Cultivating Knowledge in Mommy's Garden

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Garden Challenge~Status Report and Giveaway!

Coloring flower pictures from our garden.  I made color sheets for the different flowers that we are growing and we talk about the flowers and then color them.  The girls LOVE this!


Why we haven't kept up on the blog...  This area was all grass a few weeks ago

The wall to finish for an additional flower bed... :)
To be planted in additional bed.

Perennial bed by playhouse, growing up nicely.

Herb garden filling in nicely.  We planted our lavender, chamomile and echinacea that we started from seed.

The iris and asparagus bed.  The iris are just starting to bloom, and the asparagus has gone to seed (second year only, so still another year before harvestable)

The girl's hanging baskets (baskets and liners at the Dollar Tree), trailing petunias.

We planted the border of marigolds yesterday.  Dahlias hanging out in the greenhouse waiting for the weather to improve.

Square foot garden, tomato, peppers and onions planted.
A dish???  We enjoy eating all of the things we grow directly out of the garden fresh.  But we will probably use the fixins for salad, and add the peppers and onions to chicken to make kabobs.
What I learned is that no matter the size of your garden, it's still a lot of work!  Also, I've tried to follow my book's advice and plant things on overcast days or when it is cooler in the evening, as not to stress the plants more than necessary.


***Giveaway***
I have too many Dahlia tubers (bulbs).  I will mail a handful of tubers to the winner.  
To enter simply comment on this post!
Extra entry to those who follow Mommy and Me Gardening, post a separate comment letting me know!
This giveaway will end on Memorial Day and tubers will ship out on Tuesday when the post office reopens :).

The handful will be a variety, but if you google dahlia images you'll get an idea of what you'll get.  The tubers will have eyes or sprouts, but probably not leaves (so they will survive shipping)





Pill Bug

We found a pill bug in the garden and tormented the thing for two days!  
 Selena with her "pet"  Pill Bug, Rose.
 Rose with Belle
 Rose's House
 Rose on the table
 Rose's Food Dish
 Goodbye Rose!
 Released back into the wild.

What Happened to the Front Yard??

 May 10th, planning stages
 May 17th, "island" done, and under budget... so onto the next :).
 May 24th, side grass removed, 2 yards of fill, perennial planting (all plants bought on clearance).

Rocks collected by us :). 

 Pathway is creeping thyme thinned out of the back garden.  

Total cost of new front yard garden, $115.  All plants bought on clearance, rocks collected for free.  All labor free because it was done by me (except for addition to the retaining wall, thanks to my husband!)

Still to do~
Divide up the iris in the front corner
Spread the additional pile of soil
Level the island a bit to match the other beds elevation
Plant dahlias when weather improves
ENJOY! 

Update~ Planting our baskets





Reading in the Garden