May 4, 2010

Raking in 90 Degree Weather? Is That Necessary? - Fertilizer Friday

Holy cow!  It was a hot, humid, sticky, yucky weekend last week!  And what did I choose to do?   Work in the yard.  In the beating sun.    The plan was laid out earlier in the week as part of the grander plan to get ready for the annual Memorial Day garden kick off!  I was so not ready for this!  90 degrees and humid!  In May?  Really?

The raking part would have been OK if it didn’t entail picking up tons of acorns.  They are heavy!    The squirrels haven’t even considered digging up any of my flower bulbs.   Why should they?  They have a veritable buffet of about 20,000 sq.ft.  Right there, sitting on the ground, no digging.   The digging was left to me.  The hundreds of acorns that had planted themselves and taken root everywhere.   And let me tell you, they don’t give up easy.

So after a few of hours of that nonsense, I decided to hide from the sun on my deck and get some seeds going.   A little late but it kept me in garden mode.  Boy do I have a lot of seeds!  Some of which were getting old.    Time to experiment.  Throw caution to the wind and let nature take it’s course.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The seeds that were started a mere 4 days ago, looked like this today!

Are you laughing yet Tootsie?


Updates:
The grapevine is coming along.

The hydrangea is growing vigorously.

A large part of my yard is woodland.    I haven't gotten to clearing this area yet but here are a few things that are going on.

The hosta is looking good growing in front of the tin man in a rotted out old tree.
(Obviously, I haven't gotten around to cleaning this area.)

Forget-Me-Nots

Lily of the Valley.  Love the smell!



Volunteer potatoes in the raised bed.  Must be some that I missed last fall.

 
This is leftover brussel sprouts.  It seems to have bolted so I'll let it occupy space until I have something else to put in.

All things considered, it was a productive weekend.   It helped that I had some pleasant company.


Yellow Finch



Robin

Oh, and I hear the hummingbirds are here.  Time to make some sugar water.  You can find the migration map here.

Have a wonderful week and don't forget to visit Tootsie's  Fertilizer Friday for more garden views.


15 comments:

Paula said...

90*!!! That is amazing! It snowed here today and blizzarded. We had just taken off our snow tires and the roads were SLICK! I love your plants and their beautiful green - I am truly drooling! Thanks for sharing, Paula from Idaho

Avalon's Garden and Mewsings of Garden Cottage Cats said...

I feel your pain ! it was hot here too!! I think the next couple of nights the temps are suppose to drop again ,around low 40s upper
30s here in Jersy .Frost warnings again!! In spite of it all Everything is looking Great!! Love that little tin man!How cute is that!:)Enjoy your weekend, Happy gardening!

Debbie said...

Your fighting the heat, I'm fighting the cold, wind and yes snow ..... lows in the 20's. Hard to get in the gardening spirit.

deb said...

Your fighting the heat I'm fighting the widn! 5th day in the row of gusty blowing wind! ugghhh hate wind! Everything looks fantastic in your garden! Look at the bight side..the squireels are leaving your bulbs alone ;)
*hugs*deb

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

wow I could take a little of your heat over here in NE Scotland. I've hardly seen the sun all week here.

Thats some job with the acorns - they sure do have deep roots as I've had to pull out a few saplings myself recently.

Your blooms in the garden just now are beautiful along with your tin man in the old tree - thats a lovely eyecatcher.

Old Time Cindy said...

Hey Maureen,
It's amazing how hot it is...we are under another tornado watch right now. Gardening is a challenge this year with massive rains and now winds. You've got a great start.
Country Blessings,
Cindy

Erin said...

I love your tin man...he's gorgeous. Anyway, I can't believe you made it out in 90 degree weather...that is just so unpleasant. The flowers look lovely and the birds remind me to refill my feeders!

Alea Milham said...

I think I would take 90 degrees instead of facing another frost...I think. :) Your flowers are so lovely and that tin man is adorable!

Unknown said...

We ahve had the same 80 and 90 degree weather here but no complaints from this child, not after the snow we had last winter.
Love your garden, I can't wait to see everything bloomimg and growing. Thanks for stopping by and your wonderful comments, stop by anytime.
Sandy

Tootsie said...

4 days ago? wow...those plants grew fast! good for you...no laughter here...just excited for you! I have some that didn't grow at all...and some that I still would like to plant...so here we are!
Your grapevine is doing well...I think mine is dead. It was 5 years old and getting so big...but the bad winter did the other one in last year...and I think this year the winter did my last one.
I am so glad you have joined in on FF this week...thank you. I hope you will share with my meme again soon!
Spring is finally showing herself here and I get to start hardening off my flowers this week...so soon I will have something growing outside too!

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Looks like your summer has arrived...its cool and rainy in TN...not pleasant gardening weather...I think you must be a great gardener!!!

Gracefully Vintage said...

Too Cute is this Blog- love it- 90 degree (wow) are weather is up and down a lot this year one day 80 then next rainy cold- so odd- thanks for stopping by my blog- just became a follower of yours. Cant wait to see more of your garden- i wouldnt even attempt that..
Karryann

Vonlipi said...

Your garden is a bit ahead of mine but I'm farther north, eh?

Love the tin man!

★Carol★ said...

Things are sure poppin' in your garden! Would you happen to know what could cause a hydrangea to only have some leaves on a few of the branches, and the rest of it look dead? I can't decide whether to just dig it up and throw it out, or leave it. It's been struggling for the last few years. If you have any suggestions, they'd be greatly appreciated!

fiftyodd said...

I love your beautiful garden blog! A pity my mom died before she might have discovered computers - she would have loved your site!!