The weather was cold and dreary and it rained on and off most of the day. Disappointingly icky weather for working outside. :( And it doesn't look like it's going to get better before the weekend.
Took the kids to Target and let them pick out Sunflower seeds while I picked up some lettuce. Every year I've let the girls plant a row of sunflowers in the back of the garden. They're pretty much fool proof. Last year, as I previously mentioned, not much of anything grew. Only a scraggly few sunflowers survived the onslaught of rain.
So far since we've live here we've had a severe drought followed by the 2nd rainiest year on record. I definitely prefer the drought!
=http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~slichti/photos/wrg/orchi d_show_3-3-2001/images/ph otos/017-Moth-Orchid-(Pur ple-series-2).jpg width=175 align=leftI was given a beautiful fushia moth orchid as a gift for hosting my friends bridal shower a few weeks ago. When I saw it the first think I thought was I wonder how long it will last before it succumbs to the fate of every other hosue plant I have tried to raise?
The orchid came with a whole page of very detailed instructions on how to take care of it. It's very complicated. It wants indirect light (I have no full sun windows in my house, so this is good) and lots of water. Excellent! Because I tend to overwater and rot everything.
The instructions were idiot proof. It said water once a week when the mossy stuff was dry. It said what the leaves would look like if it was overwatered or had too much salt or any number of other conditions. Perfect for me who can't look at a plant and tell what's wrong.
Well, it's starting to look a bit droopy and the flowers are fading. And one of the buds withered and fell off before blooming. Hmm. I've been following the instructions so I don't understand. *sigh* I wonder how long it will be before this one meets the same fate as the others? Like the pretty spider plant or the hanging fern?
=http://img28.photobucket.com/... align=left This will be a regular feature! Someday I'll have tbucks to give away as well, but alas, not today.
This picture is pretty bad, so I'll have to describe. This perrenial has dark green leaves with lighter white/green spots. Small purple, pink and blue flowers. This picture was taken today so it is blooming now. It is perhaps my favorite plant in my garden that I am actually responsible for picking out and planting (unlike the majority which came with the house!)
A careful observer will notice this plants name somewhere else on the page. :)
Hurricane Isabel blew through our community on September 19, 2003 during one of the wettest years on record for this area. The ground was already so saturated that trees uprooted everywhere. The winds gusted up to Tropical Storm strength (50-60 mph).
Thankfully nothing fell on our house, but alas, a huge oak tree fell on out beloved new playground. Here is all that remains. Notice the large branches of dead limbs in the background and the huge chunks of trunk that need to be moved and hacked up into firewood. We still need to clear the old playground debris before setting up the new one.
We had spent months on this playground project. We built a retaining wall. Purchased fill dirt and mulch. My husband struggled over the plans for months. It had been put together for 2 weeks. *sigh* Now we have a mess to clean up!
Today it is cold and grey so I won't be outside working away like I wanted. I am DYING to get my tomatos and peppers into the ground. The very next warm day, they are going in and I'll just fight the frost.
Yesterday my stepfather and husband got the vegetable garden rotertillered. I pulled my bean trellesis' out of the shed and put those up. Then I planted a row of peas and some carrots. I think it's okay to plant carrots now. The packet didn't say and I know my mom has planted hers.
Last year my vegetable garden was a HUGE flop. We got way too much rain. Everything rotted and turned yellow and the weeds over ran the whole place. None of the beans even sprouted last year.
So this year I'm determined to grow peas, even though I don't really like regular peas, I thought it would be fun for the girls to crack them open and harvest them. I can always freeze them an add them to things. The snap peas I think will be good (that kind I do like :).
I started tomatos and peppers from seed this year and they are over ready to be planted because I started them in January like a dumb bum. The peppers are the right size, but the tomatos are 'leggy' (as my mom says) and they need to be in the garden and caged since they have outgrown my window.
=http://img28.photobucket.com/... align=rightI also worked on installing the landscapers edging I purchased and putting down the rest of the mulch I had. I would have preferred to use something more natural looking other than the black plastic, but the grass will grow in and hopefully you won't be able to see it as much. :)
Oh and yes, there are still leaves everywhere from where I raked out the beds. Husband is in charge of that!
=http://img28.photobucket.com/... align=leftGreetings! I didn't really think that my =http://dumblondegirl.tblog.co...other blog was the place for lengthy discussions on my gardening trials and tribulations, so here is my second home on tblog! This will be all about gardening and landscaping.
About my gardens: I've lived in my current home for 2 1/2 years. We have 1 1/3 acres in the suburbs of Washington DC. The soil is mostly clay.
About my experience: I have zip experience. I love to work in the yard. I love my plants. Sometimes I kill them. Sometimes the weather kills them. Sometimes they love me back. I have been experimenting with this or that for a couple of years, so I'm getting better :)
Planned features of this blog: 1. "What is this thing?" (where there will be a picture of a plant or pest or something and y'all can guess what it is.) 2. Problem of the day/week. I'll show pictures and explain some of my current challenges. 3. Current project. 4. Of course what's been planted and what's growing! :) 5. My mistakes/what I've learned. Ha! This should be quite funny.
I will probably update this daily. I have many, many, many gardening things to blog about, especially now that it's spring. Enjoy (and leave me some feedback, please!)
Pics from my Garden!
Above: Daffodils, Forsythia and Virginia Blue Bells from my gardens blooming now :)
About Me:
Name: Cindy (aka Dumblondegirl)
Location: Northern Virginia
Zone: 6 or 7
Soil: Acidic, clay
