Same old, same old

Still not a lot going on, other than weeds, which I really need to go and dig out.

A couple more things are showing buds, but I have to admit that it’s looking pretty sparse out there. I’m trying to have faith that the plants will fill in and that it will eventually look prettier, but it doesn’t seem like many of the plants have grown very much since they were planted. I’m sure much of that is due to all the cool weather we’ve had lately, but still. I guess after a few more years of gardening, I’ll have a better idea of what to expect and hopefully bare spots won’t bother me as much.

About that garden…

I didn’t forget. Well, not completely. There just hasn’t been much to report in the garden other than flooding. We’ve got grass turning yellow from too much rain and I have plants that are turning black because of cold and rain. I think. I don’t know. Nothing’s dying (yet), so I just have to wait and see.

Other than some leaves turning black, and the occasional visit from a raccoon, everything looks pretty healthy. The sage and oregano are going nuts and a bunch of my perennials are about to bloom. If the rain slows down, things might actually start to happen again.

I did finally go out and take some pictures, and I’ll try to get them posted in the next couple days.

Where’s my gun?

Seriously, I need to start practicing so I can get rid of the damned raccoon that keeps digging up my planters to get at non-existent grubs.

The first time it happened, I blamed the cats. Because cats are lazy and would much rather use my containers as a litter box then have to actually walk all the way across the yard to use the vegetable garden, or even dig their own hole. Besides the containers weren’t that torn up. So I figured I’d just put some chicken wire over the containers to keep the cats from getting in there and make them find a different spot. It seemed to work, I didn’t have to replant anything yesterday.

But then I went outside this morning. And oh, the carnage. And me cursing the poor, mostly-innocent cats, until I realized that cats don’t typically dig six inches or more just to take a crap. Well, most cats don’t. That, and there was no crap (thank god!).

So now I blame the raccoon(s) for uprooting 3 strawberry plants, 9 dusty miller, 6 snap dragons and a handful of gomphrena. And the plants that weren’t dug up were nearly decapitated by the chicken wire. So much for that. I’m not sure who to blame for the catmint that was spread all over the patio. Because that could totally have been a cat.

Looking around online, apparently the only sure-fire way to get raccoons to stay out of your garden is to fence them out. Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. I was also greatly edified to read that putting chicken wire around your plants is supposed to keep raccoons out. Because that has obviously worked so well to date. For now though, I’ve put plastic over the planters, which will be removed in the morning, and I’ll just have to hope that it keeps the raccoons out.

And if that doesn’t work, well, I’ll be out with a .22 practicing my aim*. So watch out stupid rat-bastard raccoon.

*While I might actually go out and practice my aim, it will take a lot more than a few dug up flowers to get me to shoot at an animal**.

**I’ll get my dad to do it.

Shopping List Update

I went shopping again this past weekend. *gasp* What a surprise! And I did some damage to my shopping list and I even remembered to get some things I’d left off the list. Most importantly, I decided that there were some things on my list that I just didn’t really need or have a place for, like a hydrangea.

So here are the damages:

• Brandywine tomato – to go with my other heirloom tomatoes
• Epazote – I never expected to see this, but I’m so glad I found it. More Mexican food!
• Strawberry plants – it’s late to be planting them, but there’s always next year.
• Gardenia – Yay! A pretty, fragrant, very southern plant that’ll have to live in the house.
• Zucchinis
• Gomphrena – nifty looking annuals for my metal containers
• Spiderplant

And I feel like I’ve left something off that list. Oh well. But that pretty much means that the only things I still need to buy are tomato cages and some more fertilizer because I’ve just about run out. And of course anything else that catches my eye because I am such an impulse buyer. Which means I need to stay far away from the nursery with the Camellia I’m lusting after…

*tap, tap, tap*

So, this Sunday is the “official” frost-free date for where I live. Of course, I’ve already jumped the gun by planting all my containers… but I haven’t planted any of the  beds yet. But I think I’m going to today. Especially since I’ve been watching the weather forecast and we’re not expected to drop any lower than 45F at night for the foreseeable future.

Of course, realizing that weathermen are infallible, I will be standing by with row covers and things for when we do inevitably get a frost. But now I’m gonna go play in the dirt. Again.

Shopping list

Yes, it’s my third post of the night. I’ve got more than a week to make up for. But as the title suggests, here’s my shopping list:

• 2 zucchinis – I have the seeds to start my own, but I should have started them a couple weeks ago. And anyway, I only want two.
• Spiderplant – I think I’ve decided this is what I’ll put in the hanging basket in the bathroom – low maintenance and it should keep Ivan occupied.
• Plants for my containers – I have 2 small troughs and 3 whiskey barrels and I have no idea what to put in them. Maybe some petunias or something similar for the troughs and who knows for the whiskey barrels.
• Tomato cages – it’s not time to plant the tomatoes, so why buy the cages yet?
• Broccoli – this is a maybe. I’d hoped to have 6 plants but I only have 3. But I’m also afraid that it might be getting too late for broccoli.
• French Tarragon – I have a plant that was labeled French Tarragon, but I’m not convinced that it is, so I might look around to see if I find anything I like more.
• Hydrangea – I want a hydrangea and not one of the standard ones. Doesn’t mean I’ll get one though.
• A pretty, fragrant house plant – I don’t know what I want, I need to look around. Something that smells nice, obviously, but also something that doesn’t look like everything else in a nursery. We’ll see if I come up with anything.
• Potting soil, of course.
• And maybe a pot or two, depending on what I find in the way of plants.

And I’m sure there’s something else I want, but this at least covers the basics. And gives me a place where it’s all listed so I hopefully won’t forget anything.

Plant Sales

Saturday was the Friends of the National Arboretum Plant Sale at (gasp!) the National Arboretum. My best friend and I headed down there, and not so surprisingly, we didn’t wander around the Arboretum much (okay, not at all). We headed straight for the sale. And we bought plants. And then we headed back to Baltimore, unloaded the car and headed to Lowes because T. needed more containers and soil for her plants. Shockingly, we both bought more plants. And somehow, I don’t think we’re done yet.
Anyway, my haul includes (I don’t have the complete name for all the plants):

• a six-pack of snap dragons, light purple
• two six packs of impatiens, light purple
• one six-pack of Centaurea cineraria, Dusty Miller
• Hen & Chicks
• Stokes Aster ‘Klaus Jelitto’
• Catmint
• Stevia
• Spiderwort ‘Sweet Kate’
• Rudbeckia Triloba, Brown-Eyed Susan
• Agastache x Black Adder
• Salvia nemorosa caradonna
• Verbena canadensis
• Coreopsis grandiflora ‘Rising Sun’
• and one succulent that I lost the label for. But it’s pretty. And red.

But apparently I have an affinity for purple, since almost all the flowering plants I got have purple blossoms. And most that aren’t purple are yellow. Everything’s looking good, except the stevia. It’s looking very droopy and I’m not sure why. I imagine it’s either been too wet, too cold, or too overcast for it. But there’s not all that much I can do about that, other than put it up with my seedlings and hope it recovers. We’ll see.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Well, I came back from gorgeous weather in Florida to not so nice weather in Maryland. Saturday was nice, but since then it’s been pretty much all rain, so I haven’t been able to get out in the garden and do any of the things I need to do. There wasn’t any rain today and there shouldn’t be any tonight, so hopefully I’ll be able to get out there tomorrow.

Amazingly enough none of my seedlings died while I was away. And the tomatoes have really take off since I transplanted them into larger containers.  And in the garden itself, everything has new growth and my chives even have blossoms. I’ve never seen chive blossoms before! And I’m even starting to see some of my lilies coming up.

And I guess now is the time to start hardening off the seedlings so I can start planting outside in a week or so.

Crossing my fingers

Tomorrow, I’m going away on a road trip to visit family in Florida. I don’t really want to go, but there’s no graceful way for me to get out of it – and I’ll probably enjoy myself anyway. I’ll be gone a week though and I don’t really trust my uncle to keep my seedlings alive – even though all he needs to do is just make sure they’re watered. The houseplants I’m not too worried about and I’m not worried about what’s already in the garden – after all, it’s spring in Maryland. It’ll rain. But the seedlings do dry out pretty quickly.

I figure some will die, but hopefully most will make it. And if they do die, I can just go buy replacements or start them outside in a couple weeks. It’ll work out.

Anyway, in preparation for the trip, I transfered my leeks and my indoor started spinach and lettuce outside. It might be a little early for the leeks, but I’m hoping that since they can overwinter, they can handle a bit of coolness in the spring. And I didn’t really get the spinach or lettuce hardened off, but there’s more out in the garden now, and I can plant more when I get back.

But despite all my crossed fingers, there is some good news – the broccoli I transplanted a while ago has gone through a couple hard frosts. Two of the plants didn’t make it (and one had already been sacrificed to the angry god that is Ivan), but the remaining three are looking good! The stems are nice and thick and sturdy, so hopefully I’ll get something. Oh, and I saw my first tulip in the garden today. Yay!

Orange & Maroon Confessions

I confess, I’m a Hokie, and I’m very proud of it. Part of being a Hokie, is a fondness for burnt orange and maroon and an unshakable belief that both colors look better together.

What does this have to do with gardening, you ask? Well, when I bought roses to plant earlier this spring, I chose dark red, orange and white plants. I know the orange I choose (Voodoo) isn’t going to be the color I want and I’m pretty sure the reds (Oklahoma) aren’t going to be quite right, but I have hopes that it’ll be close enough for now. And I frequently pour through garden catalogs and nurseries looking for the right colors. One day I’ll find them.

While my desire to have a burnt orange and maroon garden, is not a result of April 16th, in a way it is very much a tribute because I love my alma mater and everything it entails. And a year later, my heart is still broken. But “We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.” Let’s Go Hokies