, and  flowering trees. We had a huge flock of cedar waxwings hanging around our yard last week!  They were in and out of the trees, eating the berries off of the hollies and would flock down to my front water fountain.  I think I took 250 pictures trying to get a fantastic one.  But we don't usually have these birds in our yard.  Then this week they were gone!  They must have been migrating through.  It was fun to watch them.

onion sprouts in garden

A week ago, I tilled up the garden with the tiller- I was so sore afterwards,  but I love doing the work.  We took down the chicken wire fence that needed help.  I got my younger girls out there and we planted the onion and garlic sprouts.  I re-seeded the cool-season vegetables.

summer bulbs by back fence

This week I tried to do a gardening activity every day.  I have been moving around some flowers that wintered over, dividing yarrow and cosmos.   I started an new bed of extra cannas, gladiolas, irises and lilies behind the vegetable garden.  These taller plants, hopefully will give some color to the back fence till the vegetables get going.

ornamental sweet potato tubers

I also emptied some hanging baskets that I had in the greenhouse.  I threw the dried up and dead stuff in the compose pile.  Finding the sweet potato vine tubers, I took them inside, laid them in an ice cream bucket with soil and placed it in the kitchen window.  So, hopefully, I won't have to buy any sweet potato vine this year!

Red verbena in greenhouse needs trim

I have been trimming the starts that overwintered in the greenhouse, like verbena, so they will be more compact when I plant them in my pots.  I hate cutting off the flowers buds, but I know it will make for better looking plants.

I started some coleus seeds and "Little Sprite" zinnias.  I love coleus for its leaf color in pots, so that you don't have bland spots when other flowers fade.  I was looking for a zinnia that I could us in hanging baskets, so hopefully this will fit the bill.

tomato sprouts

pepper sprouts

And the peppers, tomatoes and basil are coming along.  The tomatoes are getting tall.  So after their are 6 leaves, I will re-pot them in the containers so more of the stem is under the dirt.