Amish Greenhouses

This weekend we had a blast visiting some local Amish greenhouses to buy annuals! We ended up going to four of them, although there were many more to choose from, and I was delighted to go shortly after they opened so that there was still a great variety of plants. I was a kid in a candy store, repeatedly walking up and down the aisles, picking the flowers that spoke to me. I think I found everything I was looking for, including a few tiny vinca seedlings in a back corner at one of the greenhouses. And even better, when we arrived home in the late afternoon, we still had time to plant the few perennials I bought (delphinium and phlox), plant a few annuals for out front, move the plant hook over the garage for my new hanging basket, and gather all the plants into groups so my containers are all designed now. It may not be a lot to get done for the average person, but for the person with two small children, it's a miracle! I mean, really, I think it was a miracle.  

 

I have 4 large pots on my back deck, so here are two of my containers, waiting to be planted:

 

 

In other news, Mike was recently gifted both a chainsaw and a pole saw, so today became the day to start some tree pruning chores he had had to put off due to lack of equipment. We have a maple that overhangs our neighbors' yard, with a few stray branches the gets in the neighbor's way, but also had a very large limb that crossed the body of the tree and needed to come down. It became quite an adventure when first Mike, then the neighbor, got their chainsaws stuck in the tree. Then, when the limb was finally cut free, it became lodged among the remaining foliage, so they looped a rope around it, and the neighbor and his wife, Mike and I, and another neighbor all tug-of-warred with the tree until it fell. Ultimately, it had be be pulled the rest of the way down with Mike's vehicle. Mike joked that he made the chore into a neighborhood event. I'm sure everyone will cringe the next time he fires up that chainsaw for another adventure! 

3 men discussing the felled limb

  

Mike in his fluorescent chainsaw chaps and helmet

As you can tell, we are greatly enjoying the warm Spring weather. AND, the forecast shows no definite frost in the future. It would be very early to have already experienced our last frost of the season, but I'm pretty optimistic; not planting-all-the-tomatoes-in-the-ground-now optimistic, but perhaps filling-containers-with-frost-sensitive-annuals-that-can-be-easily-covered kind of optimistic. I hope you are enjoying it as well! Happy gardening!

Blooms!

What a treat to wake up Saturday morning to put on shorts and a t-shirt! 4 days ago it was freezing with nighttime lows in the 30s, and I impulse purchased some frost-tolerant annuals from Menards, which were huddled in the interior of the cold garden center along with all the trees and shrubs.  I’m glad I bought what I did, because on a return trip last night, the dianthus I purchased were sold out, but plants had been moved outdoors to enjoy the beautiful sun!

Here is a glimpse of our weekend:

 

Currently, the magnolias and daffodils are blooming. Mike's Nanking cherry trees flowered today, and I have some budding tulips. There is at least some sign of life, if not 6 inches of growth, on most perennials and shrubs.

I’ve also been reading up on ornamental trees, trying to make some decisions on how to landscape the front of the house. It really is amazing what you can learn on the internet, where you can network and discuss with other gardeners and access plant encyclopedias all at the same time. 

Mike has been hard at work in his garden. Here he is preparing potatoes for planting. He made some comment about obtaining too many seed potatoes and having hundreds of lbs of potatoes or something like that. Hopefully he does get a great yield!

 

 

Every day he is out preparing beds and planting, moving his seedlings around, and various other gardening chores.  Here's a little photographic garden/farm update:

seedlings, most of which are waiting for the last frost to be planted

Mike's garden plan. He often references this while out working.

new aluminum labels for some of his many fruit trees

mushrooms

grafted apple trees and pears, waiting for their places in the yard

potato trenches

Mike dug this boulder out of his garden this week! Our little girl helped by chanting "I think I can" while he worked.

 

bumble bee found the Nanking cherry

a man admiring his cherry tree

We are overjoyed by the forecast and the ability to bring to life our plans, many dreamed up over the winter. I hope you are enjoying whatever makes Springtime special for you!

Making Plans!

There's a limited amount of garden work you can do on these perfect, early Spring days! Saturday we had this:

and it was in the 30s and windy. Despite the cold, the snow melted quickly in the sun, and then today, it was 70 and beautiful! Even on the wonderful days this time of year, there's only so much gardening you can do before the weather is consistently warm, so the winter days of planning, instead of doing, extend into Spring.

Today, that planning stage felt different. It was truly warm to sit out and observe the landscape, and with the grass now green and many plants emerging, visualizing the changes I want to make was so much  easier.

Here is where we are now:

crocuses faded, daffodils budding

Note the new and improved edge along the sidewalk. I made it a trench and took out the plastic edging.

Found this little guy today! Mini daffodils, new to my garden this year.

And Mike is doing whatever he can to move along my landscape dreams. Before we know it, the entire area around our home will be presentable! Both sides of the house are now weedy and unfinished, which is excellent, because it gives me an opportunity to create whatever I want!

Planning to build a bed here. The garden fork represents a tree. Magnolia? Apricot? Not sure yet!

this picture is to help visualize how things will look with a tree planted, a new front deck, and a garden bed on the left

Right side of the house. The straw and boards will be used up in projects, and thinking of putting a raised bed over the gravel in front of the LP tank, to help it blend into the landscape

Garden area by the LP tank. Was full of landscape rock and thistles. Not exactly my dream garden. I've been excited to make this over for awhile, and it looks like this is the year we'll get to do it!

So, yes, I am randomly skipping through the yard when I take the kids outside, because it's Spring and we are finally able to finish plans and garden them into reality! Stay tuned for hopefully more garden progress!