It’s time for a garden update! I did – finally – get some things planted plus I have an update on Dad’s garden. With all the rain we’ve had the past two weeks {and continue to get} things are growing like crazy! I have tons of pictures to share, so let’s dig in! : D
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I have lots of before and after pictures in this post to show how much things have grown just this month. The first picture has dates – 5/13 & 5/21 – which is just 8 days. Most of the before and afters are the same time span, but I will let you know any that differ. I’m just amazed at how fast things can grow with good rain!
Front Porch Gardening
Last year I made a planter for my front porch out of an old magazine rack & tomato cage. A bird built a nest in it shortly after I put plants in it, which kept me from watering those plants. This year, I planted 3 egglplants & cucumber seeds in the planter.
Everything is flourishing! I will need to either paint or make a new planter next year because this one is badly flaking.
I also have a citronella plant & strawberry plant on the front porch. The strawberry plant has already made some tasty nibbles! : D
I spotted one of my lizard friends on the front porch chair. He was not to happy about me interrupting his mating call!
I planted one cherry tomato at the corner just before my side garden. It’s sitting among the little lilies & grown a good bit in 8 days.
My thyme has expanded! {If only that were true with real time!} It has little flowers and continues to outgrow the little one to the left. I think it’s not getting enough sun because that corner is mostly shaded all day.
The gardenia bush is starting to bloom..
That was just the front gardens! I’m planning on hanging up that strawberry plant on the porch. I just need to fix the hanger – i.e. – add a second screw that’s missing because I used for something else. Ha!
Side Garden
I’m liking the planter I made now that it has plants in it! I did swap out the bottom pot, but it still needs a plant. The pic shows how much things have grown in 8 days…
How about some close ups? I planted two tomato bushes & more cucumber seeds in front of the pallet. The cucumber seeds I planted were poona kheera seeds. One sprouted, but didn’t make it, so I may try again.
Strawberries and dianthus are in the pot tower. I still need something for the top pot! I also planted a yellow snapdragon in front of it.
The tiered planter has peppers & petunias. One pepper is about to outgrow it’s pot & I may have to stake it. The bottom pot has no holes & holds a lot of water, so I need a swampy, heat loving plant for it. Any suggestions?
There’s still more to see!
Rose Bushes
In my last garden post, I was debating cutting back the rose bushes. They were way overgrown & not looking too great, so I bit the bullet & cut them way back. I was a little worried about Betsy {pink rose bush} because she only had a couple leaves left after the trim. Slowly, I started to see little shoots popping out!
The before pictures on the roses were from 5/7 & the after photos are from 5/21. Here’s Betsy’s after & she is looking gorgeous!
Bertha {red rose bush} started growing back right away & is filling in nicely. The hybrid rose vines will have to be trimmed or planted elsewhere.
Bertha’s first rose after the trim…
The leaves just look so much healthier after this trim & I’m glad I decided to do it. : )
I added some more yellow snapdragons & eggplants in front of the roses. For some reason, I bought a whole flat of eggplants instead of single plants!
I also added a lemongrass plant between the roses & my giant lily. This thing is out of control & will have to be separated this fall!
I forgot to take pictures of her babies in the front gardens! They are filling in fast & will need to be separated in the next year or so. I need to find a spot that can handle all this foliage!
Back Gardens
This is the only area that has mulch. I had to scrape up pine straw in the driveway because it’s been cut up with the lawn mower already. I had several bags of pine nuggets I wanted to use, but they are infested with wood ants! The plastic cover in my metal angel has succumbed to the intense Georgia heat. I need to give it a makeover soon. : )
No before pics of these tomatoes, but they were only to the first rung of the cage when planted. One has outgrown the cage already!
I have some tiny tomatoes on one plant. This before & after is only 2 days apart!
I put pink snapdragons in between these tomatoes & they are starting to bloom again.
This little garden area is on the other side of my porch steps. For some reason the dianthus was going one way & the mums are going the other way. This left a gap in the middle, so I planted a banana pepper there!
There is dichondra growing all in my back yard & up in some of the planters. I love the look of it, plus it provides a living mulch. Yay!
Dad’s Garden
I showed y’all the beginnings of Dad’s garden last month & it is growing in leaps & bounds. All of the before pics are from 5/5 & the after pics are from 5/22.
His corn is starting to get tassels…
The top right pic shows the potato tops after he harvested them. He got about a 5 lb bag of potatoes from one row! Little okra plants can be seen to the right of the potato row & the current okra plants are in the bottom right pic. The pic on the left is yellow squash now growing in the old potato row. Maybe that wasn’t too confusing! : D
Check out these tomatoes! Dad planted 3 tomato bushes per cage & they are loving it.
The cucumber plants were coming up fast at the beginning of the month & now there are tiny cucumbers hidden among the vines…
Dad is not having much luck with any kind of squash this year! This is the row of zucchini, but only the back end seems to be growing. The butternut squash he planted never sprouted, so he planted marigold seeds & they are doing well!
He also planted some marigold plants around the edges of his garden & they are doing very well!
I bought Dad a bee house for his birthday last month. Isn’t it neat? We haven’t noticed any bugs living in it yet, but there are plenty of lady bugs & bees in his garden.
We also spotted some teeny, tiny, figs on his fig tree!
Strange Things
I love walking around my property & Dad’s property finding new things growing. This plant was growing in my yard before my husband cut the grass. I have no idea what it is, but it’s very interesting looking to me…
My dog loves to roll around in the grass & sunshine! He will be 9 years old in December & has some back issues, so I have to help him up the steps sometimes. This little guy will come half way up the steps, bark until I open the door, then run back down & flop over on his side in the grass. He wants belly rubs & then sometimes he’ll run on up the steps. The little booger!
I was sitting on the swing at Dad’s one day, talking to my son, & I noticed two woodpeckers going round & round a tree. This video shows their little dance…
About 5 minutes after I took this video they got into an all out brawl! The loser flew off & the victor strutted around for a minute, then flew off in the opposite direction. Nature is so crazy sometimes!
