Come To The April Gardening Talk!

March 29, 2011 at 4:29 pm (Eggplant, garden plans, Gardening Presentations, Landscaping Ideas, Peppers, Shrubs, start seeds, Summer-flowering plants, Vegetable gardening)
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I’ve been invited to speak at the Camas Public Library Gardening Series, so if you are in the area please come!  It’s a free event, and all who are interesting in gardening topics are welcome!

Here are the details:

Who:  Athena from Minerva’s Garden

What:  Gardening Talk:  Cozy Garden Seating Areas

Where:  Camas Public Library, 625 NE 4th Avenue, Camas, WA  98607

When:  Tuesday, April 26th, 7-8pm

Why:  The talk will cover creating cozy and intimate seating areas in your garden–it’s free and it should be a lot of fun!

Every Tuesday evening in the month of April, the library will hold its Gardening Series, a yearly event with area garden speakers knowledgeable about different gardening topics coming in and giving gardening talks or demonstrations.  It’s always informative and a fun way to ease back into gardening for the year.

As anyone in the local area knows, it’s been really rainy and kind of on the cold side for this time of year.  Yesterday, however, brought a tiny bit of sunshine and at least some dry weather, so I got outside and pruned the hydrangea shrubs.  I took off all the dead flowers and foliage, and thinned out all the dead wood, making them look a lot neater.  I then tied them up to small trellises by the house, so that they stay somewhat out of the pathway that they edge.  I didn’t have a chance to take a photo, but the little early salad greens bed I planted under plastic a few weeks ago is germinating, so that is hopeful.  I’m also finally starting to see some germination in the pepper and eggplant seeds–it is taking them a long time to germinate, but they are worth the wait.  I’m growing my favorite and so far most reliable varieties this year:

  • ‘Nadia’ eggplant–big purple eggplant

  • ‘Casper’ eggplant–good-sized, early producing white eggplant that tastes the same as the purple ones

  • ‘Marconi’ Sweet Red Italian Frying Pepper–a sweet pepper in the shape of a bull’s horn–very productive

(All of these pictures are from my garden in the last few years.)

So what’s new in your garden this week–let me know in the comments section!

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Indoor Seedlings

March 23, 2011 at 3:33 am (Green Onions, Lettuce, Potatoes, seed choices, seed starting mix, start seeds, Tomatoes)
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I have gobs of seeds that I have started inside, and they have been germinating.  I have no fancy equipment, but everything seems to be working so that they are growing, which is good.  Here are some pictures:

This is a closeup of several vegetable starts.  I’ve got some ‘Bullet’ romaine lettuce that is growing very well in the back in a six-pack, and in front of that a couple of ‘Gardener’s Delight’ cherry tomatoes that I am planning on planting out early under plastic, because I am starved for ripe garden tomatoes (!)  In front of that are some ‘Walla Walla Sweet’ onion starts.  I use an egg carton to get a little air circulating under my seed potatoes.  These are early ones–‘Dark Red Norland’ potatoes.

Here is part of the flotilla of baby tomatoes that I started from seed!  This year I am growing these varieties:

  • ‘Gardener’s Delight’–because we had such a bad growing year here last year, I wanted to give these a try again to confirm my findings, but these cherry tomatoes, which for me have been a little larger than ‘Super Sweet 100’ cherry tomatoes, are supposed to not split as easily as the Super Sweets, so we shall see.
  • ‘Costoluto Genovese’–I plant this tomato every year.  Very reliable here, and produces quite a bit of fruit.  Very tasty as well.
  • ‘Super Marzano Hybrid’–I have in years past gotten ‘San Marzano’ seed, and have been very pleased with them, so am trying the Super hybrid to see if it’s any better.  These are a Roma-like tomato excellent for drying, but are also delicious sliced and eaten in salads.
  • ‘Brandywine’–These produce gorgeous and huge tomatoes late in the season, but lately we’ve had cold weather late in the season, so I am only doing a few of these this year.  However, I look forward to them–very good flavor.
  • ‘Cherokee Purple’–I am trying a few of these to see how they do in my garden.  Jamie at An Oregon Cottage blog recommended them and said she’s had good luck with them, so I thought I’d give them a try as well.

I also am growing several different types of flowers from seed this year.  Above are some lavender multibloom geramiums.  (Now, in actuality, these are really called pelargonium, and there is a different plant known as a hardy geranium, and they’re not the same.  However, this is how it was labeled from the seed seller.)  I bought 11 seeds for just under three dollars, so they are a little expensive.  However, I got 10 to germinate, and when you consider that even on sale pelargonium plants are at least one dollar apiece, I think I came out way ahead on that deal.  These seeds are not for the faint of heart at seed starting, however:  tiny little things–don’t want to be planting in the wind or blow your nose at the wrong moment!  I used a tiny little baby spoon to get out one seed at a time, and then I placed it in the center of each container.  That works pretty well for small seeds–petunias are another type that I started from seed, and they are expensive and very small as well.  I don’t normally grow a huge amount of flowers from seed, but I just went a little nuts this year and decided to go for it, so I could do my hanging baskets and containers in hopefully very beautiful ways this season!

It’s been cold and incessantly rainy here, so I am waiting for it to warm up so I can get back outside more.  What is happening in your garden–let me know in the comments!

Visit An Oregon Cottage Blog as well.

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In Bloom Today!

March 8, 2011 at 11:42 pm (Bees, Bulbs, companion plantings, Insects, Plant Combinations, Spring-Blooming bulbs, Winter-Blooming bulbs, Winter-Flowering plants)
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Just a few photos from this warm late winter, dare I say it, early spring day:

 

This is yellow crocus, a few winter aconite, and the dark chocolate foliage of Anthiscus silvestrus “Ravenswing.”   Tulip foliage as well, but no flowers there yet.

Just a mix of crocus–it looks like the Easter Bunny’s basket exploded!  I love how the orange stamens contrast so nicely with the lavenders, purples and whites.

An unnamed hellebore that I picked up from the Master Gardener’s Plant Sale several years ago.  I love the rosey hues and gradiations of color that this flower offers. 

Across from the hellebore, I just put in yesterday an early salad greens little bed. 

This is what it looks like opened.  No germination yet, but I only planted it yesterday.

Some deep purple mini iris, a little shot of blue scilla in the front, with a dwarf golden evengreen on the left.

A favorite early flowering combination:  ‘Pickwick’ crocus with ‘Tete-A-Tete’ miniature narcissus.  There were the first bees that I’ve seen this year buzzing all around the crocus.  A little clump of forget-me-nots, not yet in bloom.

‘Flower Power’ crocus on the sidewalk that leads to one of the doors of the house.

What’s blooming in your garden?  Leave me a comment.

And while you’re at it, visit Jamie’s Garden Party.

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