I'm paying more attention to the containers I place on my deck this year. I've also been keeping an eye out for pots that are decent size but won't take up too much real estate -- something that can be tucked against the wall or railing for instance.
I'm whipping through my list of garden projects: first the trellis, now the path that runs next to that trellis. If you remember, this path is on the south side of the house and turns into a stream whenever it rains.
Saturday morning I went to visit my gardener friend Mike. He had some clay pots that he wanted to give to a "good home", and had a few plants that he wanted help digging and dividing. So after loading about two dozen pots of various sizes into the truck cab I started digging ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) which he wanted to reduce and relocate. With Mike's generosity I ended up with ten or eleven good-sized ferns -- more than I expected -- so I had to look for another place to plant some.
The other day when I listed my planned garden projects for the summer, doing something with this trellis...
I haven't been talking about the cactus beds as much as I normally do in spring. Last year I posted about them several times, as I was curious about which survived the brutal winter. Since this past winter wasn't as harsh and probably also because the cactus bed isn't as new, I haven't been as concerned.
Do you keep on using old tools that you've had for years, even though you may have newer ones that were supposed to be "better"? I have that situation with my main trowel -- I use a no-name one that I probably bought at a big box store 15 years or more ago. It's got a better shape than the newer branded trowel that I received as a gift several years back, so I just keep using the old one.
Mid-to-late Spring is the best time to tackle the larger projects in the garden here, as the heat and humidity of the summer haven't arrived yet (on most days). With a holiday weekend approaching for us in the US, my thoughts turn to completing some of these projects.
I'm finally getting to some projects that don't involve cleaning or digging! I've had a couple of strawberry pots for several years, and always have trouble keeping them hydrated during the heat of the summer. Because of this they've sat unused for a couple of seasons now...
I've not really done this much before, but this year I've started bringing blooms from my garden into the house.
Out and about in St. Louis city yesterday morning, my wife said "I know something you'd like! How about a walk in Lafayette Park?" I'd never been before, and since it was a very nice but windy day I agreed.
It's the 15th and that means that it is GBBD, when garden bloggers the world over show you what's in bloom in their gardens this month. I'm going to do something a bit different this bloom day, focusing on a single plant.
Spring in the garden is a busy time for most gardeners. If you're like me there is planting, weeding, mulching, raking, bamboo rhizome pruning -- okay, maybe not that last one. There's a load of work to do though.
The local nursery visits continue... Remember when I showed you Zick's Great Outdoors? That was a one-of-a-kind place, and on that same trip I stopped at what is probably the polar opposite: SummerWinds Nursery in Ellisville.
Did you know that it is Tuesday already? A bit of travel over the weekend and I completely lost track of the calendar, forgetting that yesterday was Monday and therefore not posting anything. Kind of glad I wasn't around on Sunday as an intense band of storms quickly moved through the area, dropping up to 4" (10cm) of rain in less than an hour in some places. I hate seeing strong weather pound the garden -- I'd rather wait until everything has a little time to bounce back.
Last year I saw box turtles all the time in my garden, or at least the same turtle multiple times. The most unique was when I saw a female laying eggs in one of my planting beds! Yesterday I had another unique encounter with turtles -- well two actually.
Just a look around the garden today, at the blooms and foliage that spring brings to my yard.
Today I continue my series on St. Louis area nursery visits, with a look at a place that is unlike any other around here: Zick's Great Outdoors. This was only my second visit ever to Zick's with the first being at least five years ago. I'm not sure how we ever found this place back then, but I think it was from an interesting and creative ad in a local paper.
For those of you who are thinking about the Monarch butterflies and want to plant milkweed (something in the Asclepias genus) and are thinking big, think Asclepias syriaca, or common milkweed. A volunteer showed up in my garden two years ago.
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