My Spring Garden Tour

This is just one of those weeks in my garden that I want to capture forever, a rare day when everything seems to be blooming all at once. The plants that bloom in early spring are still in bloom, and the ones that bloom in mid to late spring are just coming into bloom. The camellias are still hanging on, while the bulbs are popping up, and leaves are emerging everywhere. I took some time today to take pictures, in the hopes of preserving the memory, and I thought I'd share them with you.

Flowering cherry tree

Flowering cherry tree

My cherry tree has been in bloom for a couple of weeks now, and I swear it's even more beautiful this year than it was last year. The first picture is actually from last week, when it was at its peak of blooming in all its white glory. The second photo is from today, when the leaves have started emerging, the blooms have turned from white to pink, and the petals have begun to fall like pink snow.

Muscari armeniacum (grape hyacinth) &
Hyacinthus 'Delft Blue'

I picked up a mixed bag of hyacinths at the hardware store in December (you can usually find bulbs on sale around that time). The little ones emerged first, and the bigger ones are just starting to pop out. And yes, I am a little behind on my weeding in my flower beds. I'll get to that eventually...

Tulipa 'Happy Generation'

Tulipa 'Bastogne'

The striped tulip ('Happy Generation') is left over from a container planting I did last year. I didn't think they'd do so well two years in a row, since I didn't make any special effort to store them properly. I actually left one of them lying on the patio all summer; I only stuck it in the ground in the fall because shoots were coming out of it. Apparently they're more tolerant of abuse than I realized! I picked up a bag of red tulips in December, and this is the first one that's bloomed.

Verbena 'Homestead Purple' flower among rose leaves

I found a stray purple verbena bloom popping out from among the roses.

Gelsemium sempervirens (left) and Vinca major (right)

Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) grows in large planters on either side of my front door. It doesn't have as many blooms since I moved it to the shadier location, but it still has a couple this year. Periwinkle (Vinca major) grows entangled in a bed of ivy and honeysuckle alongside my patio. It makes a lovely groundcover, especially for shady areas, but it can become invasive in wooded areas in the South. Vinca minor is its smaller, less aggressive cousin, which is usually a better choice for the garden.

Hosta hybrid

It's so nice to see my hostas returning from their winter sleep next to my patio.

I haven't planted any vegetables yet this year, but I still have some lettuce hanging on from last fall. I'll get to work planting my summer veggie garden here in a couple of weeks.

Cornus florida (dogwood)

I actually climbed up into my dogwood tree in order to get a better view of the blossoms. They really are one of my favorite spring flowers. In addition, the trees grow to a nice, small-to-medium size and get some lovely color in the fall. In my opinion, no Southern garden is complete without a dogwood tree.

From the dogwood tree, I had a birds-eye view of my kitchen garden. As you can see, I've added quite a few raised beds recently. I'll update you soon on all the new developments in my kitchen garden.

A Pink Container Garden for the Pinkest Party

Here in Macon, GA, we're in the middle of the Cherry Blossom Festival. For those of you who don't know Macon, the Cherry Blossom Festival is a big deal. Their slogan is, "The Pinkest Party on Earth," and that might be accurate. Not only is the 10-day festival full of events such as concerts and parades, but you'll see almost everyone wearing pink. People even dye their dogs pink for the festival!

The cherry trees came through in full force this year, in perfect timing for the festival. The cherry tree in my backyard is looking its finest, as well. I decided in honor of the festival, and to celebrate the arrival of spring, I wanted a pink container garden for my patio. It didn't take long to run to Lowe's and put one together this weekend.

I picked three plants that I thought would give me the most bang for my buck: armeria, phlox, and petunias.

Armeria

Armeria is also known as thrift or sea pink. This perennial blooms spring and early summer, and can also be found in white or red. If you didn't guess from the name, it's native to coastal areas. It likes full sun and well-drained soil and is fairly drought tolerant. Even when it stops blooming, I think its grass-like foliage will be lovely in this container.

Phlox

There are several different species of phlox, but I loved the large blooms on this one. It's also a perennial, like armeria. It only blooms in spring, but I can plant it in my garden when it's done blooming. It likes full sun and regular water.

Petunia

When the phlox stops blooming, the petunias will fill in. These annuals are easy to grow, grow fast, and bloom all summer. They do best with regular water, but they'll survive a little neglect. I expect to see them spilling over the sides of my container in June. They don't tolerate frost, but I don't mind dragging the pot inside if we get a couple more frosty nights.

Happy gardening!

Project #2: Raised Bed

Spring is finally here! The hydrangeas and roses started leafing out a week or so ago, and the hostas followed shortly after. The cherry blossom trees bloomed late this year, but mine finally came into full bloom last week, followed by the dogwoods.

The hostas and hydrangeas are emerging from
dormancy (finally!).

Dogwood (left) and cherry blossoms (right) in my yard.

This spring I decided it's finally time to really try my hand at vegetable gardening. Even though I've been gardening for many years, I never really got into vegetable gardening. When I was a teenager, vegetable gardening probably didn't appeal to me because it can be so labor-intensive--preparing the soil, pulling weeds, treating diseases and pest problems. Over the years I made several half-hearted attempts at growing vegetables in pots with little success. My most successful crops in containers were the hot peppers I grew in the summer, and the mixed lettuce greens I grew in the spring.

I've been carrying around my grandfather's copy of Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew for years with dreams that one day, when I had a yard of my own, I would have a beautiful vegetable garden like the book promises. A couple of weeks ago I ran across Mel's All New Square Foot Gardening and picked it up with much excitement. After more years of experience, and adapted for the busy modern gardener, Bartholomew rewrote his recommendations, and the new recommendations include raised beds, which I like because they're pretty.

Isn't it pretty?

Now, I will say, if you ask 20 successful vegetable gardeners what their secret is to growing amazing vegetables, you will probably get 20 different answers. The square-foot gardening method, of course, has sentimental value for me, so that's why I want to try it out first. After reading the new book, here's my quick review. Even if the cover looks a little gimmicky, Bartholomew's methods are based on both years of experience and solid research. The book is full of photos and has very detailed instructions, plus a great appendix with information about each kind of vegetable, perfect for the beginner. I think he goes a little overboard on some things (I'm a little lazy if you haven't noticed), and you could probably grow half-decent vegetables without following every step. It's definitely not the most traditional method, but it's designed to grow a lot in a smaller space, which I like.

So, after reading the book, I set out this weekend to create my vegetable garden. I picked a spot that gets plenty of sunshine (which vegetables love), except for some light afternoon shade (which is great in the heat of a Georgia summer). I put it in the back of the yard behind the treehouse (so if it turns out to be a disaster, I don't have to look at it while relaxing on my patio). Instead of following Mel's instructions for building a raised bed frame yourself, I bought an easy-to-assemble kit from Home Depot because I was in a hurry. Also because I was in a hurry, I did my math wrong and bought too much material for the soil mix. But hey, at least I can still find plenty of uses for vermiculite and peat moss--like making the perfect mix for rooting cuttings! I found everything I needed at Home Depot except for the vermiculite--I found that at Johnson's Garden Center here in Macon.

My 4-foot pile of supplies--vermiculite, peat
moss, compost, and a frame.

Instead of using existing soil, Mel recommends skipping all the tilling, soil testing, and finding the right amendments, and just making your own soil mix to fill your raised bed--a mix of peat moss, vermiculite, and compost. It's full of nutrients, and has the right balance of water retention and drainage. After assembling my pile of supplies, I mixed it up batch by batch in my wheelbarrow with my handy trowel.

It took probably eight batches with the wheelbarrow, but I finally filled up my raised bed.

And there it is, my lovely 4' x 4' raised bed ready to fill with vegetables this week. Stay tuned to see what veggies get planted!