We planted Morning Glories along one side of the greenhouse and tied bailer twine from ground anchors to the top of the greenhouse roof. The plants just found their way – and once they reached the top, they grew downwards.
Here is a relatively quick garden project – literally done in one afternoon – with just minimal help from some strong guys: create a small pond from an old discarded cast iron bathtub.
We did have all the necessary supplies:
We transformed the back porch from its winter purpose of covered fire-wood storage back to our summer sitting area – complete with flowers and mulch. That took some serious muscle, as left-over firewood had to be moved back to the wood pile and re-stacked. We scrubbed and swept until it was “back to normal” and then brought out the patio furniture.
This weekend was also perfect for cleaning the backyard flower beds and doing some serious lawn-mowing. Though it was pretty cold: by Sunday afternoon I needed two seatshirts and a travel mug with hot coffee to stay warm on the riding mower.
Today I filled up the first wheelbarrow load of weeds for 2013! After the snowy weather on Saturday, I felt like cleaning up the herb garden and planting some pansies. A lot of the herbs needed to be trimmed back, which generated the bulk of my wheelbarrow load. A surprising number of daffodils were already poking through in between the herbs. It will look pretty in just a few weeks when they bloom!
I also moved the overwintered geraniums from their make-shift shelter in the barn. We had pulled out all the geraniums in the fall and put them into pots on a large table at the back corner of the barn. The downstairs of the barn stays relatively warm with all the thick stone walls. We covered the table with plastic sheeting and then placed two lamps, with the light bulbs pointing upward, underneath the table. The two light bulbs supplied the only heat throughout the winter, but it must have worked, as only 2 out of 32 plants did not survive, though some of the plants looked pretty rough. I trimmed all the dead leaves off the plants, watered them thoroughly and placed them on a table by the large window in the barn.
Had a great time visiting the Garden Expo at the Farm Show Building this evening with Gracie. We met after work (for me it was just a stop on my way home) – and they offered a reduced $5 after 5 rate, which is pretty reasonable 🙂
Some of the landscape exhibits were remarkably elaborate, considering they were all set up inside just for this event. All of them featured outdoor kitchens, and outdoor fire pits or fireplaces. Some had extensive stonework – and most had water features. Ponds, streams and lots of artsy light and water focal points. Definitely got some great ideas.
The expo did not have quite as many garden related merchandise, like seeds, shovels, food processing type of things, which was a bit disappointing. But they had PA wineries, one meadery, and several other PA specialty food companies – all with tasty samples. There also was a fair amount of yard art, and some very pretty pottery and tons of jewelry.
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| Gracie’s Favorite |
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| Tina’s Aspiration |
Grace and I each bought a “starter bonsai” – with instruction and lots of good advice from “Nature’s Way Nursery” . I also bought these Peruvian Wonderflowers – these bulbs, which basically look like black carrots, are supposed to bloom profusely, all through the summer, and the bulbs are winter hardy. It almost sounds too good to be true – we’ll see…
