Another Path

In addition to growing a lot of flowers, my husband and I also grow herbs and vegetables! One of the beds runs parallel to our driveway which is right outside our kitchen door. I enjoy the placement of the vegetable and herb beds because it is so handy to have them nearby when I am preparing summer meals.


Above is a picture of new green bean plants, parsley & chives to the left of the beans and Swiss chard on the far left.

Rather than plant in rows, we plant in squares 18 x 18 inches. On the left are beet plants. There are a couple of spring onions still in the very front of the bed. The Swiss chard we like to grow is called Rainbow Chard. The stems are truly rainbow color and the color is retained even after cooking!

Tomatoes and peppers grow in another veggie bed. They thrive in the late morning to sunset sunshine. There is nothing better than enjoying a fresh-picked tomato right off of the vine.

Father's Day in the Garden

A lot has been happening in the garden. Some seedlings have germinated and are doing well, others failed, my pansies have been dug up and replaced with my seedlings. Edging needs to be redone in places, and buds emerge on the seeds that did germinate.

Let's take a look around together.

This photo shows some nicely mature plants grown from seed. The popcicle sticks indicate where I have replanted zinnia seeds.

I have surrounded the miniature hydrangea with the large pompom marigolds. They were just watered in when this photo was taken.

The last time you saw this bed, it contained Coral Nymph Salvia in the back and pansies in front of those plants.

The pansies are gone now and there are 6 Lady in Red Salvias in front of the Coral Nymphs. In front of them are Orange Profusion Zinnias and then my marigolds.

The red miniature hydrangea is blooming and the blossoms are not red but a lovely shade of pink.
The more I cut the blossoms, the more it blooms. It is really a stunning plant.

My sweet peas are blooming

and very fragrant. I have small bouquets of them all through the house. They remind me so much of my mother!

I love the colors. The blossoms almost look as though they have stripes of magenta painted on them.

Poor Germination

I have been outside weeding today and feel discouraged by the poor germination response with my zinnia seeds and marigolds. This may be, in part, due to the high amount of rain we had after I planted the seeds. They may have rotted in the ground. Clearly some of them washed to other locations.

I am going to re-till part of the bed and plant again. Hopefully I will have a better response this time. Ah the joys of gardening.

Container Flowers Brighten My Day

My seedlings are coming up nicely but it will be awhile until they bloom. Dave knows this is a frustrating time for me, so he has planted some lovely containers for me. These are in the back of our house where I like to spend my early mornings and evenings.

June 1 - Weeds or Plants

This is a really frustrating time of the growing season for me. Seedlings are coming up but so are the weeds. I am a compulsive weeder which explains my frustration. I've taken some photos to show you what I mean even though it is embarrassing to post them.

In the picture below you will see weeds above a well-sprouted zinnia. Below that, to the left is a marigold. On the bottom right is a new zinnia seedling coming up beside a popsicle stick. Between the marigold and new zinnia sprout is a marigold but I think you will have as much difficulty as I had seeing it. I almost pulled it out.

The pansies are really getting leggy now. That is why I planted seeds that will last all summer in between them. To the left of the pansy plant is a new nasturtium plant

I have now planted coral nymph salvia behind the pansies. They look scrawny now but they will spread out to approximately 24 inches between them.