Hatbands

gardening outside 2016

Beginning gardening for 2016

 butterfly bush, year 2

 love lies bleeding - signs of life

Red bud in bloom

strawberries, year 2

Gardening

8 March 2016
Made a raised bed out of an old box spring left in the bushes (Jackie made it).  We planted two rows of Texas Sweet Onion bulbs. Used vegetable plant soil mixed with humus

Sunny Day - 68-72F


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9 March 2016
Jackie watered the onion bulbs, bought soil for the bed

54-76F - sunny

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10 March 2016
weeded three containers and turned the soil. Will weed again and then plant veggies

76F - feels warmer. Sunny

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11 March 2016
78F - sunny

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12 March 2016
There are buds on the redbud bush in front.  Planted marigold, cosmos and coleus seeds in long planters.

76-62F with possible showers

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13 March 2016
76F rainy day

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14 March 2016
One tiny sprout in my Love Lies Bleeding Amaranth
58-74F overcast

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15 March 2016
more sprouts with the Love Lies Bleeding and Deacon loves laying on my planted marigold seeds.

82F - warm and sunny

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16 March 2016
more soil into the raised bed and watered the onions.  Planted potatoes in the gizmo that will turn into a potato tower.

Bought soil and containers for the trees that arrived yesterday from the Arbor Day foundation:

3 American Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
2 crapemyrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) - Mom would love these
2 Sargent Crabapple (Malus sargentii)
2 Washington Hawthorns (Crataegus phaenopyrum)
3 white flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida)

we also have 2 Black walnuts, a Tupalo gum tree, 2 boxwood hedges and 2 forysthias coming. Our yard will be full!

The saplings we have will soak for 3-6 hours and be planted in containers and transplanted to larger containers and then into the ground over the next year, year and a half.

Kinda tired and we're not done for the day

Gardening and the TO DO List

Got more soil for the raised bed and we've started the Texas sweet onions.  I cleaned out three of the containers and turned the soil.  Now to plant.  I plan on using the two long planters to start seeds for flowers.  The veggies will be direct sowed

Then the porch needs to be repainted, the back entry at the screened porch needs painted

we need to clear out the garden areas for plants

eventually work a pathway to where we want to put the bench

make an arbor/pergola out of PVC for the bench

plant trees and shrubs that we have ordered

experiement more with cooking

rearrange the craft room

go through tubs in the garage and basement

repair the driveway

put flooring down in the bedrooms

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Personal To Do List
write, write, write

draw more

beadwork

quilting

piecing for quilting

more patches

get my truck running

new tatt

new weapon

Cat Shelves

We put up shelves in the screened in porch for the cats to romp over and jump up to the small loft space and back down.  They are loving it.  Was a task putting them up but the cats are happy and aren't climbing the screens.

SPRING!

I woke up this morning and found Jackie on the riding lawn mower - "Hey, Barbie! I feel productive today!"  Awesome!  I strapped on my Docs, wide brimmed leather hat and grabbed the weed whacker and started on the pavers and then the edges of the neglected garden beds.  After getting the worst of the weeds/grass down I grabbed the tree saw and took down three limbs that were striving for our electrical lines.

Okay, I'm done at that point!  Jackie did both yards, the side yard and then took the small mower and did up close to the house on the 3 sides.

Then we went and got the trash bin up (and hauled Frank's up for him as usual - It's not easy for him to haul that thing up with his electric wheelchair).

Aching a bit and realizing that I'm not 19 any longer but it looks good out there.  Have the triangle part of the front yard and clearing out the gardens we'll be caught up. 

We've ordered some trees from the Arbor society (and getting a couple free) and I've ordered parsnip, cat grass, sunflower and gourd seeds (will order some flowers after the 3rd).  Now we need to prepare the spots for the trees, hedges and plants.  We're thinking a raised garden bed and do onion, parsnips and potatoes.  I can grow squash and strawberries in containers (we've already got strawberry plants returning in one). 

Now to plan the flowers and herbs. 

Holy cats, we might actually work at the gardening this year other than planting nice looking plants and hoping for the best.

The Crete Myrtle made it through the winter and is big.  Our dwarf plant is taller than I am! Of course the small plants we plant seem to go crazy here, thankfully.

very little housework today and some writing is the plan for the rest of the day.

Round Tuit

The list is never ending, of course.  But did get a few small items crossed off:

wrapped the A/C against the winter (yes, I'm 2 months late)

planted some of the bulbs

straightened up and swept and mopped another section of the living room

cooked breakfast (leftovers for dinner)

work on my WWII research

not much but it chips away at the list