Phaedra's 2021 Garden

[flowerbug]

here is link to the tulip page:

Tulips | Anthive

Many different kinds of tulips...

www.anthive.com

 

[Phaedra]

Another busy day, it starts from picking fresh veggies~

Reading, coffee, and breakfast

Playing with cats - Gekko (moonlight) and Nikko (sunlight)

Another group of cuttings, the last ones are already transplanted.

It's not expensive to buy onion or carrots in any market, but it's so nice to see they become new plants. Just let the bottom of onion touch little water for 2 days, new roots will grow aggressively. Few more days later, the green parts start growing, too. Life is miracle.

Planted tulips in the pots with homemade compost - this is a late variety, which will blossom in May.

Will remove them to the back of garden shed and cover them later.

Gave hens the wheat grass - they enjoy, haha.

Made some delicious wild blueberry pancakes, yummy.

Let's call it a day. Tomorrow I have to keep cleaning the pond area again. Good night!

 

[flowerbug]

tulips do the best in a place that will get drier spells during the summer months. so when you plant the various kinds of varieties some of those will do ok in a wetter location and others will not. when i put in the tulip gardens here i raised them up and improved the drainage and added more sandy soil. some are still growing 10 years later.

there are also tulip diseases which can wipe out plantings and i've lost quite a few of them to that, but in the middle of the disease there are some that persist so i'm selecting for those that are hardy enough to beat the disease along with the rest of our less than optimal conditions.

i know a lot of people who plant them treat them as annuals and remove them each season and replant, but i don't have that kind of budget or desire to be that persnickety. if they live and grow i'm happy to see them return each year.

 

[Phaedra]

tulips do the best in a place that will get drier spells during the summer months. so when you plant the various kinds of varieties some of those will do ok in a wetter location and others will not. when i put in the tulip gardens here i raised them up and improved the drainage and added more sandy soil. some are still growing 10 years later.

So I think planting in the pot might be a workable option. After they flower, I can easily move them to other places, and as you mentioned, where get drier spells during the summer months. Then they can die back there, in autumn I will cover them with compost, and see if they will come back easily next spring.

there are also tulip diseases which can wipe out plantings and i've lost quite a few of them to that, but in the middle of the disease there are some that persist so i'm selecting for those that are hardy enough to beat the disease along with the rest of our less than optimal conditions.

i know a lot of people who plant them treat them as annuals and remove them each season and replant, but i don't have that kind of budget or desire to be that persnickety. if they live and grow i'm happy to see them return each year.

I guess I am 50/50 Also, I am still on the way to figure out what are suitable plants for different areas in the garden. However, I don't want to plant them all over again every year, too tiresome.

 

[Phaedra]

A long time ago, when I started writing a blog, I used Phaedra, the Kaleidoscope. Till today my life is still quite like a Kaleidoscope. My ex-boss, who became a good friend of mine, sent me today a marketing research report I made about ten years ago, and it recalled so many memories in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes I thought about who I used to be in the past. I might not make the same decisions with the experiences gained through these years. Well, it might be the advantages of becoming mature.

Kimchi is ready to eat, so I made myself a lovely Kimchi Wonton Soup this morning. The temperature drops a lot here, and the soup season arrived.

I also made them into another shape for pan-frying next time.

Chinese cabbage is another vegetable that is suitable to propagate with the bottom part. Like onion and shallots, removing 3-4 layers can effectively avoid unnecessary soaking in the water. Only the roots need water, and the rest of it doesn't.

It's never expensive to get a new one from any supermarket, but I love my tabletop mini oasis. Whether they are initially tops, bottoms, or cuttings of vegetables, their continuous growth is the best reminder of how wonderful life can be.

Shallot bottoms that stayed in the wet kitchen paper for two days. It's more tricky for them to sit in the water directly. Some of them already have new roots.

I love the companion of flowers and that small oasis in my kitchen island.

The two vertical planters in the shady chicken run did very well. They are not only providing extra food and fun for the chickens but also being lovely presentations. I plan to make another four planters like this by the end of October.

This one even has a sunflower! For the new planters I will make, I will transplant Echinacea (coneflower), which I sowed from seeds this spring, and Zepherine Drouhin rose, which accommodates shade well.

The weekend is coming, and I wish you all an enjoyable one.

 

[Carol Dee]

Not much about gardening these two days. It keeps raining, so I stay indoors most of the time. As we have moved into this house for 3 years, it's ideal timing to think about how to optimize some layouts. For example, I removed one divider from the original kitchen furniture, added these IKEA Kallax accessories - for all my trays and forms.

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Then I added legs for the removed divider and assembled it with the Kallax cabinet. It became home for the shopping bags, aprons, and tablecloths.
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Deadheading flowers in the greenhouse and window sills.
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I spend quite some time in the laundry room, so making it another lovely corner where I can work in a good mood is worthy.
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It's also one of my coffee corners. I am not in a hurry and want to work at my tempo.
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Leafy greens planted in late July and early August are growing well. August is very ideal timing for planting spinach here.
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Chores, like cleaning the washing machine and sewing, are all tiny but meaningful elements that made my everyday story.

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You are amazing! So organized and everything is so pretty .

 

[flowerbug]

it is hard to keep tulips cool enough in pots, they tend to get too hot and die back early so you may need a bigger pot for it to work well (think thermal mass). good luck and let me/us know how it goes.

 

[heirloomgal]

A long time ago, when I started writing a blog, I used Phaedra, the Kaleidoscope. Till today my life is still quite like a Kaleidoscope. My ex-boss, who became a good friend of mine, sent me today a marketing research report I made about ten years ago, and it recalled so many memories in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes I thought about who I used to be in the past. I might not make the same decisions with the experiences gained through these years. Well, it might be the advantages of becoming mature.

Kimchi is ready to eat, so I made myself a lovely Kimchi Wonton Soup this morning. The temperature drops a lot here, and the soup season arrived.

View attachment 43839

View attachment 43841
View attachment 43840

I also made them into another shape for pan-frying next time.
View attachment 43842

Chinese cabbage is another vegetable that is suitable to propagate with the bottom part. Like onion and shallots, removing 3-4 layers can effectively avoid unnecessary soaking in the water. Only the roots need water, and the rest of it doesn't.
View attachment 43843

It's never expensive to get a new one from any supermarket, but I love my tabletop mini oasis. Whether they are initially tops, bottoms, or cuttings of vegetables, their continuous growth is the best reminder of how wonderful life can be.
View attachment 43844

Shallot bottoms that stayed in the wet kitchen paper for two days. It's more tricky for them to sit in the water directly. Some of them already have new roots.
View attachment 43845

I love the companion of flowers and that small oasis in my kitchen island.
View attachment 43847

The two vertical planters in the shady chicken run did very well. They are not only providing extra food and fun for the chickens but also being lovely presentations. I plan to make another four planters like this by the end of October.
View attachment 43848

This one even has a sunflower! For the new planters I will make, I will transplant Echinacea (coneflower), which I sowed from seeds this spring, and Zepherine Drouhin rose, which accommodates shade well.

View attachment 43849

The weekend is coming, and I wish you all an enjoyable one.

Looks so delicious! What a lovely posting!

 

[Phaedra]

it is hard to keep tulips cool enough in pots, they tend to get too hot and die back early so you may need a bigger pot for it to work well (think thermal mass). good luck and let me/us know how it goes.

I can move them to shadier places, as most of the tulips I plant can do well without too much direct sunlight.
But this year I didn't feed them during the weeks they were dying back. In fact I always forget to feed flowering plants. I will feed my Dahlias tomorrow.

 

[Phaedra]

This afternoon, I worked with my husband for about 1 hour, and we have pretty good progress cleaning this area. Tomorrow we will have our Sunday brunch as usual and then keep working.

Most of the 'jungle' has gone, and I feel relieved.

Another household project today is to re-purpose an old shoe rack made of very cheap wood.

I made part of it into two small tables for our dogs to have their meals. Next week I will keep working on the other two mini tables for cats.

Recently I loved using glass jars to collect kitchen scraps, mainly from vegetables and fruits, for being part of chicken feeds.

I used the food processor to cut those scraps small and then mixed them with the fermented feed.

My husband made our dinner, and we tried the grape syrup. I used a steam juicer to extract the grape juice and then added sugar and lemon juice. It tastes good, and the color is also attractive.

Good night!