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  • How My Garden Grows

    May
    16
    2008

    iris bud blooming purple flower macro

    My irises have almost unfurled, and there’s already a very strong smell of grapes coming from them. I would, if I could, create and patent an iris scented nose insert. This would be especially good if you have smelly neighbors, or just spend a lot of time around smelly people. Simply put the iris scented nose inserts up into each nostril and voila! You smell grapes, and all the world is right again.

    I have a lot of irises this year. I even planted one that is supposed to look like a Baboon’s butt Bottom. I know it sounds a little demented, but I’m kinda excited to see that one, kwim? People are strange. Myself included.

    gerbera daisy macro flower photo leanne wildermuth

    My gerber/gerbera daisies are lover-ly. I have several in a planter that my hubby made for me, it’s my daisy planter box. People actually slow down when they drive past my house to look at the pretty flowers. I always flip them my green thumb when they do that, I’m such a show off.

    This is how my planter looks this year:

    gerber gerbera daisy planter

    They’re really sissy flowers, and require a lot of attention and babying – but they’re worth it. Now for the good stuff. I mean the REALLY good stuff. The stuff that’s going to prove that my thumb probably isn’t as green as I’d like to think!


    vegetable garden leanne wildermuth

    This is my vegetable garden. Hubby dug it up, it’s 12′ x 12′. He reeeealy wanted a veggie garden this year so I’m going to do my best. I’ve planted broccoli, cauliflower, beets, bush beans, green peppers and two half rows of spinach. We also have (off to the side against the fence) roma tomatoes and cucumber. Now, I have to tell you, I kill food. I kill it dead, and fast.

    It’s been one week and one day since I planted stuff and things are still standing up and green.

    (Pausing for applause.)

    I am hoping, if all goes well, to be eaten alive by garden bugs and sweat like a farmer woman pulling weeds by mid summer. Why on earth is this something that a girl would aspire to, anyway? All this just for a fresh head of broccoli? Maybe what I really aspire to is to be clubbed over the head and dragged away by my really long hair by a cave man. Or a military man. (There, honey, now you qualify.)

    Any gardeny advice for a newbie? Please? Tips, tricks or sprays that I should use? Special gloves? Bandanas? Ponytail holders? Knee pads? Grub identification manuals? Anything?

    Okay, well, you think about it and I’ll get back to work over here. I’ve got blog designing to do. And paintings to ship, and jeez – a whole bunch of stuff on my to-do list! (Crack that whip!)

    {11 Comments}

    1
    Bob said,

    Hey Leanne, God’s creation is just wonderful, and how kind of Him to let us “decorate” a little. Now that the pollen has subsided, I’ve reached my favorite time of year.

    5.16.2008 @ 7:53 am
    2
    Hubby said,

    After many years I am starting to understand what is flower and what is weed. We are getting closer to the private haven in the back…can we transplant iris’s along the fence? :thumbsup: ….
    Nothing like a sweaty women bent over hoeing a garden!! :rockon:

    Love YA!

    5.16.2008 @ 8:31 am
    3
    pam said,

    Wow, I’m amazed at your green thumb! :greenthumb:

    My rule is: If it doesn’t die, it can stay here. I’m not going to baby anything…. well, outside, anyway.

    On the bright side, I did put my bird feeder back up! Only getting jays and canal rats but it’s a start.
    😉

    5.16.2008 @ 8:43 am
    4
    tabatha said,

    all gorgeous!! and i’m in favor of iris nose inserts. irises are one of my favorite smells of all time!

    5.16.2008 @ 10:04 am
    5
    June said,

    Looks pretty…and healthy! Judy tells me that the colder than normal spring has our buds coming out a bit late so looks like I may get to finally see our dogwood, etc in bloom…even the irises. :yahoo:

    5.16.2008 @ 10:05 am
    6
    Robin said,

    I’m so excited about having gerber daisies in my wedding, today I put in the order for the flowers! Oh and you should know I’m attempting to garden or at least I am telling Erik to garden, I really should do some. My mom also got me these things to hang from my decks to put flowers in, haven’t even begun to figure out what to do with them yet.

    Here is the post about the gardening: http://roadlessunraveled.com/everlong/2008/05/04/flowers-for-our-yard/

    Today I’ll post a picture of the garden so far.

    5.16.2008 @ 10:28 am
    7
    Crusty said,

    The only advice I have about gardening is to pull a Tom Sawyer (or was it Huck Finn?)… make it look like its so much fun that the kids will beg to be able to pull weeds. Other than that, just scope out a veggie stand along side the road somewhere, you know, just in case ….. But that’s just me. Good luck. I bet those veggies are going to taste wonderful!!!

    5.16.2008 @ 3:28 pm
    8
    Renee said,

    oh your gardens look great! I need to get my seeds in the ground and hope we don’t get another freeze.

    5.16.2008 @ 8:27 pm
    9
    Clara said,

    Have fun with it! Just be glad that you can grow almost anything in that rich midwest soil! Ours resembles sand so it must be enriched and if you don’t water at least twice a week…forget it! Enjoy your fresh veggies, there’s nothing better. YUM! My punishment when I was young was to cut spinach, although I can’t see your girls acting up that much, at least not enough to get all the weeds pulled and your veggies harvested! Hugs, clara

    5.17.2008 @ 9:15 am
    10
    Geekwif said,

    I’ve got hostas and chives outside (compliments of a co-worker desperate to thin out her patch) but everything else is still snug in my basement mini-greenhouse yet. Up here in chilly WI, we can’t risk putting out veggies until Memorial Day weekend. One more week and I’m hoping to be a gardening machine! :gardener:

    5.18.2008 @ 3:08 pm

    Sorry, comments are now closed.


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