Phaedra's Garden 2022

Phaedra · Jun 19, 2022

I keep doing my propagation practices with what is available at hand. In fact, that's more than enough and a lot of fun.

The florist's daisy is amazing. I put all those tiny, tiny cuttings in a mini pot (5cm in height) and let them stay in a bright enough place but without direct sunlight. After a few weeks, they rooted.

They were all in 7cm pots with other friends and got some seaweed feed.

Last week, we bought a pot of BIO basil from the supermarket, something around 2 Euro. I pinched all top leaves for cooking immediately as this encourages the side shoots to grow. I divided them this evening and got 15 pots of plants.

I am satisfied with the little work done this evening.

Phaedra · Jun 22, 2022

I enjoyed a very pleasant summer morning in the garden, pruned the Rododendron next to the willow tree, and cleaned up this small area.

This is my third annual practice of pruning Rhododendron trees. When we bought the house, I didn't notice there were so many Rhododendron trees and Azaleas. I guess there are more than 20. Another thing I didn't realize is how quickly they can grow every year.

In the beginning, I just watched some videos and saw how to care for them. So, I started by deadheading them.

It's suggested to do the deadheading and pruning before July because the flower buds will gradually form in early summer. When the cleaned-up is done too late, the risk of losing next year's flowers is there.

It's already the second half of June, and the new sets of leaves are already quite big.

Also, I suddenly understand that it's not only about deadheading. More important is - using this chance to closely evaluate and prune the Rhododendron. The purposes include maintaining sufficient growing space, ventilation, and a preferred outlook.

Besides deadheading, I removed the new set(s) of leaves growing in the unfavorable directions, like the photo below - among the three sets of young leaves; I only kept the ones at three and night o'clock directions.

It looks better after the cleaning up. Tomorrow, I will feed them and cover the soil below with the old woodchips inside the chicken runs. Then, the work in this area will be done.

The pruned materials all went to the new raised bed. Many of them are the greenwood from this year, with a good nutrition value. I will wait until the end of June so whatever inside sinks, then the compost and new soil go in. It is planned to be a bed for Peonies.

A foldable table is such a helping hand in the garden.

Rhodie Ranch · Jun 22, 2022

I thought I was the only one who deadheaded rhodies. I find it makes those leaflets more regular in shape.

Phaedra · Jun 22, 2022

The late afternoon is again an ideal time to work in the garden. As DH is on leave, we worked together for about one hour.

I found something that can make the thin-wall metal raised bed safe, and it just cost me about four euros and ten minutes.

Et voilà, it's perfect now.

Then, it's time for something that will always make us dirty. I enjoyed cleaning the garden with some basic tools, but, it's too big to take care of everything manually.

Finally, tool cleaning - and let's call it a day.

Phaedra · Jun 24, 2022

Sweet peas so pretty
There are wild carrots (dark red color), pink bachelor's buttons, and daisies in the same bed.

Roses are also at their first peak.

Whenever I am at this corner, This made me laugh like hell - I grasped the seedlings in a hurry and....planted a pea instead of a sweet pea....
So now I have climbing roses accompanied by a pea! :lol:

Now, most of my young trees get some friends - Dahlias and peonies. With this set-up, the young trees will get more water and feed.

I removed those teenage plants as I cleaned up one small tulip bed last week. One important lesson I have learned this year is to take advantage of containers of all sizes - the flexibility they offer is really helpful.

It's a bed for my favorite tulip variety - Ballerina. The tulips here have the biggest bulbs among all tulips I planted last autumn. Now they are resting in a dark space to dry out. I added half homemade compost and refilled this bed for broccoli, larkspur, one salad green, two sweet potatoes, and three florist's daisy cuttings.

Phaedra · Jun 24, 2022

The succession planting is going on, too.
The third batch of sunflowers, Romaine lettuces, tatsoi, and cluster mallow (to eat their leaves) - will be ready for transplantation in another two weeks.

Those will be pricked out tomorrow and moved into the module trays.

I want to create a chive path, so the planting starts.

I have already tried and succeeded in doing so directly in the raised beds. So, I will plant them in the nursery pots for the purpose—half soil, the entire dried head in, more soil, done.

A shy little guy

Phaedra · Jun 26, 2022

This year, the roses are blossoming crazily. Some of them show the impressive beauty than ever.

Zinnias sowed this spring are also check-in.

Also, the Japanese plums.

This is my world, my universe.

Phaedra · Jul 1, 2022

I kept preparing the new raised bed for planting in late August.

With so much green material, the decomposing temperature is quite high, even without a cover.

One neighbor gave me these and asked my help to make them a mixed salad and a bouquet - for their BBQ meeting with friends tomorrow. I love such kind of small business!

So, after some gardening work, I harvested some flowers and let them start overnight conditioning in a dark room.

Rose and sunflower as hero flowers; bachelor's button and loosestrife as support flowers; yarrow as filler, amaranthus as spikes and foliage; fern and raspberry leaves as foliage - a colorful, rainbow summer bouquet.

Three different colored yarrow
Ground elder and lady's mantle faded, and wild carrots need another two weeks to fully blossom - yarrows become the best filler flowers.

Phaedra · Jul 2, 2022

A bright summer day - the temperature in Cologne is always higher than in Schleiden, so many plants have a lot more progress, too.

The hanging basket area is quite established, and it's time to enjoy the colorful display.

Eventually, this house will be sold, so container planting is the best option. It's constrained, but limitations are not necessarily the showstoppers. In this area, there are french beans, peas, garlic (for greens), turmeric (my target is the flower), mint, rosemary, potato, zucchini, pumpkin, kumquat, calamondin, and Bottle Gourd.

In the vegetable patch, there are corns, potatoes, melons, watermelons, tomatoes, french beans, cucumbers, grape, eggplants, and okras.

Behind the mini pond, there are a small fig tree, two chili plants, and one zucchini.

Onions are growing between the sunflowers and amaranthus (they are planted as cut flowers). So, this garden is expected to produce at least 25 different ingredients - quail eggs, fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Cucumbers started to climb on the quail run - they did peck the leaves from time to time. These cucumbers offer extra protection from wind and rain on the south side.

Besides one climbing rose and one shrub rose, there are lilies, hollyhock, Geranium, sunflowers, wild carrots, florist's daisy, hydrangeas, asters, and amaranthus. I also added a Dahlia patch, so at least 15 varieties can be harvested as cut flowers.

As Dahlias are safe plants for quails, it will also be ok if they peck on the leaves. When Dahlias grow up further, they will also offer shade and protection from the east side. They are planted in the bottomless 10 Liter pots, so reaching the soil for different nutrients they need in the late stage will be fine.

With the containers, it will be easier for me to harvest their tubers in autumn and bring them back for storage.