Dirt UP!: August 2015

Summertime,,,what we dreamed about in January... just for a moment, remember January? In Indiana, that last two winters have been brutal.. record low temps, piles of snow..I'll stop now..

It's time for a midsummer garden tour at Dianne's place... I'm thinking about calling it "Wild Edge Gardens," because, well, it just came to me as I wandered around the back yard. I've been trying to raise more bee-friendly native plants, and to leave some to just grow to the sky. When that happens, the edges of the yard get a little more grown than usual, but, really, does EVERYTHING have to be neat and tidy in a gardener's world? I love the textures and blooms of just about every garden plant and those that have escaped from the wood's edge. Let's tour the garden and see what's UP!

Wait a minute,,,,I have a big juicy tomato on my plate, ,um, so good... sunshine on a fork..munch, munch,, dribble down my chin,,, okay, back to business.

Speaking of garden veg,, did someone say green beans?

I usually grow way more than I want, so this is about 5 foot of fence, with some Kentucky pole beans growing up it. I'm surprised it hasn't fallen over, it's so full!

One of my favorite (I use that word a lot when talking about my garden) late summer bloomers is ironweed. I'm sure that now you've seen my picture, you will find it everywhere alongside any road you're on at the moment. Ironweed feeds insects, bees, and probably others when the seeds fall. The purple of ironweed blooms is so intense!

This next one is probably a perennial sunflower, I just haven't found a name for it. I have let it grow up in all sorts of places in the garden and yard. Just when you think the flowers are kaput, this puppy raises its proud head as if to say, "Shine on, my lovely sun, we're not done with you yet!"

That pile of sand right behind this? THE NEW GREENHOUSE will go right there. Can you tell I'm excited?!? We went out this morning and started digging post holes for the corners. This plant will grow up right beside it, and I probably won't move it. It waits to bloom late in summer, when I won't be using the greenhouse, and the bees will need it.

I forgot the elephant in the room,,, here's the new garage/workshop from the west, complete with our eco water barrel, not hooked up to new downspout yet.

Can you see the small garden along the edge there? I started it last week... I pulled weeds, added some clay soil conditioner, garden soil, worm castings, and plant food. I then planted buckwheat. It took three days for it to come up.

And now, here it is at 6 days.

It will grow about 3 1/2 ft. tall, with white flowers. It makes a very wonderful honey, I've been told. It will be tall in about 30 days, I'll let you know. It is considered a green manure, so when I'm done with it, I'll cut it, and mulch into the garden to enrich my soil.

Here's my new potting bench, inside the garage. I'm such a shopper, wait until you hear about this...We went to Habitat Restore in Lafayette, and found the countertop, marked $19. When we checked out, we were told, "Oh, yellow tag, 75% off! That'll be $4.75!" The sink I already had, $25, and some lumber, so this whole thing, about 8 ft. long, cost under $50. and I've already started decorating my little corner of the garage! Look at that great stool, found it up in the attic of the barn, so it was free! I was going to paint it, but the patina is too great to sand off.

Walking around to the side of the house, I have a "holding garden" next to the back deck on the east side of the house... I use it for nurturing all those scraggly $1-$5 plants I find in various places. I recently bought a $20 Lenten Rose for $5! I also just acquired some lavender, $1/ea, and salvia $1/ea... I bring them home, trim down, feed and water them, then water daily. I also have new shrubs that will be planted out in the fall. They will get a great start right here, and then be ready to deep root when placed out in the cooler weather. If planted in the heat now, they may or may not make it. Plus, they are there to great me as I go in and out of the back door.

I see a fothergilla, a native, lower right, that will be covered with bottle brush flowers in the spring, once it gets going... Several thyme plants, some dill, the tall thing upper left is buttonbush, another native plant that is a great replacement for overused landscape plants like,,, eww,,, burning bush. I also have overflowing pots of oregano that I started from seed earlier. They will be put out in the fall, also. The tiny leaved plant is thyme, which I also just got starts of... I've made it a habit to come out here and gather a handful of herbs-basil, sage, dill, oregano, thyme- and plop them into my salad, on my chicken, on a tomato, whatever. Herbs are easy to grow. Try it next year.

I'm a big fan of trying to get something to grow, even though it looks like a lawnmower and a drought have already hit them... This little "Kentucky Colonel" mint was a brown stick two days before this picture was taken. I cut off most of the dead foliage, fed and watered, and look at it now! Two new leafy starts, raring to go!

If you ever want to have a plant that gives you almost more joy than a chocolate cookie with ice cream,,, plant phlox. As a matter of fact, if you haven't, do it! I have two colors of pink, and they are glorious! I have used them in arrangements for church and the scent is intoxicating! This hot pink one is "Nicky."

This next one is an ordinary pink garden phlox. It has grown next to the house since we moved here. I love watching it come up bigger and bigger every year!