Garden Update, May 8th 2017

Garden Update, May 8th 2017

Can you believe two weeks have flown by since the first garden update?!  How does time fly faster each week?  Thanks to Iowa weather, we had almost a week straight of rain and cold temps, so I was wondering if I was ever going to get to dig in the dirt!  Praise the good Lord, the sun came out last week and the rain stopped, so dirt has dried up and I went shopping for my flowers with my mom!

I’m so excited to give you a tour of my gardens this week because I finally got my annual flowers planted and even snagged a couple new perennials as well! So, let’s just get to showing you all the goodness!

If you followed along last year, you’ll know that I have flower boxes and a plantar by my front door, a raised bed around our flag pole and a couple pots that all get annuals.  I also have a spot that I call the North bed which is all perennials and thanks to my friends at Natural Plus Nursery, it seems to get something new each year!

North Perennial Bed

So, we’ll start with the North bed!  This year I added a Firewitch that will bloom pink!  I’m so excited about this as the leaves are a completely different shade green as the other items in this bed and the pink will be a fun color!  It will also be a shorter plant so, it’ll offset all the phlox I have in this bed!  I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows and spreads throughout the year!

Firewitch
Firewitch

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2017 Garden Update, 4/24/2017

2017 Garden Update, 4/24/2017

Can you believe it?! Gardening season is finally here! Well, according to the weather forecast, it’s gardening season for a day or two then it’ll be cold and wet again! Geesh!  But, I couldn’t wait any longer, so it’s officially the first Garden Update post!  Last year, I waited until the end of May and well…that is just too long!  So, here it is!

So, is there a lot to update you on with the gardens?  Have I actually done a lot in the gardens yet?  No, not really, but I am so stinking excited this year to share it all with you, that I figured we might as well start from the very beginning, right?!

Vegetable Garden

I basically badgered T this weekend to till our vegetable garden until he gave in!  It seemed dry on the top…well, maybe he was right and it was too wet.  However, he’s as stubborn as I am, so by the time he had tilled half of it, he told me I was planting it, so planting we did!  We put in cucumbers, green onions, radishes, tomatoes, and a row of green beans!  I’m hoping the sun and warm temps today will give those little seeds a jump start otherwise, I’ll never live this down!  (I think you can see from the picture how wet it actually was..you can see where we packed it down in between rows!)  There is still the other half of the garden to till and plant (when and if it ever dries up) along with 2 other sections that are adjoining!

Vegetable Garden
April 23rd 2017 Vegetable Garden

 

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Garden Update, 8/4/2016

Garden Update, 8/4/2016

If you’re counting, you know it’s been longer than two weeks since our last garden update! I credit that to two things: life is busy and the blooms are slowing down!  I’ve realized that I need some late blooming perennials for my flower beds! (I sure hope my specialist at Natural Plus Nursery is paying attention! 😉 )  Other than the phlox and a few lilies…things are just about done and starting to look drab!  Here are a few snapshots of the gorgeous blooms left that I do have!

garden 4

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Garden Update: 7/18/2016

Garden Update: 7/18/2016

We’re back for another garden update which means it’s been two weeks already! Those two week periods seem to be going faster and faster as the summer rolls along! I don’t have a lot of words today, just a lot of pictures for you, so I hope you enjoy!

garden 1The North bed is doing great!  The Tickseed that I purchased from Natural Plus Nursery this spring is blooming like crazy (the red & yellow flower).  The phlox are finally in full bloom and they are some of my favorite as they are so vibrant!

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Garden Update, 6/14/16

Garden Update, 6/14/16

Can you believe it’s already been two weeks since you got a tour of my flower gardens?!  Where does the time go??  I know mine has been full of baseball games, camping, and trying to get things done here at home!  I hope your enjoying summer as much as we are!  Now…let’s get to the important stuff, let’s see how things are growing!!

The Dragon-Leaf Begonias are slowing growing and filling in the boxes!  I still think I need to get a few fillers, but haven’t found just the right thing yet, so I’ll keep waiting!

window boxes

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Gardening: The Prep Stage

Spring is “almost” here! I say almost because well, I do live in Iowa and while it is mid-late March…we could still get snow into April or May, so one has to be careful about putting the cart before the horse!But, none the less, the warmish weather we had last week and the week before got us itching and we’ve started a few seeds in the house.

This year, I got to do the vegetable garden planning and seed ordering and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Throughout the past year, I’ve been working on to clean “clean” or “whole” which means a whole lot more fresh fruits and veggies, so I’m always looking for ways to save money and time.  Now, that’s we’ve had a garden for a couple years, I felt that I was ready to try a few new things.  Traditionally we have potatoes, green beans, tomatoes (cherry), onions, and cucumbers in our garden.  This year, we’re expanding…well, not the garden sadly (even though I gave it a valiant effort and was denied), but in our varieties  and I was able to find everything I wanted in the Jung Seed Catalog!

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Zesty Creamy Cucumbers

T has decided that cucumbers are one of his favorite things to grow in the garden now!  Last year I had 2 plants in our garden and it was the perfect amount!  This year, I think I have at least 6!  So, because of that I’ve been eating cucumbers for quite some time now!  I love having a garden with fresh produce for many reasons!  Of course nothing is better than garden fresh green beans, but we’ve frozen our own green beans for this coming winter as well.  I’ve shared a ton of green beans with friends & neighbors.  I’ve put chopped red onions in the freezer for the future and we use our potatoes as we need them!

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Natural Plus Nursey & A $100 Giveaway

Myself and 6 other North Iowa Bloggers visited fellow blogger Mary at her home and business, Natural Plus Nursery, yesterday! What a special treat we got!! Natural Plus Nursery is located between Clear Lake and Mason City just off Highway 122. It’s a great location nestled amongst the trees and nature! We were lucky enough to visit the grounds and Nursery a week before their grand opening for the season.  I was greeted by Mary and her canine pal, Maggie, who seemed to take to anyone who would show her a little love!

Miss Maggie!
Miss Maggie!

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