Tomatoes!

Posted on May 13, 2013 by crittersbybritty

I have my first baby tomato forming. Admittedly it is the size of a gooseberry right now but now I cannot wait for my first cheese and fresh tomato sandwich.

By the way, I know there are a few aphids on there but hopefully the ladybugs and their babies will be along momentarily to take care of them. (If they don’t show up soon I’ll just knock the aphids down with some soapy water before they can do too much damage).

Also the broccoli is coming along nicely.

Although I have to admit that I am concerned that it is going to get too hot for them in the near future and they will bolt. If that looks like it is going to happen I will just harvest them as they are bound for my husband’s nightly salad anyway. I can’t wait to go out there in the evenings and graze on the goodies growing. It is my favorite kind of dinner, picked and eaten right out there in the garden.

Flowers, flowers, flowers galore!

Posted on May 12, 2013 by crittersbybritty

My husband’s school’s FFA chapter held another plant sale this week and they had reduced their prices yet again and now a 36 plant flat was only $3.00. Well what is a girl to do? I ordered a flat of red Marigolds, a flat of purple Salvia and a flat of Ruellia. Today I spent most of the day getting the plants in the ground or in my containers. They didn’t have a full flat of Ruellia so they made it up with three quart pots of Lantana “Buttercup” which really worked with my purple and gold theme. Anyway when I counted up the empty flats today I calculated that between veggies and flowers I have planted 650 plants. Methinks it is time to sit back and watch it grow.

First up the containers are filling in nicely. First up Purple and Gold

Next Red, White and Blue

Next front bird bath bed

The shade bed

The bed on the far edge of the patio

A couple of small beds in the patio

Finally the bed the other side of the patio

Flowers, flowers and more flowers if this doesn’t keep the bees and butterflies happy then I don’t know what will.

Here Come the Roses

Posted on May 11, 2013 by crittersbybritty

This week the roses began blooming in my garden. While they tend not to do well here in Eastern North Carolina you can find some species that will, or if you are lucky enough the expensive hybrid grafted rose that you bought and planted gets taken over by the root stock that it has been grafted onto. I know this sounds like an utter contradiction but the common old root stock rose does really well here, and is not subject to any of the diseases that tend to plague hybrids in the humid south.

This beauty actually began life as a white tree rose, but the root stock was having none of that namby pamby tree rose business and quickly escaped from the ground and is now a delightful specimen that surrounds my bird feeders on the patio and keeps the birds safe from the cats.

This one is actually a species that also does very well here, a delightful pink bloomer that is called “Nearly Wild”. This one sits in the bed at the edge of the patio, I also have one in a pot on the driveway which I have been meaning to plant for years but haven’t quite got round to it.

Soon the Carpet Roses and Fairy Roses out front will be a riot of blooms which will continue throughout the summer. I have a couple of hybrids that have managed to hang on but I have found that as far as roses go in this climate your best bet is with the carpet varieties. I have heard from other gardeners that Knock Out roses also do well here but I have to admit that the one sample that I do have in my landscape has not proven that theory as yet.

In any event, should you be growing roses in this area and you notice bright red flowers on a rose that is supposed to be any other color, don’t worry about it, let the root stock rose do its thing, and go with the flow. Sometimes it doesn’t do any good to fight Mother Nature.

Weed of The Week – Oxalis (Wood-Sorrell)

Posted on May 9, 2013 by crittersbybritty

As you all know I am a bit of a skinflint so when it comes to plants I do so love to take advantage of the free ones that Mother Nature gifts me with. In the next couple of months I will be recommending those “weeds” (or native plants as I prefer to call them) that I enjoy and that I find do very well in my Eastern North Carolina garden.

When I first moved to this house I found a lovely patch of pink Oxalis growing in the woods at the bottom of the garden and all of the plants that now grace my landscape originated from this one plant.

This photograph was taken after a heavy rain and the flower stalks have fallen over due to the weight of the rain drops.

The plant forms bulbs underground and these can easily be divided and transplanted pretty much any time of the year. I now have plants all over the landscape, some in full shade, some in full sun and they reliably form tidy mounds of four-leaf clover like leaves with jaunty pink flower heads on delicate stalks that sit above the leaf mound.

This one is in my front flower bed underneath the living room window sharing the bed with some daylilies.

They are a very hardy perennial and remain green over the winter even under a heavy blanket of snow. Another of its delightful attributes is it does not have a narrow bloom time and will reliably bloom from Spring and all through the Summer and into the Autumn. To say that it is a carefree plant is an understatement. I have never had a problem with it doing anything other than being a little treasure and I cannot think of a single pest that pays attention to it. You can buy a version of the plant (generally white ones) and there are hybrid types with purple leaves and flowers, but I have found that these are nowhere near as vigorous as their wild cousins.

So there you go, if you happen to live in the woods and come across some pink Oxalis on your property divide it and use it all over your landscape. You will be glad you did I promise.

Overwintering

Posted on May 8, 2013 by crittersbybritty

Last Autumn I decided to experiment with overwintering some of my favorite plants so that I would not have to replace them come Spring. If they were in the ground I dug them up and put them in pots in the greenhouse (as with the Angelonia) or if they were already in pots I just moved them into the greenhouse. So far the experiment has worked well.

The Gazania that overwintered has just put out its first bloom.

And while the Angelonia did not fare as well, having almost completely died back there are some heartwarming green shoots to be seen at the base of the stalk.

My hanging basket ferns also survived as did the tender patio Hibiscus trees that I kept warm all winter. The Hibiscus are right now putting on buds.

I believe that with the cost of the plants saved as well as the savings in starting things from seed rather than having to buy plants from the garden center the greenhouse has already paid for itself.

Hiding in Plain Sight Part II

Posted on May 6, 2013 by crittersbybritty

One of the nicest parts about gardening is many a gardener’s tendency to forget planting things and therefore being pleasantly surprised when the garden awakes to find a bloom that one had forgotten about. I have to admit that this particular trait happens to me frequently and the annoying part is that it happens with the same plants every year. Many moons ago I found a poor Clematis plant growing out of its plastic bag at Lowes, it was on sale for 75% off so rescuing it was relatively easy. I planted it at the base of the large tree in the front garden and promptly forgot about it until it sent out a couple of small blooms the next year and I proceed to forget about it every single year until it comes into bloom. It has grown over the years and this year the blooms are truly spectacular.

Of course there are many times where the “I don’t remember planting that” theme is because you actually didn’t plant it, but Mother Nature has gifted you with one of her native plants in this case the Cross Vine which is this week coming into bloom, just in time for the arrival of the Humming Birds.

These trumpet like blooms must be full of nectar because I have also noticed many ant species traveling up the vines and deep into the flowers to collect its sweet treasure, I am not sure what the nectar tastes like because the blooms have an almost spicy, curry like scent, perhaps the ants like Indian food?

Of course in my case the things that I am more than likely to forget about are the bulbs that I buy on sale as Winter approaches. Generally in the big box stores at 50-75% off to get them off their hands I usually end up filling a cart with goodies and then having to get them in the ground before it gets too cold. This invariably results in me wandering the yard with a bag of bulbs in one hand and a trowel in the other muttering to myself while seizing upon any scrap of dirt that doesn’t already have something planted in it. This led me last year to having a full on argument with myself in front of the heavily discounted bulb section of Lowes. Me “but they’re 75% off!, I can’t pass up that bargain!” Me “but you don’t have anywhere to put them, remember last year you ended up having to put them in containers?” As it turned out the “sensible” me won out over the “can’t pass up a bargain” me and I walked away bulb free and saved myself the weeks of angst trying to find somewhere to put them. Still it is nice to be surprised as I was this weekend when this particular Dutch Iris greeted me one morning.

Once I saw it I even remembered it’s name, Lion King (that is a rare occurrence to be sure, unless I keep bags or labels I rarely remember the name of a plant other than it’s general species) and with it’s colors it was even in keeping with my purple and gold theme. Sometimes having a rotten memory has its advantages.

Veggie Garden Update

Posted on May 4, 2013 by crittersbybritty

Thanks to the regular rains that we have been having everything is going great guns (including the weeds unfortunately, I really need to get the beds heavily mulched).

The Tomatoes in the first bed already have flowers on them.

Second bed (the seedlings you see by the pepper plants are direct sown radish) I have already begun harvesting lettuce leaves for my husband’s salads every evening (I use the “cut and come again” method of harvesting rather than harvesting the whole lettuce).

The onions, carrots and peas are doing well

and my herb bed at the edge of the patio is looking lovely.

From back to front Blue Sage, Lemon Balm, Chives and Bronze Fennel.

Once the husband gets that Chipper/Shredder that he has been lusting after I should have lots of mulch to suppress the weeds and keep me from having to do the back breaking task of pulling them. Not that I mind it all that much, there is something very therapeutic about weeding, you just think of something that has annoyed you that week and take out your anger on the weeds. Works for me.

Flossie Update

Posted on May 2, 2013 by crittersbybritty

She has now fully recovered from being spayed. In fact she thought she was fully recovered the day after and thought nothing of tearing around the garden at top speed which resulted in her getting an infection at the surgery site, which resulted in her having to go on anti-biotics and some heavy duty tranquilizers to keep her calm, still, all better now and more’s the point, no puppies in her future. She now weighs 45lbs, and is growing like a weed. She absolutely adores being out in our huge back garden. When we are not home she has access to a small patio area and the deck but a gate keeps her from the main area of the back yard. When I come home at night I let her out into the yard and she does a 100 yard dash and then circles the yard at break neck speed (much as Cueball used to do) until she is exhausted. She also loves chasing the cats but as cats have the ability to climb trees (a trick she will never learn of course), they tend to sit on a branch and torment her for her trouble. She has also noticed that Mommy carries a black box thing around with her sometimes and points it at her at which point any pose I was trying to get invariably results in this

OMG OMG SHE’S GOT THE BLACK BOX, THE BLACK BOX IS THE DEBBIL, I MUST EAT IT!

Eventually though she will tire herself out and find herself a shady spot by the back gate and chill out chewing on a lump of grass.

You will notice the muddy feet, did I mention that she is particularly adept at finding any wet spot in the yard and paddling through it? No? Well she is. She is also getting to know the next door neighbor’s dogs and again much like Cueball she takes great delight in running along the fence line to torment them. I am sure during the barked introductions Raven and Grecko said to her “what’s your name?” and she responded “Not sure it’s either Flossie Don’t Do That or Flossie No!”

This weekend when I was working in the front garden and she was gazing wistfully at me through the living room window I took pity on her and put her harness on and brought her outside and attached her to an extending lease tied to a tree. I thought it would be nice for her to be with me while I worked. It didn’t work as well as planned, first she wrapped her leash around three trees, then she attempted to chew through the leash, then she tried to run away from the leash, and eventually ran so forcefully that she busted completely out of her harness, shattering the clip until she was free of it. Her foray into the front garden lasted all of 30 minutes until she was corralled and once again looking wistfully out of the living room window. I think I may have to stick to gardening in the back yard from now on.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Posted on May 1, 2013 by crittersbybritty

This weekend while I was busy planting all of my recent flower purchases I lifted down one of my hanging baskets to add an additional plant. I was merrily digging down with my fingers when I noticed that something didn’t look quite right with one of the leaves in the basket. Once I put on my glasses I saw this

Cute little guy was just snuggled up in the basket minding his own business and didn’t seem to be at all bothered by my poking around in his bed sit.

As I wandered around checking out all my solar light ornaments, making sure the batteries were still working, and straightening the stakes, that sort of thing I came across another critter.

He was taking advantage of the solar panel to grab some rays and warm up his body before no doubt going on the hunt for some tasty insects.

Speaking of insects, last weekend as I was working on my containers in the driveway I noticed the cats chasing some flies which appeared out of nowhere. I turned around and looked at the stump of a long gone tree to see winged creatures just boiling out of it. As usual I did not have my camera so I ran into the house to fetch it. On my return I discovered that something else had noticed the all you can eat buffet and was taking advantage of it.

I decided to let her be and enjoy her meal so by the time I got back to the stump with my camera most of the termites had either been eaten or had flown away.

It was fascinating to watch though, especially watching the wingless worker termites patrolling the top of the stump to make sure that all of the winged new queens left the stump and didn’t attempt to return to the nest. At least the Mocking Bird got a good meal out of it, have to look on the bright side after all.

Those Who Can Do etc.,

Posted on April 30, 2013 by crittersbybritty

So of late I have not been blogging about gardening I have actually been outside, you know, gardening. Once the veggie garden was finished then it was on to flats and flats of flowers which I purchased from the FFA chapter at my husband’s school. My initial purchase was soon followed by another as the sale began to wind down and they reduced their 36 plant flats to $5.00 each, a bargain that I simply could not resist.

This year I have decided it is all about the pollinators, and therefore chose plants that I knew would keep the bees and butterflies happy. So I got the following: 1 Flat each Zinnia, Cosmos, Gazania, Angelonia, Purslane, Impatiens, Begonia, Ageratum, 2 Flats each Marigold, Rudbekia, Dianthus, totaling a mind-boggling 504 plants which had to go somewhere (come to think of it it is no wonder my back hurts.) In addition to those I stopped by Roses and picked up two six packs each of Tourenia and another plant that I use every year and cannot for the life of me remember the name of.(ETA Portulaca).

So to begin with some went in the bed by either side of the patio, others went in the front bird bath bed

Impatiens and begonia went into the shade bed under the treesThen I set about planting my containers. I have two color schemes this year, Purple and Gold (for East Carolina University my husband’s Alma Mata) and Red, White, and Blue (patriotic colors for both myself and my husband). Here is one of the Purple and Gold containers

and here is one of the Red, White and Blue ones

I have the pots arranged along either edge of my driveway and once they come into full bloom they should look spectacular. The remainder of the plants went into hanging baskets, planters on the shutters and the vegetable basket planters that I created last year. More went into containers on the front patio and the remainder were tucked into spots that were available in the front flower bed (more of those later). I now just have one flat left, mostly the remaining Rudbekia and a couple of white Dianthus that are in need of a home but I am sure I will come up with something to do with them. Now I really do get to sit back and watch it all grow.

crittersbybritty

That dotty old English Woman down the street that talks to her plants and cats

Category Archives: Gardening