Monday, March 31, 2008

I'm an investment specialist.

First post by Matt! I don't remember the word for "our" en Español, so the blog title will live on as is.

Did some path restructuring, bed amendment, and planting yesterday (Sunday). Got re-invested in the garden after a long winter of inactivity. I really enjoyed doing maintenance stuff during Winter (tree trimming, dirt moving, volunteer abatement, etc.), but nothing re-invests a guy like putting hand to soil. Here's what we did:

  • Expanded the corner bed that's near the lemon barrel, moving the brown terraced pot structure back into new territory under the painting room. We have planted our flag in the final frontier.

  • Augmented what was already growing in the corner bed with Echinacea, Snapdragons, Hollyhocks, Larkspur, and Cornflower. Snails really seem to dig the Cornflower, so I strawberry basketed them. Then I strawbasketed everything else, too. Better safe than sorry.

  • I arranged the flowers to be planted in the peninsula bed, and Jacki put them in the ground. My main philosophy is grouping and gradients. I tried to balance texture and height profiles, while attempting to avoid homogeneity. Planted a few of the same species as went in the corner bed, plus a few other which I don't know the names of. I'll leave it up to Jacki to note those ones.

  • Jacki and I marked and dug along the right side of the main path, up against the island bed, evening out the path's domain and creating space for Marigolds come veggie time. Now that I think about that - it might be kinda intense. Gonna have to ponder it further.

  • Moved three small round plants with purple flowers from beta bed to the corner bed to help define the rounded path corner. We have plans to put a little table out there with out chairs and are crafting a nook.

  • Jacki and I discussed a new location for the compost bins - back in the corner atop those horrid quartz stones. Seems like a good spot to put them as it will never be planted otherwise. Poppies seem to like growing in there, though.

  • Did one little bit more pruning on the Southern apple tree - trying to clear up the Northeast side as much as possible because we have had such mildew problems there in the past. The air circulation should be loads better this year, so I am hoping that resolves the issue.


Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. Once it's warmer and we have a bit more light, I'll head out and get some photos to post. Done.

Additional note: This morning there was frost on the roofs and stubborn ice on the car windshield. Not sure how much that will effect the seedings - they have been living outside for the past few weeks.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Sigh...if only...

Dreamy


These flowers have a story. A common dream of mine is that I stumble upon some ridiculous bounty of something I crave. In the dream I am always in disbelief, is this really mine, can I really keep it? Well, last summer that dream came true! I was driving by a nursery and next to the dumpster where all types of beauties, I really should have photographed our car brimming with flowers. They were a tad worn, but with a little love revitalized. These flowers were from that load.

Spring Bolt




Saturday, March 22, 2008

Note to Self again

3/22
Planted seeds
lemon cuc
tricolor beans
large zinnia
coreopsis
sunflower

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Note to Self

Planted 3/19
Seeds
Scabiosa
Lrg Zinnia
Marigold
Cornflower
Love in a Mist?
Basil
Cilantro
Thyme
Chives
Oregano
Transplanted
Chard
Lettuce

Bud not Buddy


I can't even remember apple trees with leaves. Has winter really been that long? I can remember sitting in there shade and loving it. What a surprise it is to be forgetful-apple blossoms will deliver the joy of fresh site but with the hint of familiarity of the forgotten last spring.


Spring Cleaning



I buried horse crap, scraps, weeds, leaves in the pile behind me in the winter-and I think I got some ok sheet compost out of it-too bad it was a shady spot-but i dug it out and moved it and now it is wait and see come planting time...I am counting down days till the Berkeley Farmers market compost giveaway for my flower gardens. I am counting down the, who knows how long, weeks, months for my traditional compost. That reminds me I really nee to post on the annals of compost and the wriggley wranch...Stay tuned....

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

End of Summer



End of summer, early fall, culling apples, collecting seeds.



Best Part of Having a Yard

FLOWERS!



Seedy


We also started experimenting with seeds. Flower seeds planted spring/summer 2007- cosmos (orange, pink, white), zinnias, sunflowers, nasturtium, marigolds, coreopsis, sweet peas.
Vegetable seeds planted spring/summer 2007 basil, lettuce, kale, collards, swiss chard, string beans (purple) I'll have to look up varieties and record more details for "record keeping." Stay tuned.