Garden Focus: Bees, Birds, and Color....with Veggies Too

Flowers in Pots Attract the Bees and Hummingbirds...Easy to Maintain

My goals this year for our garden are a little different than those in the recent past. I usually focus on growing veggies and accent with flowers. This year I am going to be a rebel and do the exact opposite. I am growing color and accenting with edibles. I am hoping for more of an "artist's garden" this year, providing a space to sit with watercolors and colored pencils and oil pastels on those long hot summer afternoons. Sometimes a garden is more than just for growing food, healing and refreshing us with its beauty and vitality. Of course, you can really call it a "bee garden" since the focus has been on flowers that will attract bees, birds, and/or butterflies.

Our deck usually has some herbs and a few veggies in pots, keeping them close for the dinner time crunch. It is a great plan and I will do the same this year with two tomatoes and some basil.

We have had a lot of hummingbird traffic at our two feeders as well as the colorful flowers.

I am keeping just a few flowers on the deck and most of them will be to try to entice the hummingbirds up to the feeders. Red geraniums, bright daisies, and a hummingbird favorite lantana or two. I started my zinnia seeds and much to my surprise I found a pot full of milkweed growing already over in the corner. Seeds and seedlings are all tucked in ready to go. We are planning on studying our geraniums along with the Handbook of Nature Study (Lesson #163) this summer.

Back in the main veggie garden I am going to be growing pole beans...Kentucky Wonders. I am dreaming of the green towers of vines and the never-ending picking that will come as the summer progresses.

Lots and lots of Bee Balm growing in the butterfly garden.

What will be missing are many of the water thirsty plants that I usually have that yield very little in proportion to the effort like bell peppers.I have lots of great plants that are well established that will give color without a lot of work.

These are coneflowers, chrysanthemums, and daisies from last year. I will fill in the empty spots with seeds.

The boxes this year are filled in with coneflowers and zinnias, dahlias and daisies. The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are going to be having a party all summer long out there. I love having a cutting garden to fill oodles of vases indoors.

We ended up transplanting a few daylilies to the front of the box and the rest is waiting for me to come finish planting the sunflower seeds. Thunderstorm rolled in this day and I had to give up.

My new garden space is coming together and the seeds are almost all in the ground. We had a composting problem and somehow a load was dumped in the garden space with un-composted rotten potatoes so we are sifting through again to get those out before planting the Three Sisters Garden (pumpkins, corn, and beans). The pumpkins, corn, and sunflowers will also be part of our summer nature study using the Handbook of Nature Study.

Happy Squash.

I have four zucchini seedlings happily growing in their new spot and the sunflowers are all showing signs of sprouting as the garden comes alive.

Looks a little different than the last time...now the lavender is the predominant plant, along with the blooming dogwood.

I am hoping that I don't regret our decision to shift our garden focus this year but as with anything we can always change things back next year. We have a wonderful Farmer's Market in our town where we can put our hands on any veggies we decide we need. Still eating healthy and with local produce....an important goal in our family.

That is this week's garden update.....next week hopefully I will share our Three Sisters Garden.



Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Spring Gardens - Filled With Promise

Our Plum Tree - Leaves are coming on fast this week with the little sunshine we experienced. Plum jelly in the making.

I have started reading  An Oregon Cottage and she has a great gardening/home blog that hosts a Tuesday Garden Party meme.I thought this week I would join up and share with all of you what is going on in my garden right now as spring starts to burst forth.

My garden is definitely not a winter garden. I don't do much more than throw out a few lettuce and carrot seeds in the late fall and those have long been harvested. My boys planted snap peas this past autumn but some critter of the night came and munched them down to the ground. I accept that I live in a habitat that offers yummy treats to my fellow creatures so I took the peas in stride.

Our Walnut Tree - Perhaps the squirrels will leave us some this year. :)

I think the theme of this post is going to be the PROMISE of a summer garden and fall harvest since that is what I observed as I toured around yesterday.



Our garlic chives are starting to grow again...can't wait.



The oregano is filling in and hints at the summer pizza and sauces to come...of course, I had to nip a few leaves just to smell as I walked around the boxes.



My son's strawberry box is greening up nicely as well. We are going to be adding a new strawberry box as soon as we can get through mud to built it. (see the last photo for a photo of the location)



This should tell you how badly I need to tend to the garden after a long winter. These onions are popping up despite being mixed in with the mullein and the dusty miller. I know I am not going to get to this part of the garden for at least a couple of weeks....just being honest.



So as long as I'm being honest, here is what the state of most of our garden boxes at this very moment. Very sad and in need of a good weeding before we can even think about getting something new planted. The saddest part is that if I put my mind to it, I could have this tidied up in an afternoon.




Moving away from the vegetable garden and onto the flower boxes is a little bit more cheerful. The tulips are just beginning to give us a hint of their deep purple blooms to come. I love my little tulip patch and look forward to watercoloring the flowers once they start to really shine.



The chrysanthemums that I planted last year look like they made it through the winter nicely. I look forward to seeing their happy little faces in a few months. This box has coneflowers as well so this spot has flowers long into the autumn once it gets started. I decided a long time ago that I needed to include a couple of flower boxes along with the vegetables because it cheers me up to see the color when I look out the window. Food for the soul.



This wallflower has been a great plant in our garden for the last two years. I actually saw some bees buzzing in it too! Happy bees.



Here are some guys who came uninvited to my garden! My son spotted these whoppers in the back of the bed and of course I had to take a photo.

Now for the exciting part of the post!



See that fresh garden territory? I finally convinced my husband that this "lawn" was using up valuable garden space and very expensive water (rates just increased again!). We are trying out a few possible configurations to build some raised boxes with one center block bed to hold something artsy. Any ideas are welcome. It usually gets summer sun mid-morning to late afternoon so probably about six+ hours altogether.

So there ends my garden survey for this first week in the spring season. I am truly looking forward to the change of the season.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom




Jami's Tuesday Garden Party meme is open from Tuesday to Thursday so there is still time for you to jump in and participate!

Garden Update and View from Under the Walnut Tree

The weather has been a little bit cooler in the mornings so we were able to get out and clean up the garden boxes. I pulled the first of my compost from my compost barrel and mixed in the rich black soil as I readied the boxes for a few cooler weather crops....carrots, lettuce, and peas.

There are still plenty of zinnias ready to bloom, herbs growing strong in the sunshine, and the tomato is still forming some small green fruits.




I was making a list of possible things from our garden that we could study from the Handbook of Nature Study and I realized there are few things blooming that we need to get to before too long.

Our list:
Salvia: Lesson 161
Black-eyed Susans: Lesson 140 and 131
Pansies: Lesson 152 (we are going to do this one again)



My son brought me this leaf that he found in the yard....he thought the red edges were unique. I feel another nature journal entry coming on for us with this pretty leaf as the star. 



We also cleaned up under the walnut tree and the view from under the branches is the perfect way to see the autumn sky. Before too long all the leaves will fall and we will have a different sort of clean-up day but we did enjoy this day and feeling a sense of accomplishment. Gardening is like that....you get to feel the satisfaction of a job well done.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

End of June Garden Update

The garden has sprung to life in the last few weeks. These are some new Zinnia Pixie Sunshine plants that I received free in a seed order. I planted them in a pot on the deck and they are going to be a fantastic choice for a container.


Vegetables are growing like crazy.


Flowers are blooming in all corners in many shapes and sizes. These day lilies are amazingly beautiful in real life.


The colors of summer are amazing and I can't get enough of my day lilies this year.


Even the weeds are so very pretty. This self-heal is growing up along my fence line among some wild grapes that have planted themselves. I'm not sure where they came from but they are nice and green so they will stay.


The first round of herbs are ready to be harvested. Pesto anyone?


There are surprising new varieties of plants like this coleus.

And what garden post would be complete without a photo of my cat?


Water always tastes better out of the bird bath in the rose garden....at least that is what Miss Cocoa tells me anyway. This was during another one of my early morning walks outside in the cool air. Miss Cocoa decided to accompany me as I wandered through the garden and observed the nuthatches and woodpeckers.

Hope you enjoyed my garden update. Next week, I will share some more from my butterfly garden.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Garden Time! April 15th is Finally Here!

We have been waiting for April 15th to arrive. Why? It is the last frost date for our area and now we can move all our seedlings outdoors to the garden boxes.

Well, actually this year we are going to be growing the bulk of our garden in containers on the deck. Our city has more than doubled our water rates in the last three months and we are concerned about our water usage. We will be keeping our garden a little smaller than in the past and keeping a close eye on our water consumption.

Our Container Garden List
2 tomato plants
2 pepper plants
Basil
Lettuce (in the shade and only early in the season-already planted)



Our Garden Boxes-These are permanent residents so we have to keep them watered.
Strawberries
Herbs-thyme, oregano, chives, garlic chives, dill
Onions (already planted and growing well)

Sunflowers (easily hand-watered as needed since they are next to the pool)

We still have the blueberries and grapes to water. There are the apple, plum, walnut, and pear trees.


I am also going to keep the butterfly gardens watered since we have invested in so many wonderful plants over the years.


Much of these gardens are drought resistant so they should fair well. This arbor and the plants on the other end are mostly for the birds...hummingbirds love this garden in the summer time. The climbing rose is blooming now and the trumpet vine will bloom this summer. One the other side the lilac is budding out and the butterfly bush has lots and lots of leaves already. There are three crepe myrtles in between here and the butterfly garden. The short fence in the background has star jasmine growing all over it and it needs just a little water in the summer too.

We will not be watering the lawns. Eventually they are going to be replaced with different kinds of plantings that need little or no water. I envision mounds of lavender, sage, butterfly bush, rosemary, and perhaps some day lilies. We are also looking at planting yarrow and deer grass.

I should have a lot of time on my hands this summer with the reduced gardening and watering. I will be more frequent with my visits to our local farmer's market stocking up on all the summer's bounty, reaping from other local gardens this year for the first time.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

We're Still in the Garden

We had freezing temperatures last night but by mid-morning it was at least sunny and up into the forties.

"Out-of-door life takes the child afield and keeps him in the open air, which not only helps him physically and occupies his mind with sane subjects, but keeps him out of mischief. It is not only during childhood that this is true, for love of nature counts much for sanity in later life."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 2

I was out for my morning walk in the backyard and I was amazed at how many honeybees we have left around on the last day of November. They were busy in the marigolds, the cyclamen, the alyssum, and the snapdragons. I love the way it looks as if he is going to burrow right down into the middle of this marigold! (You can read more about honeybees in the Handbook of Nature Study starting on page 391.)


The peas are all nice and green with lots of tendrils everywhere. I am not sure if the weather will hold out long enough for us to harvest some pea pods but we will keep our eye on the box.


Our broccoli is finally looking like it might survive the weather and bugs and give us a crop to enjoy. I can't tell you how happy that makes me since I love home-grown broccoli and it has been a number of years since we have been successful at getting the plants all the way to maturity. I have five plants that look hopeful.


The millet fell from the birdfeeder this past summer and it sprouted and is now bearing its fruits. The finches are loving the bonus of the meal *under* the birdfeeder. I also harvested the last of the giant sunflowers and the seeds are now safely stored in a sack for winter meals for the birds.


Up on our deck the potted plants are blooming again and the snapdragons are attracting the hummingbirds and the bees.

We are taking advantage of every sunny day to go outdoors for long periods of time. Taking long walks with the dog have been such a great source of refreshment to us all....helping us to keep our sanity.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Gardening Does Not Need to Be Complicated

As we have worked our way through the crop plant challenges using the Handbook of Nature Study, I realized that many of you think that I have a really big garden with lots of space. It is so not true.

We live in town on a city lot with a yard that we share with a dog, two cats, a pool, a propane tank, and my husband's workshop.

My garden is my sanity refuge and although it is small, I tend it everyday for the pure joy of it. It does not take much to give your family a little green space in your yard somewhere. I have been greatly influenced by the Square Foot Gardening ideals and the principles behind keeping a garden that does not demand too much back breaking labor. The ideas are so simple that my children have been able to experience from a young age the joys of gardening.

Actually when we started off the Crop Plant Challenges a few weeks ago, I was worried that I would not have enough to talk about and share with you. I was wrong. I actually had more going on in my little space of a backyard than I originally thought.

Results of the Crop Challenges
Clover-Turns out I have a whole crop of clover in our backyard...unintentional nature study. :)
Green beans-We grow these every year so I was able to share our experiences with you for this crop. This is a great first garden plant because it is so easy to grow, even for children.
Corn-We have never been successful growing corn so I am a total newbie with this crop.
Strawberries-This is a successful crop plant in our garden, one of our favorites. These are easily grown in a small space in a strawberry barrel.
Cotton-No experience in real life at all but we learned a lot as we read and did research.
Pumpkins-We have had minimal success in the past with this crop plant but my dad is the pumpkin man! Thanks Dad!
Tomatoes-Another crop plant that we do on a regular basis....lots to share here.



I try to balance the need to grow everything from seed with practicality. I decided that I would opt this time for some broccoli seedlings from my favorite local organic nursery to get a jump start on my broccoli crop. See the two little seedlings in the front of the box? I bought a six pack of seedlings for under two dollars and they are all now happily tucked into various squares in our boxes. I actually planted one in a pot on the deck as well just so I could watch its progress. Applying the Square Foot Garden concepts, I now know that I do not need a whole row of broccoli but a few plants will do just fine.



In my 4 ft by 5 ft box I have three kinds of peppers, green beans, two tomatoes, three broccoli plants, a few radishes squeezed in here and there, and some marigolds. I just harvested my carrot crop which was very small but delicious. After harvesting the carrots, the square was ready to go for another veggie. Can you beat that for simplicity? I added a little compost, turned the soil over in the box, picked out the few little weeds popping up, and placed the broccoli right in the newly tilled space. The whole process took maybe ten minutes to plant six new seedlings.


Mr. B's box isn't all filled in but it is manageable for him at this point. The squash took over a big portion of the space, but he doesn't mind since he loves to eat the yellow squash and zucchini that it produces. Square foot gardening techniques have helped teach us not to plant too much and it has helped to keep our boxes virtually weed free. These are extremely low maintenance garden boxes.



Remember my list of garden things to do a few weeks ago? Well, I can cross one thing off already. I found two blueberry bushes at the nursery yesterday and they will be going into their new home later today. I am anxious to see how they grow in this spot and will perhaps add a few more next year if all goes well. Start small and work your way up!

Gardening is such a great source of nature study at its very best. You do not need to make a big garden in order to reap the benefits both spiritually and physically. Gardening gives you such a sense of well-being and it is something you can do as a family.

If veggies are not your thing, then grow flowers. If flowers are not your thing, grow herbs. If you like exotic things, grow succulents or cactus. It makes no difference what type of plant you choose to grow because the value is in process. Nurturing a plant, even indoors, is a unique experience.

Garden boxes that are easy to maintain make gardening accessible to many people. Simplicity is always the best way to go in my opinion, especially when you are new to gardening.

Look for this book at your library.