Crisp & Tidy
AH, I love a crisp edge. In my gardens in Ohio I always made sure to edge all my flowerbeds each spring. It’s a little like spring cleaning in the garden, everything just looks so much neater afterwards.
I realized this weekend that this might be the reason I feel like this garden is a little unruly. So I started edging a new garden area that I’m making.
Last year I found this fantastic vintage edger at Liberty Tool. It’s perfect for this task, much easier to use than a shovel and much nicer than other edging tools I’ve tried to use. It’s worth far more than the few dollars I paid for it.
You know, it worked. Instantly the garden felt a little less unkempt and things really look much more tended. I’ve got my work cut out for me edging around the two apple trees in front. Hopefully I can get a big truckload of beautifully black compost to use as mulch and then the gardens will look completely new.
Do you like the edge your garden beds?
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Summer Garden Visits
In June, my mom and I are headed to the Philladelphia area to visit gardens. We’re planning on visiting Longwood Garden, Winterthur, and Chanticleer.
I have visited Longwood on a few occasions, but somehow always during the spring bulb show and it’s been quite a few years since we’ve visited. I’ve been wanting to go in the summer for a LONG time and am really happy to be going back. The other two gardens I’ve heard a lot about, but haven’t visited before.
Do you have any recommendations for things to do and see in the Philly area?
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Planting Onions
When you first begin gardening you follow the recommendations on the seed packets and in the gardening books. Then you read books that give different tips and you see different methods while visiting gardens.
I remember when I first started growing onions, I carefully planted them with the proper distance in between bulbs. Then I saw where someone planted them closer, just like Johnny’s Seeds does at their research farm in the photo above. I started planting them closer, and closer, and closer with no loss in size of quality of onions.
Then I read in Charles Dowding’s Vegetable Course to plant them in clumps of three. GENIUS – I though to myself and I started using this method. They grow just as well as when planted individually and it’s so much faster to plant them this way then in individually. They are also much easier to weed since there aren’t individual plants to weed around.
Yesterday I planted 60 seedlings each of 9 different varieties of onions. Onions are one of those things I love to grow, I could definitely get them cheaper at the farmers market, but I love the process of starting them from seed in February, planting them in the garden in May, harvesting them in July, and eating them all winter. There’s something about growing onions that I love.
Have you discovered any interesting planting methods that went against the normal recommendations?
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Quote of the Day: Michael Nolan
“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart…pursue those.”
~ Michael Nolan
This time of year I’m reminded of why I love gardening so much. It clears the mind, it fills the heart, it restores the spirit. This past winter I spent a lot of time reading novels instead of gardening books, while I enjoyed them, they don’t feed my heart like dreaming about gardens does.
What catches your heart?
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Friday Favorite: Phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation).
I’ve always been fascinated by the old rules of when to plant things. Yesterday I noticed the first dandelion blooming in the lawn.
It’s funny because I was thinking to myself not five minutes before that it was getting to be about time to plant potatoes. The old saying is that you plant your potatoes when the first dandelion blooms. If you’re interested in this like I am, here’s a great list of Phenology that relates to vegetable planting.
Do you have any rules for planting vegetables that you use?
