strawberries relocated....

Strawberries were thinned from the bed and planted in smaller pots to re-root. We also have strawberry pots to give away to neighbors. The plants are 3 years old and should bear this year even after being disturbed.

Gardening is not a rational act - things that did not go well in 2012

Wild weather

• Drought: there was not much rain and certainly high temperatures. The water bill was high even with a drip system.
• Drip system installed. Had pressure issues and plugged hoses. Drip system saved the containers, though, while we were away for 3 weeks in June.
• Broccoli did not head. Cauliflower headed in late October. 
• Strawberries flowered and fruited three times! They were confused.
• Raspberries also confused.

Rodents of unusual cuteness

• Chipmunks ate young brassicas and undercut one of the tomato beds leading to premature demise. Too bad, our resident Cooper's hawk (picture) wasn't hunting them.  In further insult, our friends who were gifted with extra tomato plants had bumper harvests. Rats!

Japanese beetles: I won the war this time by going out morning and night and capturing and killing all that I could find on my cherry trees. Last year, they defoliated them. This year, I claim victory!

Beauty acquired: I scored white tulips at a clearance bin!

Peppers galore! Freezer full of hot and not-so-hot peppers.

Potatoes: Two years of unsuccessful harvest. The container method is not working. Where are the 100's of pounds of potatoes from a bin? We barely get seeds back out.

Sunflowers rocked!

the color, yellow, pops out from the shade

The first of  the daylilies have popped. I put them in about 2 years ago. They were a gift from a co-worker. These are located under the Tulip Tree. I really like yellow because it "pops" out of the shade. My garden and landscape design is designed to give the eye something to look at. You reye wanders and you say, Hey! What's that? That's interesting!" beforeroaming again. Contemplation. Meditation.

Last week while I was gone...

Alexa did a lot! She raked out all the old mulch from the landscaped areas in preparation for the arrival of the new cedar mulch. The cedar mulch, about 6 yards (3 cu ft) fill about half a dump truck. It was the prize for winning the Journal-Star Better Earth Garden contest for 2011.

See post here: http://tuliptreehomestead.blogspot.com/2011/06/yes.html

Also being delivered is 2 yards of finished compost. One can never have enough compost, truly.

Asian Lily

Also, while I was away at a conference for work, the asiatic lilies popped out near the toad houses.

Today, we planted all the annuals into the pots for the front patio. Also, planted another section of sunflowers on the north side of the house edged with hostas. There are already 3 types of sunflowers on the south side of the house also fronted with hostas. The sunflower varieties are: Lemon Queen (Seed Savers Exchange, Iowa), Valley Green ($0.10  generic seed), and Kervin's (a coworker) Giant Russian Sunflowers.

"butterfly" daisy

I've always loved daisies.

This one is....

Argyranthemum frutescens
or
Marguerite Daisy

raspberry parfait!!

raspberry parfait dianthus

Alexa's raspberry parfait flowers came back from last year in their pot!

Gorgeous!!

The Dianthus Raspberry Parfait, 'Dianthus chinensis' has petite pink flowers with a dark crimson eye that grows equally well in patio pots or beds. The Super Parfait series has a compact growth habit that flowers earlier than other varieties.


True story.

We had in order of appearance this year: daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, peonies, and now dianthus.