Looking at today’s blue sky through our blossoming saucer magnolia tree
First, I hope all of you reading this - all of my gardening friends - are safe and well, and stay that way, over the complicated coming weeks and months. The oddness of it all hit me a few days ago - the day after our Governor called for all restaurants and coffee shops to cease the eat-in part of their businesses. I was out doing a few errands when I stopped into my favorite local coffee shop. All of the chairs were up on the tables. It was dead quiet - the typically teeming parking lot was nearly empty. I put in my order with my typical “room for cream” - and was told they had to put in the cream and honey. There are so many wonderful restaurants here - Asheville, not far to the north of us, seems to be composted mostly of restaurants - and I hope all of them find a way to get through this and survive. I hope all of us do, of course. We will each have our own personal stories to share some day - lots of them, I suspect.
Now, on to gardening. Since my last blog, about a week ago, I’ve been using gardening as therapy and escape more than ever - as has Sue. The garden layouts, the weather, the soil - it just seems more fun to get out there and dig. Because we moved in mid-January, we are getting to see what pops up from previous gardening efforts (this house being mid-1960s, it is clear that at least one inhabitant loved to garden). Among those things we’ve noted and identified, some of which are in bloom, are Red Bud and Magnolia trees, rhododendron, azalea, forsythia, mountain laurel, sweet spire, hydrangea, butterfly bush, lilac and abelia shrubs, grape hyacinth, crocus, daylily, iris and daffodil bulbs, and various perennials, such as columbine, lambs ear, bleeding heart, hosta, astilbe, apple and pepper and spearmint, malva, echinacea, phlox and bee balm. More things pop up each day, so this is just a partial list.
To that we’ve added some plants retrieved from our Raleigh gardens, such as sage, rosemary, phlox, miniature rose, elberberry, choke berry, spirea, salvia hot lips, camellia, kalimeris, chrysanthemum, clematis, butterfly bush and fig. We purchased a few azalea, some parsley and oregano and snapdragons and coral bells and a Lady Banks rose. We are off to a good start - the weeds in the flower beds were pretty aggressive, but we tackled them pretty quickly.
I’ve also made an area near the fence for peas (currently, Sweet Peas, Sugar Snap Peas and a shorter growing pea), and Gardeners Supply sent me a few items to test out (raised planter, raised bed and trellis) - I will write separate blogs on those. I do have spinach and various greens planted in them, as well as carrot seeds.
Sue giving a nice drink to one of our weeded and planted flower and herb gardens
As far as seed starting, four flats of 50 cells are nearly all up and growing. I spoke about flats 1 and 2 a few blogs ago. Flat 1, planted on March 2 (eggplants, peppers, indeterminate tomatoes) had but 1 no-show tomato (it was replanted in flat 3 from a different saved lot). Flat 2, planted on March 6, has a few additional indeterminate tomatoes as well as lots of Dwarf Tomato Project varieties. It also has but one no-show tomato, of lower priority, so no worries.
Flat 3, planted on March 10, is quite a curious mix - various flowers (different hibiscus, zinnias, hollyhocks, dahlia, echinacea, rubdeckia, cosmos, roselle), a few types of basil, lettuce, chard and beets. Some of the seeds were a bit old so I didn’t expect 100% success. 14 cells are no-shows, which is fine - I significantly over-planted (no surprise there, I bet).
Flat 4, planted on March 13, is another mish-mash - some eggplants, indeterminate tomatoes, sweet peas, beans, morning glory, and indeterminate and dwarf tomatoes. 11 no shows to this point, and not surprised at any of them.
My four flats, sunning themselves
What has been very different for me this year - I’ve set up no grow lights (yet) in the garage, but haven’t needed them. We’ve had nice mild days, and my side porch has filtered sunlight, so they are already hardened off despite being a week or more from the onset of transplanting. Doing it this way does mean watching the plants closely and easing them into the sun gradually.
I’ve started far more tomatoes than I can fit. There are some “must grow” varieties, though - Don’s Double Delight, my new hybrids for the dwarf project (there are 4 of them), the historic variety Peak of Perfection, and some dwarf project varieties. I will fit what I can, probably using a mix of straw bales and containers, with a more extensive garden plan next year.
I may have plants for sale, but the COVID-19 situation makes it uncertain - and if I do, the process is certainly to be determined. I’ve been speaking with my daughter about the possibility of scheduling some on-line Q and A sessions - stay tuned for details. With all that is going on, and the cancellation of my imminent speaking events (my guess is all of the events this year will be cancelled), my focus will be on pacing myself, enjoying every minute, hour, day and week spent out among the flowers and bird songs, finish the Dwarf book, and just see what happens in this weird, uncertain time.
Marlin and Koda watching me do my thing in the yard