This morning I fed my flowers some compost with bat guano, and watered it in well. The tulips and irises are budding and are almost ready to bloom. I love seeing them transform. It's amazing what goes on beneath the soil. The daffodils look so healthy and bright.
My neighbor stopped by and we had a passionate discussion about gardening. She uses cocoa hulls for mulch, and enthusiastically described their scent to me as divine. She loves inhaling the fragrance of chocolate as she's gardening. She pointed out a house near ours where the previous owner had planted a thousand bulbs. Can you imagine? I think they need to be fertilized to rebloom each year. Mine love compost tea. (and straw mulch.)
I fed the cherry and apple trees this morning. The buds are starting to open and flower. I need to buy a couple more bags of compost for the other beds. I dug one artichoke plant in the fertile soil, and will place the other one at a separate spot in full sun. They are one of my favorite vegetables to grow. They like the frost. I am excited to grow them in the mountains.
I visited with another neighbor who was enthusiastically watering her flowers and trees. Everyone is excited that Spring is here. There's a lot of planting being done. Are you growing anything new this season?
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You're planting artichokes on the mountain? What zone is it up there? That's great. I'm hoping to get a couple artichoke plants again this year - voles ate them last year. We still have another week or so before it's really safe for most planting.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure, LL. I buy my plants at the local hardware store. Everything they sell grows beautifully up here. They can handle a frost, in fact they love the cold temps.
Delete:-) Good question. I'm having a lot of fun planning some developments for my garden at the moment. There's something about springtime that gets the ideas going again, isn't there?
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Yes, it's exciting to get a fresh start on growing food and flowers. Enjoy your gardening, Joy.
DeleteJust started the seeds of, a little later than normal but nothing new just old favourites.
ReplyDeleteOld favorites are wonderful, mm. I love the old fashioned flowers.
DeleteOur vegetable garden is taking off with all this sunny weather. We usually have deep fog and gloomy skies in the spring, but so far this spring the fog has burned off early and the skies are sunny. I planted several flower pots and gardens with marigolds over the last week, replacing the vincas that self seeded. I love marigolds! I also transplanted more milkweed seedlings for the Monarchs. We are taking part in a study with a local butterfly scientist to count the number of Monarchs and the impact of Tachinid flies.
ReplyDeleteVinca grows like crazy here, Anita. I am digging some up to give to my neighbor. It's invasive at my place, but so pretty. I hear that Marigolds are very good for the garden. I've never grown them.
DeleteIt's definitely the growing sowing and planting season. I've never tried artichokes and really must plant some next year. I have loads of the Jerusalem type in tubs to give me a late Autumn harvest. They are lovely roasted with a bit of salt and freshly ground black pepper
ReplyDeleteThey take up a lot of space, Cherie. I just love having them to eat. They are so expensive in the stores here. I cook mine with lemon juice and Italian salad dressing, then dip the leaves in mayo...
DeleteSounds so lovely - growing food and flowers. What a blessed life you have created xxx
ReplyDeleteThanks, ratnamurti. Yes, I agree. The older I get, the more I appreciate the home, garden, and my sweet Labradoodle.
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