More Severe Weather and More Planting

Warmer weather is back a upon us and it feels wonderful! Today the area was outlooked for severe weather again but nothing particularly extraordinary happened here. A bit humid today and the cold front scheduled to go through will diminish the humidity but the temps will remain in the 80's.

Been a few days since I posted here. Planted a few things since the last entry. Today made another trip to Lowe's and purchased many pots of various sizes along with a few more hooks for the wall near the deck and bags of red cedar mulch and compost/manure. On a previous trip to Lowe's they had 40 lb. bags of cow manure for only slightly more than $2 but today there was no such product. I guess they sold out.

So a few things we got done the last several days:

There in the middle you can see the bridal veil hanging basket and on either side the new hooks that were installed on Sunday.

In this vase was planted crook neck squash. The seed packaging states the plant is ideal for containers so let's see. Have to cover it and most anything else that gets freshly planted due to squirrels who enjoy digging up anything and everything.

Transplanted a small pot of Georgia Blue Speedwell into this pink container. Added mulch as directed.

Also filled up a second urn with Gladiolus tubers. Planted a couple varieties of pepperoncini in another container. I really want to fill up every last space in the yard with edible plants and shade-loving plants. 

There is plenty of yard work to do tomorrow. Will update accordingly.

More Chilliness

Another few days of chilly weather--with yesterday being downright inappropriate for mid-May. The best we could get yesterday was mid-40s! Absolutely not acceptable!! But it promises to get back up into the 70's, perhaps as early as tomorrow.

I didn't mention that on Thursday I picked up my 2nd of two annual hanging baskets--the Bridal Veil. Found some pretty large, full specimens and the price was respectable. Has given the yard a very nice look. (No photos yet). Due to the unseasonably cool temperatures yesterday, had to take both it and the Chennile into the garage overnight.

In other news, something is going on with my newly sprouting pickle plants. They were emerging nicely from the seeds and all of a sudden one is missing both leaves, another is missing one leaf, etc. I had to spread some slug & snail killer around the seedlings. Past history dictates that we have a problem with these creatures in our soil and if left untreated they do destroy many fruit-bearing seedling plants.

Bought a pack of Early Summer Crookneck Squash seeds today. Package says they are ideal for containers so I'm going to grow them in that way. I want to do plenty of container growing this year. Ground space is limited, especially after some plants reach full growth and hog all the sunlight. So the only option is to fill surrounding spaces with vases, urns and such. Must keep plenty of potting soil at hand!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better weather-wise and will allow for the planting of more seeds. I think a nice goal for this season would be to not have to buy any tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers/pickles, parsley, kale/collards, zucchini and more from the store. Garden fresh--it just smells and tastes so much better!

Chilly Spring Weather

Back to chilly weather. Tomorrow looks like more of the same. Didn't get anything done gardening-wise. Did notice the pickle plants emerging from the seeds I planted last week.

Yesterday I received a couple of catalogs from Breck's and Spring Hill Nursery. They have some pretty amazing plants! Expecting additional catalogs from various other similar companies.

Another Severe Weather Day

Another warm (84°) and severe weather day. Still have not planted my zucchini seeds. Have plenty more planting to do but the rest of the week will only be in the 50's and 60's. Not good mid-May weather. The good news is that the severe weather did not do any damage to our plants and trees.

Mother's Day Severe Weather

Today was Mother's Day. Didn't do any gardening as a result. Plus some severe weather came through around the time I like to do things in the yard. Looks like more of the same tomorrow.

Apple tree starting to flower:

And a basketful of blue Pansies:

Quiet Saturday

Another warm day here today. High temp somewhere in the mid to upper 70s. Tomorrow promises to be warmer--lower 80s to be precise. There is also a threat of severe weather. At the moment, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has the following outlook graphic for Sunday:

This would be the first severe weather event for this particular area thus far this year. According to forecasters, Monday appears to be a more significant threat. Large hail the primary concern. We'll see how it pans out.

I did not do any gardening today. So I'll leave you with a few photos from past days:

Overnight Outflow Winds

Not as warm today. Official high temp in the upper 70s with early evening cooling that required a long-sleeved shirt. Well, as promised, here are some photos of the urn-type vase I planted Gladiolus bulbs in:

Overnight there was outflow from strong to severe thunderstorms west of here. Received a warning from the weather service that 40 mph winds were on their way. Woke up to this:

The Forsythia flowers just blew off the bush. It's too bad because the flowers only last in spring and came rather late this year.

Planted additional kernels of corn and string beans today in addition to okra and peas. Okra has never done well in this garden, neither through seed nor through transplanting sprouted plants from the nurseries. Tomorrow I shall plant some zucchini and perhaps some decorative gourds/squash seeds. Always have had success with zucchini and sometimes with pie pumpkins and decorative fall squash varieties.

Finally, a few varieties of store-bought lettuce are growing nicely:

Coleus & Chenille

Today was a super warm day--nearly 90°F! Felt so good sitting and being outside after such a nasty winter. Warmer air has finally arrived and is here to stay at least for the short term.

Today I finished planting my Coleus plants and here they are:

I'm hoping they fill up that small, shady patch of the garden. 

Each year I make it a point to find 2 hanging baskets in particular: the Chenille and the Bridal Veil. Today I came across the Chenille. There was a plethora of Chenille hanging baskets, many with plump and long red fuzzy flowers:

I also planted some sprouting Gladiolus bulbs into a big black urn. No photos of that today but I'll try to get one tomorrow. Also repaired my large wind chime that had been ringing about with only 4 out of 5 chimes after a broken string caused one of the tubes to drop. That happened during winter. What a brutal winter it was indeed. Bah!

In My Garden - First Post

This blog will be about the adventures of my gardening during this growing season. I intend to post everyday whether I have much to write or not. I'm not sure I will remain faithful to my intention. But doing so will serve as a day-to-day journal of the spring, summer and fall seasons during 2014.

I'm starting this blog a little late, but it's been pretty chilly here for quite some time as this past brutal winter continues to try to seize spring's allotted tenure. Today though was 78° though the temperature seemed to drop quickly during late afternoon. A few light sprinkles but nothing to force anyone indoors.

Today I planted string bean seeds and kernels of corn. Was at Lowe's earlier in the day and picked up a few items on clearance as well as a few other not-too-expensive annuals. I've been wanting to fill the south side of the yard which is a very shady area with some plants or flowers that can thrive without much sunlight. I've got an apple tree and a miniature magnolia tree which when fully basked with leaves completely shades the ground underneath. So I found some containers of Coleus on clearance and I bought several. Planted several of the packs and left the rest for tomorrow which is forecast to be a warmer day.

I have no pictures of the Coleus I planted today but I will leave you with some photos of the Dusty Miller I planted a few days ago.