Garden/Yard Cleanup Time!
Currently Happening In My Garden
New potting table top made by my husband!
I'm so happy I have a new sturdy surface to repot plants on now!
As every flower or vegetable gardener knows when late winter or early spring arrives, there is a lot of work to be done!
For the last 4-5 years we have left our leaves on our yards covering our grass, trees, bushes to help blanket them from the winter.
I even pile more leaves at the base of all of my roses, rose of sharons, and into all of my flower beds.
Believe it or not all kinds of insects, including lady bugs, appreciate this!
The leaves allow them places to stay during the winter in various stages.
Anyway, we have begun the process of cleaning up for spring.
We collect or mulch the leaves and send them off in brown paper sacks to be turned into compost by our city!
My husband is working hard as I type this post!
I need to get outside and do my part!
We are having spring-like weather every other day, with some nights still getting down to 36 degrees F, but all of the flowering trees are beginning to put on their spring blossoms in our neighborhood.
We have a redbud tree that has flowers that appeared in the last few days.
I'm about to plant 2 lavender and 6 small spinach plants.
I know, I know, spinach is not a flower.
Well, we love to eat spinach, so I'm going to see if I can get these plants to thrive.
My talents seem to be mainly with nurturing flowers, so I will let you know how this goes!
Lavender and Spinach plants
Spinach plants
Do you have any tips(natural only - I don't use poisons!) for keeping insects from eating vegetables?
Just to remind you, I grow host plants/herbs for butterflies to lay the eggs on, so these don't bother me.
If I want extra of some herb to cook with, I just grow extra or I suppose I could cover it with cheesecloth.
But to be honest with you, I get very excited to see butterflies laying their eggs on my plants and then seeing the tiny caterpillars hatch out and grow large enough to disappear and turn into chrysalis'.
One more fun thing to share is I cut a couple of pieces of my lavender plants about 2 months ago and put them in some spring water in a cup on my kitchen windowsill and this is what happened!
I was so surprised to see the new growth and flowers!
Anyway, please tell me what you are about to plant and what you are doing to get your yard/garden ready for spring.
Have a Blessed Day!
March 8, 2018
Leaves on the ground through winter ... I think as nature intended. Looking forward to seeing pictures of your garden as it blooms:)
What a beautiful potting table !!
You will be able to start repotting.
Your husband is very brave !!
It is good to remove the dead leaves from time to time, as long as they are not sick, it remains healthy.
To prevent aphid attack on spinach, if you have ladybugs it is fine,
there are also hoverfly larvae that eat aphids.
To avoid mildew, do not water their foliage.
Etonnant for your Lavender! I did not think what could survive in a vase.
I would do a test.
How much work you have done, all this will be superb.
I can not wait to see your butterflies hatch!
Everything here is blooming so beautifully. I have never seen the azaleas pop with such vibrant colors. About ready to get out and give the main yard it’s first mow of the season. The bottle brush babies planted this past fall are blooming and the hummingbirds have started to visit. I want to try the rooting with lavender. So hard to grow here. This year we really have the composter in full swing. This is mt favorite time of the year. How about you? 🐓🐓
Yes, spring really is my favorite time of the year. I wish hummingbirds came through here in the spring, but we just don't have the flowers, I guess. I only see a couple in late August as they travel south for the winter! Anyway, my outdoor lavender has to be moved when the summer heat and direct light gets to be too much for it. I would love to see what a bottle brush plant looks like. I've never hear of it!
I will try to remember to take some pictures for you. Moving the Lavender makes sense. Maybe I will try covering it this summer with something to shield it. 🐓🐓
Hi @violetmed. I posted some photos of the bottle brush babies on @mother2chicks. Still a little early for a lot of blooms. 🐓🐓
Thanks!
I have started moving peas and green onions outdoors. We are getting mornings with frost still, but more warm rains lately. Soon I might try moving cabbage and arugula outside.
Your lavender looks great. Thanks for sharing the results.
That's great that you moving your veggie plants outside. Good luck!
Leaves can be a great benefit to the garden. Are you able to get the compost back or what does the city do with it?
We used to be able to go fill up some containers for free with the finished compost, but the city ended that program about a year ago. Now we have to pay for bags of the compost if we want some. The yard landscapers were coming to the location and filling up the back of their pickup trucks, thereby taking more than their allotted share! There was a sign posted stating how much you could take and you were also supposed to be a resident of the city.
great table it will come in handy :)
Nice! I wish I had some lavender here. I don't think it grows around here, but I'm not totally sure about that! :) We are about to get into rainy seaon which means we can get some stuff planted soon. Not sure what we'll put in the ground. :)
I wish the flowers on lavender lasted longer! I would love to go to some country - like France - that has huge fields growing!
Remarkable lavender with its serrated leaf! Any idea what this variety is called?
No, I'm not sure what it is called @sukhasanasister.
the table is nice and sturdy and its time is now cleaning the leaves that have been a long time ago, good post @violetmed
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