Wednesday, May 15, 2013
First Quarter Moon in Cancer
Celtic Tree Month of Hawthorn
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cool
It’s been so cold for the past few days that we had to take in tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. By tomorrow, they should be able to go out and stay out.
The bush cherries are starting to flower, the flowering almond makes its brief appearance, and the lilacs are a bit late this year (that’s the big lilac bush behind the flowering cherry in the top photo).
The forsythia and tulips are fading. Very few of my maroon and yellow tulips came up this year, NONE of the red did, and only a few Queen of the Night, so I’ll have to replant more of those this fall. The daffodils and hyacinths are also fading. I’m going to plant more hyacinths next year — they’re lovely. Only the yellow came up, though, not the blue.
I’ve started saving rainwater. I don’t have a fancy rain barrel — I’m just using buckets, pouring some of it into jugs, and setting out the buckets again. I have enough containers to capture 26 gallons from any given storm. Since watering the deck plants takes about 8 gallons a day, it’s used up quickly.
I also have to figure out how to clean out the birdbath, since I don’t have a hose that reaches that far — slosh a few bucketsfull of water through it, making sure to clean out any debris. On hot days, I’ll probably have to clean it every day, so there’s no mosquito-standing water problem.
The birds LOVE it, though. As I headed down there for my morning property walk, a robin took his morning dip, not caring I was only a few feet away. It was adorable.
I have a stalk of corn growing in a starter pot – not sure where I’ll put it. Next week, when it’s warmer, I’m going to try a few hills of corn, bush bean, and pumpkin in the veggie bed.
One of the gala apple seeds has started to sprout, and I’ve got jalapenos and more lemon seeds to plant. And other seeds.
The basil refuses to come up this year — I’ll have to buy plants again, I guess. I can’t get it to grow from seed. The sage is growing, though, and, hopefully, I’ll have some luck with the rosemary. The first round of oregano didn’t do well, so I’ll start the next in its “final” pot.
The chives are growing to beat the band — talk about a great perennial — cooking chives in the veggie bed (I’ll need to dig one up to go with the cucumbers) and flowering chive in the terraced bed.
I love this time of year.
But the grass — I can genuinely watch it grow. Time to mow again — and I’m still not done with the first round!
Devon
Gratitude and Growth: A Garden Journal 