It's Summer!

The weather is beautiful outside! Sunny with a slight breeze. However, the forecast for the next several days calls for rain but that is a good thing. We need the water.

In this weeks gardening e-newsletter, there was an observation that made me pause for a moment and reflect. Janet made a comment that she couldn't understand why people were in such a hurry to get their planting done. She enjoys planting things all during the season. It's true that there are some things that need to get into the ground in Michigan especially vegetables like tomatoes. But that doesn't mean the all of the annuals and perennials need to be put in by June.

Nurseries in Michigan tend to sell out of their annuals by the end of June and even then they are starting to be pot bound. Any annuals that can be found after this time are often in larger pots and are expensive. Does this leave the passionate but frugal gardener in the position of starting annuals indoors at a later date?

There are many "chores" that Ken and I have been able to do the last few days since the weather has been pleasant. Ken weeded an area in the large back flower bed and put newspaper and cocoa mulch in it. The columbines are done flowering and are producing seeds but the Stella d'Oro daylillies are in full bloom. Even though I thinned out the daylilly garden last year, it has totally filled in again. This fall, I'm going to have to dig out and divide all of the plants in that bed. I'm going to keep a record of where the different types of daylillies are in the bed so that I can replant the ones that I like the best.

It's June!

The weather has been very pleasant the last few days--light showers at night and temperatures in the 70s. However, forecasters are saying that it will be in the high 80s and low 90s later in the week.

I was able to get a lot of things done in the garden in the early spring but then time and weather turned against me! I have finally started to get back out and finish some of the chores that I wasn't able to get to earlier.

The violas in the pots are still blooming but I don't think that they are going to survive the hot, humid weather that is coming. I bought four hanging baskets at Targets and transplanted wave petunias in them. The petunias were volunteers from last year and came up in the small bed between the garage and house. (This is the second year that this has happened.) I probably will switch the viola pots for the new ones this weekend.

Three of the tomatoes have flowers on them already--a Roma, a Sungold and a Sweet 100. Eight of the nine asparagus roots that we planted have come up and are looking very good. I finished harvesting all of the green lettuce mix but I have just started to pick the red lettuce. Also, I planted two more rows of onions two days ago for a total of 4 rows. I told Ken that he should be able to start harvesting onions for his 4th of July BBQs.

Yesterday, we planted four Gold Coast junipers in the front brick bed. We also put down a layer of papers and covered them with cocoa mulch. The newspapers and cocoa mulch has really helped to keep down the weeds. There is a marked difference between the beds that had this treatment and those that did not.

The weather has gone from being hot (in the 80s) and sunny to being cold and rainy. Yesterday, it rained like crazy and the temperature was in the 50s. Right now there are black clouds and the wind is gusting. Not only that, but the temperature tonight will be in the 30s. YIKES! Ken planted sunflower seeds the other day so I hope that they make it through this cold spell.

Ken also finished one of the raised brick beds. It looks great. Wednesday, I planted onions, radishes and a red lettuce mixture in it. I left the middle section open so that I have space for the bush beans.



I took this picture of the coral belles over a week ago. Those small buds are now full fledged flowers. The columbines and the bleeding heart are also in bloom. The irises are sending up buds and should be open soon.









On Wednesday, Ken noticed that four of the asparagus roots had sent up stems. If the weather clears up by Sunday, he will take some more of the worm compost and mix it with the soil from the bed. He'll use it to mound around the stems. The russet and red potatoes are also sprouting so he'll have to add more soil to their pots too very soon.

I thinned out the carrots last week. In addition, I should be able to start picking the mesclun mix and some of the radishes. I look forward to making roll-ups for lunch. Not only are they tasty, but they are easy to make. Just spread some vegetable cream cheese on flat bread, put thinly sliced radishes on top, cover with lettuce and then roll. Nothing tastes better than fresh produce from the garden especially in the spring.

The tomato seedlings are growing like crazy. On Monday, I need to repot them. Currently, there are 28 seed pellets but I think that I will only repot about half that many. I'm still trying to decide exactly how many of each variety I will plant in the garden. Any extras that I have will be given away. The jalapeno peppers are just starting to sprout.