Filomena Petix Licata's birthday
Thought I should write a blog on her birthday since I have basically become Grandma.  How is the garden?  Well, it's hot.  105 degrees on Monday. Then on Tuesday, in C. Springs, literally all hell broke loose with the fires that burned 346 homes.  I am sure they had gardens and beautiful homes.  so sad.

A very appropriate quote from, Everything I know I learned in My Garden by Emilie Barnes:
Even if she forgets the whole thing in her teens, later still, when she is grown up and has a first garden of her own, some misty memory of the pleasure of growing things will give her a headstart over the gardener without any background, just as children who have spoken a second language, and forgotten it, can pick it up again in later years_ Anne Scott-James

This pretty much describes me as I remember more and more of days with Grandma in her garden in Rochester, NY.

Veggies:  The Italian container garden is looking better for sure. I have a lot of green tomatoes. I took a bad tomato to Big Tool box and left with something to spray on tomatoes, zucchini, cukes etc.  My tomatoes had blossom rot.  I am so glad Debbie Rowe turned me on to the water meters. I stick the meter in the grown or pot and can tell if the plant needs water.  In this heat, the surface dirt can look very dry but the roots are wet. This is true everywhere but the front walkway. What is with that soil?

  We have been enjoying the snow peas and sugar snaps.  The lettuce is delicious.  Radishes are gone.  I hope the beans start growing.

By the way,  I have two kinds of basil this year.  The regular kind and then that small leaf. Not sure I like it yet.

Now for some humor.  Okay, take a look, what is that growing in my front pots?

David Horneyy said, "It looks like a pumpkin."  yes, it does.  how did it get there?  Was there a volunteer seed in some dirt I put in the pot along with the potting soil?

very amusing.  I am leaving it alone.  Who knows what might happen?  Ah, the fun of the garden.

Back garden report:

The hydrangea is doing okay.  I am "babying" it.  I checked with my water meter and water is getting to the roots.  

More lilies have arrived!  Note that the petunias in one box are not blooming?  I am giving them Miracle Grow

And, drum roll- a Dahlia should be here for the reunion!

More on roots

I have been concerned.  As I water over the summer, I note that at times, roots become visible under the plants.  Usually that plant looks a bit sick.  I read this verse in the Bible and had another thought. Mark 11:20  As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.

I had never noticed that "from the roots up" part.  The roots should not have been visible to the eye. Roots are supposed to be under ground. What were they doing up?


First picture is a healthy fig tree and below, a dying tree. Wonder if the roots are out of the ground?


I have been going around the garden checking out that roots are hidden.  This verse came to mind.  PS So glad I memorize verses!  Fun, fun, fun.  


I do enjoy life!

Colossians 3: 1-4 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

it is now officially summer. And The Dahlia mystery

Today it will be 100 degrees.  We have house guests so, bummer, cannot sleep in the basement.  It is always cool in the morning and I love sitting on the back porch and watching my favorite garden. .
take a look

Dahlia bulb number 1 above

here is number two.  What, you may say?  yes, looks awful.  All I can figure is it was the hail as the hosta got somewhat beat up.

But here is the confusing thing: Look at this dahlia which is next to that sick one:

I mean, those dahlia are 12 inches apart in the garden?
I always wonder if there is something "rotten in Denmark" because the impatiens near that sick dahlia are not doing well whereas their cousins inches away are growing?

Then there is the tomato plant mystery in the front. One plant is simply NOT growing at all.  I got it at a good nursery.

As I've pondered the tomato plant mystery, I came up with these thoughts.

1. I attended a garden show in the spring and the woman said to put plastic containers, milk, water, tea, in the bottom of a big pot so as not to use rocks or a lot of potting soil because the containers become too heavy.  I think she MUST have meant for flowers ONLY.   I woke up this morning thinking a phrase, "teak root downward, bear fruit upward."   I thought, "Is that in the New Testament?"  I did a search at Bible.gateway. Nope.  So I finally just put the phrase into Google search and sure enough, I had memorized this verse in Isaiah 37:31- And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

I think that my vegetables in the big pots are not growing because they do not have a good root system.  The plastic containers was not a good idea.  I am giving them fertilizer but they are certainly not thriving.

2.  So what does this all mean?  Well, without root nourishment, plants cannot survive.  They have to go deep to bear healthy fruit. The interesting thing is that there is some fruit but it is sickly, unhealthy, probably not tasty.  I see this as a spiritual lesson.  If we don't care for our souls, taking root in the Word of God, in communication with God's Spirit, we won't bear healthy fruit in our lives.  Fruit?  I think of the fruit of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness.  Not to mention the "fruit" of people coming to know Jesus.  So these plants in the front are a painful reminder to me that underneath is as important as what appears from the outside.

About the dahlias, I think the one dahlia that is 12 inches from the sick one is located a little closer to the porch and must have had shelter from the hail storm on June 6.  

June 21 a new bush! Thanks to the Hemperlys

Hemperlys may take the prize of "best guests ever."  I mean, buying me a hydrangea plant?  Wow.  And then there is Tom, the servant, who dug the hole. The dirt is hard here. We had to buy some dirt at Home Depot to level that part of the garden.  We had noticed that the sprinklers hit well in that area.  So we followed the directions, dig a hole 1 and a half times the size of the pot. Make sure the plant is put in vertical and level with the ground. I even added some bone meal for root growth.  A nice blue color!

What is going on in the garden, close up!

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xHkq1edcbk4?rel=0

If you don't want to watch all of it, check out the hummingbird doing aerial rolls at the beginning. I had no idea they could do that!

June 14, back from Florida and need to make a report

Well, the news was that there was a huge hailstorm while I was gone. I got a text from someone who told me the gardens were destroyed.  Hail is funny. It falls where it will and it did not really damage too much.  The two dahlias in the garden near the house don't look real good but hoping for some photosynthesis to take over and they will come alive.  As you can see the dahlia in the Prayer garden is doing great.  see it there in the middle?

Here are some pictures from the veggie garden:

I just pulled out the arugula.  Looked awful.  The sugar snap peas have so many blossoms.  Now how long did that take?

The lettuce is not big but might taste okay.

Radishes not doing well.  The flowers there in the back are fine and note the green beans have popped up. They have some hail damage.  The spinach looks anemic. so much for getting iron from my spinach. it's my soil. I really think my soil is just bad, bad, bad.  would need to dig it all out and put really good soil in.  Amending it is not working.  I wonder if those zucchini plants will do anything?

Italian garden:

The pepper plants look bad. I am letting everything really dry out, let them suffer a bit. I know, they are not olive trees or grape vines (remembering what the winery guys in Italy told me).  There are little tomatoes already out.  I  would say this garden is a C now.  not very good like last year at least at this point.

What makes me smile:

so nice to sit on the back porch and look out at the Prayer garden.

  One issue:

Note the impatiens.  Just not doing well and they used to in this location. I think it is because Tom cut down that rather sick Aspen.  The impatiens needed the shade. The ones in the Apple Tree garden are looking good.  I did some replanting in the House garden.

Happy with the front of the house:

another message for Laura Flanders

So glad I thinned the radishes.  Look how nice and "like normal" radishes they look.  last year they were long and thin because they had no space to grow!  :)  Thanks for encouraging THINNING, Laura!

Been busy!  June 3, 2012

So here is the start of the annuals. I added some perennials.  You can see some of them. I hope as I record I'll be able to see if the perennials return next year.  I am especially interested in the poppy and the delphinium in the second picture.

In the top picture, there is are two new lilies and then above the white geranium on the right is a new perennial.


Aren't these pink roses pretty!

More views of cool veggie garden.  Left to right- Sugar snap peas (no veggies yet); lettuce, kale, carrots, arugula.  coming along.