Friday, April 23, 2010

Green thumb stuff

Yesterday I left work early and spent the afternoon working on my flowerbeds. It was an absolutely perfect day for it. Today it's pouring rain.

Here is part of the cedar mulch I spread. I love mulch. It makes everything look neat and tidy. I ran out of energy before I ran out of mulch. Hate it when that happens.

This year I’m using Preen for the first time. It’s a granular that keeps seeds from germinating, so hopefully things will stay looking nice and tidy. It won’t kill any weeds that are already growing in a flower or vegetable garden but it will keep new ones from sprouting for up to three months after you apply it. I’ll let you know how it works.

Here's one of the geraniums I wintered over. I love geraniums. I cut these plants back by about half when I brought them in last fall and cut them back again by about 2/3 this spring before moving them back outdoors. They’re starting to put out a lot of sturdy new growth and will be blooming again in no time.

Here's a pot of lava rose coleus from clippings I took last fall before frost. They will go in a big container on the patio. They do really well in full sunshine and are tough enough to handle the July and August heat reflecting off the white siding on the house AND the cement patio.


These are Wizard Pineapple coleus. They’re the first “flower” I bought this spring. Pineapple coleus are a favorite and I usually have a couple of pots of them every year. Hope to make it to a local greenhouse this weekend and pick up a few more annuals for patio containers and some more perennials for bare spots in the border along the fence.

Before I started my gardening marathon, the Belgians and I went to the park to train. And play ball. And sit on stumps.

3 comments:

  1. Oooooooo.... I am jealous! Love the new coleus. I was thinking I might have to go shopping for plants this weekend.

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  2. I have petunias peeking through the dirt - ready for them? And - the Belgians on a Stump is perfect. Love it.

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  3. I use stump sitting for sit/stay practice. Of course it's a much smaller stump so they don't have room to shift around or lay down. Makes them think about sitting which is the key to a good sit/stay.

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