 | |||
| Endless Summer Hydrangea |
 |
| Snapdragon and Delphinium |
 |
| Dahlia's |
 |
| Sunflowers |
 | |||
| Wider View of Cutting Garden. |
Since this is my first year I decided to try a number of different flowers to see how they would perform.
Here's what I've planted:
Cosmos, Bachelor Buttons, California Poppies, three types of Sunflowers, Dahlias, Zinnias, Snapdragons, Delphinium, Parsley, Ornamental Eggplant, Oriental Lillie's, and I made room for some heirloom tomatoes too!Here's what I've learned: This was also my first year with the new greenhouse which has been mostly trial and error. Because I didn't start seeds indoors ( with heat and overhead light ) I waited until the end of April to plant my seed trays in the greenhouse. I relied entirely on the warmth inside and extended daylight hours for germination. Somethings did well, others not so much. Some of my Zinnia trays didn't germinate at all so I replanted them in mid May and they did better that time around. Plus, I also sowed one entire bed by seed after the danger of the last frost just to see how it would do...So far so good!I'm already thinking ahead! Next year, I'll plant three times what I think I need to fill the beds just in case some don't germinate and I'll start some seeds with heat and light ( in the greenhouse ). Once they've germinated they'll stay there until planting time!
Can anyone recommend what kinds of heat mats and growing lights I should look in to?
The joy of stepping into the cutting garden every morning, coffee in hand and greeting my new garden in progress makes it all worth while... I can hardly wait for the first blooms! You know I'll keep you posted!
What has this garden season taught you? I'm sharing this post with An Oregon Cottage Tuesday Garden Party! Swing on by for more clever cottage gardening ideas!
Papa and I do the same for fathers/mothers day . I made him his favorite brunch, toasted english muffins with egg , cheese and bacon on . Lovely photos and post . Glad to hear all your gardens are doing well ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteAwe, it's fun to cook for each-other isn't it? Have a wonderful day Elaine!
DeleteIt all looks so beuatiful.;) I guess as with anything we do for the first time, we learn along the way.;) What has this gardening season taught me? To mow lawn;) Never did it before.;))
ReplyDeleteWishing you a great week.;)) Send us some sun please.;)
xoxo
Thank you Zuzana! Oh, yes I know our lawn mower well too, but now that the kids are older they get to do it! Thanks so much for the visit! Sending sun!
DeleteI am glad you like to share that was fun to know what you two do on Mother/Father's Day, sweet. I love your gardens I need to plant a cutting garden yours is really pretty. My Grandmother used to have one and I don't know why I cut mine from every garden...it would be better to do it your way...so guess I am gonna copy you next time...Enjoyed this Deb!
ReplyDeleteHey Dolly!
DeleteI cut from my perennial gardens too Dolly but I don't like to hack away at them too much! Thanks for popping by!
Did I miss the post where you made those amazing raised beds? Please explain or point to the post that explains how you did those. I just love them. I'm afraid I can't be much help on the seed starting. I haven't been lucky starting seeds in the greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteHowdy 4 B's! Here's the link to how our raised beds came to be!
Deletehttp://www.deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html
Enjoy! These could be done on a much smaller scale too! 4x4, 4x,6 4x8, or for a very narrow space, 2 x 12 would work well also.
Thanks for your note!
Hi Deborah! Your raised beds look like they are doing so great. Right now, the flowers are beginning to wilt in our area...we just don't water like we should. We collect rain water so ...when it doesn't rain, well the plants get thirsty. We have been watering the veggies...although those gardens are almost spent! We wanted to take a break over the summer from growing, but we had a wet spring so our veg garden is doing better than last years did. Plus, The Honey is doing so well. No hospital stay!
ReplyDeleteOur raised beds have done well for us-- right now our tomatoes are doing wonderful!
Love your tradition for the Mother's /Father's day-- we had a cook out. Turkey burgers, Elk burgers and hot dogs! Lots of fun and swimming.
Take care-- Pat
Hi there Pat,
DeleteFirst of all, congratulations on Honey's good health! That's all you really need to enjoy this summer! Your Father's day sound great too...
especially the swimming.. I know how hot Texas can be especially in the summer!
Hey there, Deb!
ReplyDeleteI just noticed that my dahlias are becoming BUG RIDDLED...The leaves look like lace on a few of them and I'm thinkin' ear wigs and/or slugs..(Do you spray the plant with the dish soap/water, or the creature?) I read that both can be caught by beer trays. Also read that wigs will be attracted and fall into small dishes of oil pressed into the ground. This year I had the bright(???) idea to put my grass clippings on the dirt adjacent to the dahlias. I went out yesterday and moved it back...Lots of rain here, too.
One of my most FAV plants in my garden is my electric blue delphinium. I planted it years ago and it keeps coming back with no problems. Planted a pink larkspur last year and it's doing great. Now I'm looking for the purple and blue varieties...
Happy planting! Your beds look wonderful!
Hi Jan! I've been spraying the entire plant tops and underneaths and picking off the slugs as I find them...I've heard the same thing about the trays filled with beer for trapping the slugs before they have a chance to get onto the plant but haven't tried it yet.. Sounds like you have some purties in your garden too! I want to get some larkspur too! Thanks for stopping by and keep me posted on your Dahlia situation...! Happy Gardening!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is some garden! All those raised beds...they look wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a large 'cottage garden' style flower bed back when I was younger and had a larger yard. One of my favorites was cosmos because they were the first flower I'd grown as a child and one of the flowers that I NEVER had any trouble with : )
Thank you Debra! I love your Cosmos memory... They are easy to grow aren't they? Thank you for stopping by to say hello!
DeleteGorgeous garden! I will need to spend some time exploring your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Please stay awhile! Thanks for visiting...
DeleteI have started to do container gardening this year and hope to do more next year. Thank you for your pictures.
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie! Container gardening is so fun cuz you can change things around from year to year... Have fun with yours!
DeleteYou are going to have a magnificent cutting garden--wow! I would love to have a greenhouse someday, but for now I start seeds in the basement on tables and baker's rack under lights.
ReplyDeleteI hope to learn how to start seeds in my basement next year too Athena! A Bakers rack sounds like a good space saver!
DeleteI thought I was being ambitious with the 4 raised beds I (umm, my helpers) added. The heavy rains and wind have been a bit hard on the more delicate seedlings. I'm hoping they pull through. I'm looking forward to seeing how your garden grows.
ReplyDeleteHi Maery! I once had a Mary Rose in my garden in honor of my mother in law who's name is Mary! As to the amount of raised beds... You might say, something came over me in the cold winter months... I was STARVED for flowers! LOL Thank you for the visit!
DeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou Bet! Thanks for the visit!
DeleteHey, Deborah! Thanks for sharing your cutting garden with us - those beds are great and are going to give you tons of beautiful blooms, I can tell. :-)
ReplyDeleteRegarding lights and mats- I just use a normal long shop light, but I put one warm bulb and one cool bulb in it to get a nice "grow light" spectrum for a fraction of the cost. I use just a basic $20 heat mat (that I bought through one of those catalogs that always have a "buy $50, save $25" coupon, which saves 50%) and I noticed a huge difference in germination rates. I'd highly recommend it.
I look forward to reading more of your updates!