First Freeze!!

When we returned from the beach the weather report looked like the first real freeze would be before the weekend. But there was frost on my car windows this morning! It was 37 degrees when I got up at 6 am.

So this afternoon was the rush to pull everything from the garden. I got a few batches of basil from what's left of the 4 scraggly basil bushes. They were almost 4 feet tall, but I'd pinched off the buds religiously to keep them from getting too woody. Hopefully the leaves won't be too bitter. It'll be fresh pesto this weekend!

I gathered two more odd items. I squat little zuchini, and a HUGE cucumber. This cuke climbed in back of the lillies and I lost track of it. It's 16 inches long! (Photo will be added...I promise!)

The small potted herbs are inside, and we'll shred the leftover plant stubs for the compost pile. Now that things are quiet, we'll build the 3 remaining garden beds and get ready for spring.

GetReady for the Day of the Dead!

Halloween is my favorite holiday, but Raleigh doesn't do it up. I've got the usual for this area: lights, fake spider webbing on the boxwoods, and we've got rubber rats around the front porch. But I miss the sugar skulls, marigolds, lots of paper mache skeletons. So I dug around and gathered as much as I dared (some is too precious, like the skeleton cyclist). I found some tin skeletons that I taped to the small window above the front door. We bought a tacky purple skull that lights up, and I'll do my usual little altar with favorite beverages and snacks for my ancestors. Yes, I put up a gin and tonic for my Buddist/Episcopalian Gramma. I also put an African Violet on the altar, to help her find her way here.

It may sound strange, but el Dia de los Muertos is a very special time!

Mulching for Fall

The week at North Topsail is one of my excuses for not much gardening, but the truth is winding down for Fall has been a bit of work. We bought a chipper/shredder and cleaned out some branches, plus ground up the 7 foot tall tomato plants.

We carved pumpkins with the kids two weekends ago, but they weren't cleaned out real well, and after a week away they were pretty gross. I chopped up two for the compost when we got back. Dan tried to run the last pumpkin through the chipper/shredder, unfortunately it was the soggiest, moldiest one. It made a mess, and Dan had to clean the innards of the shredder manually.

We've fertilized and mulched, and things are ready for cool weather. My neighbor Ann gave me a ton of lillies that she split up. They're planted in every garden, all scattered about.

I'm bummed that we didn't get more gardens built. The fall would have been the perfect time to plant the shrubs.

Plants for Butterfly Garden

I went to Logan's last weekend and bought several plants for the butterfly garden. So far it has a blue Butterfly bush, a yellow/orange Lantana, red gaillardia, and yellow coreopsis.

They're small plants now, and they need a little extra topsoil and some mulch or other soil conditioner.

The second photo has a monarch on the butterfly bush in the back, hard to see. It's just wonderful to see the bumble bees and butterflies all over the plants that have been there only a few days.

The new garden has dirt!

I know I sound abnormally excited about dirt, but you can't plant without it, well, not without a pond. I put down 6 bags of top soil, 5 large bags of Black Kow, and another 6 bags of top soil. My back ached before I started so it's pretty sore now. I raked the rich brown over, but didn't mix it well. It's glorious stuff. Anything would grow in it.

My dear neighbor Ann is digging up some extra plants from her flower garden for me. She has a lot of what I was planning to plant, and more lillies than any normal person could handle. Dan loves lillies, and we're making room for some and will probably move them to other gardens later.

It's so nice to have a little strip of dirt in the yard dedicated just to flowers. The vegetable garden is going strong. The bell peppers are weak but sweet and jalapenos are doing beautifully! A cucumber that was scrawny before Hannah blew through is now the size of my forearm! The zuchini's aren't doing as strongly as I thought. Two small fruit started to rot due to too much moisture. I should have mulched as my friend Rah told me to do!

Hopefully I'll have photos of blooming flowers soon.

New Garden!

Our flower garden is well on it's way. By "garden" I really mean "a row of bricks." But we've done the hardest part. Dan got out the mattock and broke up the dirt. We trenched a space for the first row of bricks. We made sure the curves we wanted would fit, and the flat side would line up with the side of the house. Of course, we had to make adjustments....

After packing paving sand in the trench we laid the first row of bricks, and I went through and leveled each brick. We had to level each one with the brick next to it, and test each individual bricks with a 3 way level.

The next steps are quite easy in comparison. I'll slap on a few more layers of bricks, using adhesive on the top layer. I'll empty many bags of top soil and composted manure and mix them in. Finally, I'll plant some plants that'll attract flowers and butterflies.

It has been an exhausting day, but it's nice to make some serious garden progress for a change!

We Have Veggies!

I am happy to report that we have veggies! The tomato plants are looking scraggly but producing lots of fruit.

The zucchini has several small zukes about 5 inches each, and we have a cucumber! It's my first time growing cucumbers and it kinda snuck up on me.

Only 1 of 3 cuke plants took off, even though I watered them the same. The zucchini totally swallowed up half the garden and I never noticed the cuke getting big! It's trying to creep out of my tiny garden.

I love watching the blooms turn into fruit.
From dirt to plant to pretty flowers to dinner plate!

Hummingbirds

Our hummingbird feeder has been quite busy lately. I watch them in the morning while having breakfast on the back patio, while Clover sniffs around the back yard to see what critters visited us overnight. The hummingbirds circle, drink, buzz around, and drink some more.

Recently they've been alighting at the feeder, actually resting. It's quite a compliment seeing a hummingbird relax. I've given them a spot to stop, exhale, and take a deep drink. We're lucky to share our yard with them.

The hummingbirds remind me of what's important. They remind me that the goal of my day isn't a to-do list on my desk at work, but to enjoy what's waiting for me in my yard--the half-built flower garden, the dogs wanting to play, and the birds who need a place to feed and rest. They bring me joy.

Ahhh, summer is definitely here.

We had our first juicy tomato this past weekend. They were almost overripe. They'd spent a few days on the window sill. Due to some scheduling glitches I didn't get to them when I planned, but they were still wonderful. I picked three more nearly red tomatoes and put them on the sill.

Ahhh, summer.

Tomatoes are Ripening!

The garden is slowly coming along. We've had an exceptionally cool summer, which is slowing down how fast the tomatoes are ripening. The two plants are over 6 feet tall, and are so pot-bound in the watering kit that at this point they're pretty much hydroponic tomatoes. The bottom branches are browning, looking like they have a fungus. I've broken off the sickly bottom branches, given the plants some fertilizer, and made sure they have plenty of sun.

The top branches are still getting new buds, and I've lost count of how many tomatoes are on the plant. We had to throw the first two away due to bottom blossom rot. The next two are half-red and are on my window sill.

I've found a great tomato diagnostic tool at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/tomatoproblemsolver/index.html
a link I found on the home page of my favorite garden supply place, Logan's.

The green bell pepper looks weak, and partially eaten. The red pepper plants look great and have lots of new growth. The zucchini is doing well and has buds. The cucumber plants have buds but not great leaf growth. At least they don't look eaten!

I'm hoping to get the brick work done on the flower garden this weekend.

Starting to garden again

I've had lots of excuses for not gardening. Honest.

Two weeks ago I swam in a triathlon. I was crazy enough to agree to a relay style triathlon. I'm a cyclist, but guys at the office needed a swimmer. So, the Town Hall Titans registered for the triathlon, and I swam 750 meters in a lake with PCB infected silt (Lake Crabtree). There's a photo of me next to the No Swimming sign, but I look like a whale and refuse to post it.

The visibility in the lake was so bad that I swam a zigzag pattern until I finally gave up and switched to breast stroke, so I could see where I was going when I breathed.

I won't mention my time either, but I finished without drowning, and got the timing chip to our cyclist, which were my two goals.

Did I mention our motto is "Don't Eat the Sediment" ??

Last weekend Dan and I had his kids for the weekend. Fairly uneventful. I got to watch them play Marco Polo at the pool. Jordan (12) would call out Marco, and Danny (8) would say nothing. Yet she'd still find him! It was funny to watch. When she got too far off I'd call out "Go left!" and help her find him.

Now, I'm starting back with building gardens. I set out the bottom layer bricks for what will be the flower garden, beneath dining area window. It's at the back of the house, faces east, and will perfect for some colorful, butterfly attracting flowers.

Have a good week! Enjoy the outdoors, wherever you are.

No major gardening this weekend

I'm avoid all lifting. This time last year I sprained my back, and had to withdraw from a triathlon. It was a relay tri and I was the swimmer (even though I'm a cyclist at heart). I had to beg my running coach, a triathlete, to please swim for me. It's a muddy swim in a gross lake, so dirty that regular swimming is not permitted. She did it for my teammates, the Town Hall Titans.

The back sprain was dumb--I lifted something at work while slightly twisted. There was furniture in the way, I didn't square myself in front of what I was lifting, and didn't bend my knees. Silly stupid mistake that I dearly paid for, for months!

My team is registered for the same tri I missed last year. I've been training hard, working on stroke efficiency and better breathing. Luckily the swim is only 750 meters, short enough that I can focus on my time. Anything longer and I'd just worry about finishing it without drowning....

So. No gardening other than watering my lilac, vegetables, and potted herbs and flowers. Everything is doing well and we badly need rain. The rain barrells are nearly empty. For Mom, I'll post another photo of a tobacco field in full bloom.

An unusual, beautiful flower

I'm posting this photo for Mom, because although she's been using this plant for 50 years, I don't think she's ever really seen it. I now live in "Eastern Carolina" as they say here, and I'd seen many tobacco fields in Maryland when I lived up there, but I don't recall seeing them flower all at once. It's a beautiful site! This field is adjacent to our huge cookie cutter planned development. For all the pesticides, sick field workers, and other nastiness, it really is a beautiful plant.

Nice Tomatoes!

We're conducting an experiment: just how much water can two measly tomato plants drink? We're not measuring precisely, but these puppies are drinking 4 gallons a day. Each day. They're draining our rain barrels! There was a cool, overcast day recently where they took in only 3 gallons.

We used a cool tomato success kit from Gardener's Supply and I bought two Bonnie Original tomato plants. That was barely two months ago, and they're now about 5 ft high. No lie!

There are four tiny tomatoes, and tons of blossoms. These two little plants will be very productive!

Always wanted a Lilac...

Gramma had a lilac bush next to the garage. It's been my dream to have that peaceful smell in my own home. Today we planted my first lilac, and I just about cried!

Getting the circle of bricks laid out was not simple-we had to re-level the whole circle after it was done. The grade made it a test of patience. What was really scary was was the dry red chunks they call "dirt" around here. This development was created by earth-movers that piled the dirt and sculpted the hill after razing the trees. Dan tried to dig the hole deep so we could work in good dirt. I hope this lilac has some very determined roots!

Finished the vegetable garden!

The vegetable garden has a wall, dirt, and plants. I call that a garden. Leveling the bottom row of bricks was a big pain in the butt, but I'm the patient type. Dan was great with packing the dirt, and paver sand.

It's so cool to have my first real vegetable garden ever. Mom had a great one growing up. She was into stir-fry in the 80's, and would tell us to "go pick dinner." We had some odd dinners, and she would occasionally veto our choices.

I love growing my own food, teaching my step-kids that food comes from dirt, and someday teaching my own kids to tend a small spot of land.

Martinez Hayes Garden Progress

We've begun the mayhem. The Martinez Hayes household is going to be digging for a while. Our development covenants committee has approved our garden bed plan, and we've gone to Lowe's and ordered our first pallet of bricks and 20+ bags of dirt. We have two days of Memorial Day Weekend to relax with neighbors before the brick and dirt are delivered.

Our garden plan has been on the back burner for over two years. I wanted to just go, but my husband, Dan, insisted on going through covenants. Of course they won't mind if we put raised beds around the base of our house! The houses are bland, it improves curb appeal, the houses in our section of the development get 5 lousy boxwood shrubs and one nasty Bradford Pear.

So, we've begun. I submitted a plan for only the raised beds, eliminating our other plans. It got rubber stamped and we're ready to start. We'll start in the back where we can practice how to best set it up before tearing through the sides of the yard. To be honest, we haven't even finalized whether it'll be 2 bricks high, or 3. Depends on how fast we tire of lugging around 17 pound bricks!

Oh my God, we're about to receive 192 bricks at 17 pounds each. What were we thinking?? My back aches at the thought of them.