Gardening

[Marsha Cassada]

Cleaned out my raised beds and and added a little compost and nitrogen. Pruned the espaliered fruit trees a little. Not in the mood yet to plant anything, but hopefully I will be soon. I have some lettuce seed tape to try. I've never used seed tape before.

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Seed tape? Is that so you don't need to separate the starts later?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Seed tape? Is that so you don't need to separate the starts later?

Well, I am using seed tape because the seeds are so small and I'm hoping it will help space the plants better. I haven't opened the package yet, so not sure what it will be like.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

The seed tape radishes popped up this morning. I am thinking I planted the tape too deep as these look as though they have been struggling for sun.

 

[Willow Flats]

I've got strawberries already! They aren't red yet but there sure are a lot of them. Asparagus is starting to come up too. Next will be the artichokes.
I haven't put in anything new yet.

 

[GrantGrace]

I already have strawberries, too, which is great!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

After the terrible February freeze, the uncertainty of what might have survived, it is a joy to see my favorite iris in bloom.

 

[Cayuse]

Beautiful! You are about a month ahead of me, my iris are maybe 4 inches tall right now.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

So far I'm getting radishes, lettuce, asparagus, and kale. I like to steam kale with a little salt and drizzle with rice vinegar. I always remove the stems. Weight Watchers approved. And the radishes are so mild they are nice to eat as a crunchy snack.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I found a new plant at the garden center this year. I think it looks nice by the rock at our dry stream bed. It is called Kangaroo Paws. It will probably be an annual here, but it appears to be thriving and giving us nice color. Don't know if the humming birds will be attracted or not.

 

[Willow Flats]

I found a new plant at the garden center this year. I think it looks nice by the rock at our dry stream bed. It is called Kangaroo Paws. It will probably be an annual here, but it appears to be thriving and giving us nice color. Don't know if the humming birds will be attracted or not.View attachment 43677View attachment 43678

Yes the humming birds will like it. I had this at my old house. Don't be alarmed though when at the end of the season it will turn black. It's not dead. Just cut it back and it will be beautiful the following year.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Nearly 20 years ago we returned to Oklahoma and built a house in a pasture. I brought my whiskey barrel water garden along. After the barrel refused to hold water any more, I put the water lilies in our lagoon. They have spread, and bloom all summer there. Not that I see them much as going to the lagoon is not a normal past time!
I decided to make another little water garden using a very large pot this spring. Not sure how many gallons, but it's a good size. You have to use a glazed pot and we used Flex steel to seal the inside. I dug one of the lilies out of the lagoon to put in it. Added two little goldfish and a couple of water hyacinths (which are doing terrible, I don't know why). My lily has a bud already!
I really enjoy looking into the depths of the pot and catching glimpses of the orange fish.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

I found a new plant at the garden center this year. I think it looks nice by the rock at our dry stream bed. It is called Kangaroo Paws. It will probably be an annual here, but it appears to be thriving and giving us nice color. Don't know if the humming birds will be attracted or not.View attachment 43677View attachment 43678

They are lovely and native to "where I am from" there are a few different species of them , the yellow ones are really lovely too. As willow flats said , give them a good cut back each year

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, my Kangaroo Paws looked gorgeous 4 days ago. Yesterday it appears to have died. What do you think happened?

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Any frosts ? They are not a big fan of them. The other thing I thought of was snails or slugs?

 

[Cayuse]

Did something pee on it? I know that sounds weird but sometimes I've lost flowers near our road when dog walkers let their dogs pee on them

 

[Marsha Cassada]

No snails or slugs. I wondered about a varmint marking it. I went to the nursery where I got it yesterday. They had a couple of plants left. The basal part was alive but the blooms looked terrible, like mine. The nurseryman said it was a new plant for them and they were watching it to see if it was something they would carry in the future. I told him mine died when the humidity got up. It was so pretty against the rock. He said they were blooming in January in the greenhouse. So, maybe I would buy one for spring enjoyment and then expect to replace it in the summer.
I spent all day in the flowerbed yesterday, clearing out violets and chinese lanterns. I left the lanterns that had fruit on them, but pulled up all the others. I really hate those violets; don't even know where they came from in the beginning.

 

[Willow Flats]

Did you look up the gardening zone for the Kangaroo Paw to see if it will grow in your area? We do not have a humid climate.

 

[Cayuse]

Violets around here grow like dandelions, I have more violets on my front lawn than grass. I just can't fight with them! Are yours white or true violet? I have a few white ones.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Violets around here grow like dandelions, I have more violets on my front lawn than grass. I just can't fight with them! Are yours white or true violet? I have a few white ones.

Blue and white. They are large plants--some 10-12" tall--and large clumps. We don't get them out into the grass--yet.