Today's harvest. Lucky Cross, Stupice (one), and a few Sun Gold tomatoes. Caroline raspberries. Oregon Sugar Pod peas that I forgot were out there. They have full-sized peas in the pods since they were picked passed their prime. I thought the peas would be hard a lack sweetness since they grew so large. The pods were alright, but the peas inside were quite delicious. I have to remember just to plant shelling peas in the future. We just seem to enjoy them more. Oh, and the brown clumps in the bowl are dried zinnia heads. I am saving some of the seed from my Oklahoma red for next season. These are blooming machines with NO mildew. Tropical Milkweed is again releasing seeds. I saved a few for next season.
Graham Thomas rose. It's been a bad year for roses so far. Only a few blooms in the beginning of the season. Then long periods of drought hit. Then flooding rains. Now that the weather has moderated, all the roses are putting out new buds and flowers are starting to finally starting to open.
Perhaps a week or so before Irene's rains hit, I cut back my blackberries to about 4 feet tall so the laterals would put on more growth. I tossed the prunings into a heap and went inside. An hour or so later I thought, "what a waste". I went out and cut the branches into 8 inch sections. Removed the lower sets of leaves, and tossed them into this container full of used potato soil....from my potato containers. It's been a few weeks and it looks like some of them are hanging on despite flooding rains and neglect. Others, on the left, haven't faired so well.
I had some left over green coated tension wire, so I finally gave my Major Wheeler honeysuckle a place to climb. It was rambling through my azaleas and on the ground. I really want it to travel up along my light post. The green color is barely noticeable from a short distance, so I think the honeysuckle will look quite nice blooming there next season.
Happy Gardening!

Propagating Zinnia From Cuttings

On April 13th, I wrote about propagating zinnia with their cuttings. I told you I would keep you posted, so here are the results.I love that I used a cheap popsicle container from Walmart. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be sure if it was working or not. Now I can see that it's working. Roots! Four more Oklahoma red zinnia for the garden!

Hummingbirds and Seedlings

It's that time of year again. Time to put out the hummingbird feeders. Two years ago I saw a hummingbird nectaring on one of my tulips. Now the feeders go out when they are about to open. This is my Jewel window feeder. Pricey and never used. I still put it up...wishful thinking. The little hummers prefer the cheap $4 Walmart feeders. I have three hanging on the clothesline. One in the center as the "beckon" to hopefully draw their attention. The other two are close to the holly branches. They seem to prefer the safety of the branches nearby. You can also seem my new mini-orchard planted over the Fall. I added the new strawberry bed, the center circle, just a few weeks ago. Planted with Winona strawberries.
I started my seedlings later this season. Here are my zinnia and cosmos (on the back left). I decided to pinch (cut) back the zinnia to just above a set of leaves to promote branching. They were growing into the lights and getting pretty tall on a single stem. I've never pinched them before, but it only took a few days to see the new branches starting. These are red Oklahoma zinnia.
From left to right, here are my Citrus Mix marigolds from Burpee, a Sungold tomato in the front (started 3/22), and a taller Fat 'N Sassy pepper on the right (started 2/14). The tomatoes are much smaller than this time last season, but the three week later start makes them much more manageable. My smaller tomatoes caught up in no time in previous seasons, so I don't feel the need for a really early start with these fast growers.
I'm not one to waste anything, so I took my zinnia cuttings and planted them in my seed starter mix. They are inside a popsicle container place within a Ziploc to keep up the humidity. I couldn't find my rooting hormone, so we'll see what happens. I love experimenting with my plants. I'll keep you posted on the results.
Happy gardening!

New Year's Resolutions

I hope everyone is having a nice New Year's Eve. With the new year year hours away, it is time to think of your garden resolutions. Here are three of mine for 2010.
1. Add more items for cutting--- In particular, I have pre-ordered some roses. I love cutting flowers from my Graham Thomas rose, and I really want to add more. Therefore I recently ordered three roses; Jubilee Celebration, Fragrant Cloud, and Queen of Sweden. They should fulfill my desire for fragrance, large blooms, beauty, and flowers for cutting.
2. Add more fruit--- The cost of fruit at the grocery store can be outrageous. In particular, berries. Oh how I love berries. Four dollars for a tiny container is just too much for me to spend on berries weekly. Therefore I recently ordered berries!
Strawberries--- 100 Fort Lauramie everbearing strawberries. These will go in flower pouches, a strawberry pot, and along the newly removed edge of the sidewalk.
Grapes--- I've never tried growing a grape before, so I ordered one Reliance vine. A seedless, red grape with disease resistance to cover the entire raised porch railing.
Blueberries--- Tied with strawberries for my favorite berry, I just had to find room for blueberries. I was going to order some half-high bushes, but decided to sacrifice my stone wall space (where I typically grow my tomatoes) in order to grow three large, highbush blueberry bushes. The varieties I chose in order of ripening were Patriot, Blueray, and Chandler. The benefit of having them near the stone retaining wall is that they will be easy to net upon fruiting time.
Raspberries--- After discovering that my one and a half year old loves raspberries, I had to find some room for raspberries. One each of Fall Crop (yellow) and Caroline (red) everbearing raspberries. I am still deciding which plants to move in order to accommodate their spreading habits.
Blackberries--- As requested by my dear husband, I ordered a thornless, upright blackberry bush named Navaho.
3. Add more fragrance--- Two years ago I planted an Acapulco and Salmon agastache and absolutely love it's strong lemon fragrance. The scent always made my day. I've decided that I need to incorporate more plants that will do the same. I have moved my Golden Zest rose closer to the agastache. Their fragrances will compliment each other well. In order to add fragrance near the back porch I will plant the Fragrant Cloud rose. I also plan on starting Ellagance lavender, a perennial, from seed to form a small patch by the front door to greet visitors.