My Mystery Garden

Well it's not much of a mystery anymore but that's what I've been calling this little garden.

Ron dug up this area sometime last summer. My kitchen table sits by the double windows that overlook the area. I love water features and thought how wonderful it would be to have a garden with a fountain below the window. I could relax at the table and enjoy the flowers along with the sound of trickling water (last summer I made Apple crazy with my hunt for just the right fountain but I digress...) Unfortunately things got busy and I didn't have many extra plants so the area sat there for awhile but the weeds were happy.

I found my fountain and it makes the nicest little trickle sound as a fountain should. Apple gave me a yellow lily and some liatrice from her garden. A friend gave me a hosta and some Giant Solomon's Seal. I found the blue salvia at the farmers market and had to try it after seeing it at Cornell Plantations. I also bought some Russian sage and a pink coreopsis that is now blooming.

I had seven plants I could identify. The rest were mysteries by the time I planted the garden. Apple and I went to visit Kerri of Colors of the Garden last year and she sent me home with some treasures. We also had a plant swap at the Garden Club at the end of the year and I am always getting pass-a-longs from friends. Life was crazy so everything ended up in this area which was really a holding bed, not a garden. I of course didn't label anything and couldn't remember what I had been given. This spring I dug everything up and rearranged it. Apple suggested I mark my path BEFORE planting which worked out well. Sometimes the obvious isn't so obvious for some of us. LOL. I'm so glad I have a sister with good advice! Since I couldn't remember what was what, I just plunked things here and there and figured I would move things as they bloomed if they didn't fit.

Now some of the mysteries are solved. There are shasta daisies and gloriosa daisies from Kerri - Thank you again Kerri! Some phlox, two iris', coral bells, and I suppose, a few more mysteries yet to be revealed....

I'm sure I will add to this space and move things over time. I also want to add a chair so I can sit and enjoy the sound of the fountain and read a book. I'm not sure about the "stepping stones". Maybe it's because I know they are old tiles a friend gave me but they will work for now.

It's All In the Angle...

One of the things I like about blogging is that my garden often looks better online than in person. I can hide many weeds and flaws, of course, I show many weeds and flaws but in general I show you the best of everything. I was walking around one day surveying what new blooms I had. There is an old foundation from a building out behind the barn that tends to be a catch all and wild daisies grown on it. I caught this view and thought how pretty. I love mass plantings!





Now, this is the other angle....not so pretty.... Don't you love it? Anyone feeling daring and want to share a best and worst angle?







Removing the foundation and that little building to the right is on our list of things to do but the list is quite long and this project is rather low on the list. I see a wonderful garden in this spot with a little fish pond and a path through it. At the far end, I envision a little patio with a table and chairs covered by large arbour with grape vines growing on it. Stay tuned....it may be a few years but it's gonna be great!

First Seedlings

Craig asked how I start my seeds. Last year I tried starting seeds both in individual cells and by starting several seeds in one container and then transplanting the best looking ones to individual cells. The ones I transplanted failed miserably so this year I didn't bother. In each cell I planted 2-5 seeds and I will thin them later.

I only have two windows facing south and I can't use the kitchen window so our office/storage room will be very crowed for the next couple of months. There is also a west facing window. Last year I had the two large cell packs seen below. The smaller domes are from sheet cakes that I saved. I also saved and sterilized the cell packs from the plants that I bought last year. (Recycle/Reuse!) The very large, round dome is my punch bowl over a picnic serving tray holding the zinnia pots that the kids started for their moms from seeds they helped me gather in the fall. The larger pots were much easier for them to work with. Hopefully they will work out. I move the trays around everyday to try and even out the light they get.

Last year was my 1st year gardening and so I had no idea that some people think that starting from seed is hard. Maybe it was beginners luck but most of my seeds did well. I never could have afforded to buy all of the plants I ended up with and I wouldn't have had the joy of pointing out a plant to a visitor and exclaiming "I grew that!" I did learn that I didn't water the seedlings deeply enough and some didn't set down as strong a root system as they could have but they thrived once I got them outside. I will try watering from the bottom this year.

Last year I collected hollyhock, zinnia, lupine, and marigold seeds that I will be using this year. Some of the other seeds I am trying were left over from last year, others bought online last fall and I picked up some more at 10 for $1 recently. (Last years dollar store zinnia seeds just blew us away with the way they grew!)

I tried starting delphiniums outside last year without luck. I did have about four seedlings at the end of the summer that I thought might be them so I left them and hope they come back this year. Delphiniums are so pretty that I thought I'd try starting them inside this year. I've read that they don't transplant well but if they don't I can try some more seeds outside.





Marigolds started to germinate 3/16 - 6 days to date 14 of 54 cells
Dwarf Morning Glories - 3/17 - 7 days to date 10 of 18 cells
Love lies bleeding - 3/18 - 8 days - all 6 cells
Strawflower - 3/18 - 8 days - 6 of 12 cells
Scarlet sage - 3/18 - 14 of 18 cells (s/b scarlet rather than crimson stated before)

New seeds started
Zinnias - 3/14 - by kids as Mother's day gifts 1 of 20 germinated after 5 days - 3/19
Dwarf Delphiniums dark blue - 3/18
English Lipstick Daisy - 3/18