Tomatoes

This is the first time in years I have grown any tomatoes as I usually buy at the local farmer's market. There are just two plants in the styrene box, once used to bring salmon home from Alaska in. There is a tomato plant on either end, and a pepper in the center.

May 5th

May 29th. If they keep growing at this rate, I hope to have a nice crop of tomatoes in the not too distant future.

Then and Now

I am very pleased with the progress all my plants are making.

April 25th

May 29th

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April 22nd

May 29th

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April 25th

May 29th

May Forecast

It has been overcast and raining off and on all this last week 21st - 28th. so I have not been doing any gardening.

I have noticed how well the flowers and vegetables are liking the extra moisture and the warmer temperatures.

I need to take *Then and Now* pictures to post so we can see how well everything has done over the last month. Just need some sunshine so I can get outdoors and get the job done.

Planted May 21st 06

Now that all the soil and compost has been moved onto my new garden spot beside the carport, I thought it was looking a little bare without more plants.

I have planted Pansys, yellow Snapdragons, yellow Marigolds, Salvia-Blue Angel, Floss Flower-Leilani Blue, three English Lavender, three Munstead Lavender, and four mixed Dahlia.
I plan on planting daffodils in the fall.

Floss Flower - Leilani Blue

Marigold

Salvia - Blue Angel

Pansy

Pansy

Before and After

The garden on this side of the carport had been overtaken by grass.

Here is what it looks like now after two days effort.

Front view showing a hydrangea which has been in this spot for a couple of years and an iris I bought at the local garden club's sale this last weekend. All I need to do is tidy up around the outside of the garden.

Three more favorites

Stock

Pansy

Burgenia

A taste of texture and color

There is an exibit of numerous shades of green, incredible textures and eye-catching form and shape in the garden.

My next challenge

The garden area around two sides of the carport really needs some work.

The forsythia and lilac need pruning back so they will regain their original beauty.

These three roses had grown over tall and were in terrible shape. I have cut them back by about two thirds, and said if they don't make it, then I will replace them. So far two of them have new shoots and are showing signs of recovery, the third I am waiting to see if it will grow more new shoots as the rabbits ate the first few which grew before I put the wire around them. It is a good thing I bought a 150 foot roll of chicken wire, I sure will need it to protect my plants from the rabbits.

This side of the carport gets all the hot morning sun, so I will have to find sun loving flowers for here. You can see some bluebells which seem to like the heat. The pasture has encroached upon the garden and will take some time to get it knocked back into shape.

There are some kind of spring bulbs growing here, but so far those long eared, buck toothed, cotton tailed, critters have eaten all the flower buds off before they could bloom, so it seems more chicken wire is called for. I am tired just thinking about all the work I will have to do around the carport to make it look nice again.

Another treasure for my garden.

This morning we took a drive to the recycling center to see if we could find some paint. Not only did we come home with four gallons of free paint, I found this cute bird bath.

The frog almost looks real.

The birdbath adds a little character to my shade garden. Notice how large the hostas and ferns have grown Three weeks ago they were about six inch high, unfurled leaves and fronds.
Next job is to cover the soaker hoses with mulch to conserve moisture.

I have made use of the heavy duty polystyrene containers we brought salmon home from Alaska in. I am hoping these peas will produce a good crop, they will probably never make it to the dinner table as I love raw peas fresh from the garden.

This styrene box has two different tomatoes, one on each end, and a bell pepper in the center.

Click on pictures for larger view.

May 4th A Splendid day

Whew! I am tired. I took advantage of the good weather and played outside for most of the day.

The soil/compost mix WM gave me is now in some of my pots and tubs. Hmmm! I have soil left over, what to do? guess I will have to buy more plants and pots to use up the extra soil.

I have made use of this old galvanized tub to contain some strawberries. As usual I have to surround everything with chicken wire to keep the rabbits from eating the plants. These strawberries were in better shape, but the rabbits got up on the deck and ate dessert before I could transplant them.

I have been told rabbits do not care for nasturtiums which are in these four containers. being rather sceptical when it comes to what rabbits will and won't eat, I am taking no chances, hence more chicken wire.
This area is going to be my summer haven. A hammock is going to be strung between the two trees in the foreground so I can relax here on warm summer days and watch the hummingbirds at their syrup feeder, the other birds at their seed feeder, read a book or take a nap.

I am experimenting growing four 'Bistro Salad blend' lettuce plants in a pot. I like the idea of picking lettuce leaves for a salad and the plants keep right on growing.