Seeds this Spring - Cucumbers

Hey Kids, last year we had so many cucumbers. They were prolific. More than I knew what to do with them. Pickles were made out of them, relishes, salads. Even though I have never been any good at zucchini, my cucumbers produced more than my zucchini ever did. Unfortunately, with all the wet weather we had last year, the cucumbers got mosaic virus, and mildew. I tried treating them with fungicides like Neem, but it was so wet that I couldn't keep up. We had some really fun varieties last year, check out the list of veggies that I go last year, HERE. This year though I am going to stick with one. It will make it easier for picking, this way they will all look the same and I wont have to guess when they are ripe. 

I picked up Marketmore 76. According Johnny's Seeds, this variety was selected because it is resistant to many diseases such as cucumber mosaic virus, downy mildew and powdery mildew. 

I also wanted to try a process called scarification, which is supposed to reduce germination time by allowing to seed to experience water absorption faster.

It worked too. It only took 2 days for my seeds to germinate.

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Golden ragwort (Packera aurea)

It's hard not to like Golden ragwort (aka Golden Groundsel) = Packera aurea.

It's a native across the Eastern U.S.  It flowers early in spring, supporting some early pollinators, providing a brilliant yellow in woodlands, etc.

It's a exuberant colonizer, and successful self-seeder, so grows prolifically in nice garden beds.

Happily, it's easy to "control" and share with fellow gardeners.

Here's a view of a patch through the front door in our (small) house in the mountains.

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Spring

Okay Kids, spring is one of my favorites. I love taking pics of the yard because it only happens once.
Here in Ohio, we have had a strange one. Everything is so Late 3 weeks ago we got SNOW!

And things were just starting to come  up too. look at these baby radishes! Just covered with snow!

My helleborus looks so beautiful with a drop of melting snow on it.

The tulips also took the snow well. but look at the backyard!

Finally I had to go to the nursery and relieve my winter blues! Dills Greenhouse, is a great little nursery that is locally owned and has such genius little ideas, plus Look at all of these summer tropicals!

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Rain gardens

Capturing water on your landscape (aka garden) is a good thing.  We DON'T want water to sheet off or run off anywhere, rather soaking in (as it does in undisturbed natural landscapes).

"Rain gardens" are a bit of an invented concept (in my opinion), but learning about how they can be used and adapted (along with other "natural" water management approaches) are certainly useful encouragement!

I've attached a link to a presentation that I've recently developed.  Check out the plant list, too, if you're interested.

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Gardening as you get older

I had the privilege of visiting a truly lovely landscape created by a devoted gardener today.  She's worked with some excellent designers and landscapers over the years, and brings her gift of loving plants and gardening to her landscape.

Now, after 15+ years in her post-work landscape, and tussles with serious illnesses, it's hard to keep up everything, even with monthly landscape help.

My advice (as we were walking through a diversity of interesting and great plants) was basically to simplify and declutter.

This is not the time to keep adding herbaceous perennials that need tending, or propping up;  it's time to edit out things as they die back (or disappear) or aren't thriving, and simply mulch, instead -- it creates soothing space, just as a lawn does.

I suggested that she read Sydney Eddison's book Gardening for a Lifetime: How to Garden Wiser as You Grow Older.  I haven't read it, but have seen very complimentary reviews. 

Eddison is now in her early 80's, so I know her book has wisdom in it, as she's a lifetime gardener, designer, etc.

I was inspired to come home and tackle a few of the messy focal points of my own garden (taking my own advice about what's currently bothering me in our landscape), and mindful that my gardening companion has been writing books for over a decade (and not spending much time gardening in the piedmont, aside from planting in our mountain landscape.)

So I was thankful for the inspiration!

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Seeds this Spring - Beans

Okay Kids, Mama always told us to eat our beans. So I am listing to mama (I can hear my mom saying 'Finally!'). I love me some bean so Here are some of the varieties that have bought this year that I have never tried before. I have never grown a pole bean, only the bush beans, Here is what I got.

I always love have teepees in the yard. I have some beautiful metal vintage ones. I want these to grow up those. Last year I had the cucumbers growing up them but the cucumbers went crazy and overtook everything. So not this year. 

Beans should be planted in the ground in Zone 5 in May 3-24th

Of course I will also do some bush beans. like this one

Update: 4/30/14

So here is me planting the beans. I soak my beans overnight so that they sprout faster. As you can tell while I was sowing my seeds i had an ice cream craving! Geez was that good! I will show you in another post how to make the newspaper pots. They will save you so much money and are so easy to make.

 
Sow the seeds 1/2" deep and I always start my seeds on a heat mat. makes things go soo fast.

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Sedums and sedum mats

I've so enjoyed our sedum bed in the mountains as it's provided all-season interest for almost 4 years. And it continues to do so.

But the combination of a cool, and very wet summer, with an extremely cold winter left me with some gaps to fill.  A non-sedum, Irish moss (Sagina subulata), was the most visible hit from the cold winter, so I've replanted the surviving bits and tidied it up (actually, it had gotten to be a bit too expansive, so this wasn't a bad thing).

Some of the sedums on the lower side, however, seem like they've totally vanished. 

So, I was delighted (and couldn't resist buying) these cool mixed sedum mats (produced by Drop and Grow, according to the label).  I don't know anything about their company or the process, but I was entranced by them at the local big box store.

Sedum mat

Now, of course the S. angelina is a bit assertive, but the mix is quite nice.

I'm planning to plug in bits in the sedum bed, but also do some new plantings at the edge of the retaining wall in the piedmont, too.

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