Tuesday, April 14, 2015

"T" Stands for TUESDAY -- WARNING lots of photos this week :)

Several of you have asked for more garden photos  so this week you are getting them :) 
The straw bale garden is almost ready for planting. Probably by the end of the week. 
 They are "COOKING" or conditioning they call it very well. When you walk by you can smell the process a "YEASTY"  fertilizer smell and they are putting off heat. The smell will go away soon, but I really don't mind it at all. 
I've bought more straw to cover the walk ways on the in ground beds and between raised beds.
 All of the buckets setting around are for watering the bales ... I have to give each bale about 3 gallons of water a day during the conditioning process and filling the buckets and letting them set in the sun all day warms the water enough that it doesn't cool down the cooking process going on. On cooler days or if the night was really cold I add hot water to the buckets before watering the bales. A lot of work the first 2 weeks of prepping the bales but after that it's easy going. :) 
The Herb bed is really looking good after last weeks deep cleaning. Still don't have it mulched yet but there is lots of time for that. 

 New herbs waiting to go into the ground to replace the ones that didn't make it through the winter. Thyme, Rosemary and Sage. 

One of the Lavenders I was worried about is showing signs of life now :) so I'm hoping the others will make it too.
The daffodils are starting to fade out. Only a few of the specialty ones are blooming now.


 I really love the little white ones and they have finally started  naturalizing. So I may actually be able to divide them next year and spread them around :) 


The early apples are in full bloom... don't know what they are because the trees were here when we bought the place.

The later ones just have a couple of buds and blooms and I'm pretty sure they are Fugi's. The Red Delicious just has buds on it :)  

Lots of chick weed to be gathered and prepped for salves... 

... and the dandelion field (really our lawn ) ready to be picked :) 
I think my Bottle Tree is leaning more this year ?  :/ The circle of blue bottles around the bed need re-straightened too ..amazing how those bottles move around on their own. 
I've also started dragging the plants that winter over in the basement outside under the deck to weatherize. They need to be trimmed back big time too. 
This is where my new little Brown Snake friend likes to hang out. I've moved him several times and he comes back. So Bob will just have to learn to live with him.

My drink for today is coffee cause I needed all the help I cold get to post all of these pictures....
The art is what I'm working on this week. 
Just a Single Thought Today
since there are so many other pictures.
Don't forget to check out the other folks at 
"T" Day
Just click on the blue teapot on my sidebar :) 

20 comments:

  1. My goodness you are one very busy, green-fingered lady!! Where Do you get all your energy from to do all that?! What's your secret, I'd love to know. Happy T Day Carol :o))

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    1. thanks for stopping by!! I'm just one of those people that has to be doing something ... always have been. As I get older and since this nasty Fybromyalgia struck me down , I don't get near as much done as I used to.

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  2. This is all fascinating to a non-gardener! Wow! I assume the little brown snake is not poisonous. In Minnesota we had gold striped garter snakes around who rarely ever bit anyone and weren't poisonous. They were pretty harmless and helped keep the mouse population down. Happy T-Day! :)

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    1. Yes the snake is non poisonous and really quite friendly. I wouldn't bother moving him accept that Bob hates ALL snakes and I was afraid that I would step on him as I was going in and out of the basement.

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  3. I love looking at your garden, and your snake friend seems to find it congenial :) Thx! Happy T Tuesday!

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  4. that is one of the best thoughts for the day!! Thanks for all the time you took to share all that fine greenery-but the snake-no-he'd have to be gone-far away! Not that I'd want to hurt him, but he'd need to find another home. You are truly a very busy lady that's for sure! We didn't even get the garden area tilled yet because of so much rain...happy T day!

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    1. Thanks Linda! I have to keep busy and mt gardens are my passion. Especially the flowerbeds. I don't till anymore.... if I did I would be waiting for things to dry out too :)

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  5. Love these pics and now I will have to take a look at last weeks post!! I'm guessing the snake is harmless or he wouldn't be staying! Great quote! Happy T day! Chrisx

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoyed the previous post too :)

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  6. Nope you lost me with the snake. No thanks!! Snakes make me run screaming for my mama!
    Otherwise your garden looks great!
    Happy T day!

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  7. wow...you are quite an ambitious gardener! love all the flower photos and the herbs too!

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  8. I am in total AWE of your straw beds. I'm hoping my lasagna garden will be ready this year, but I may have to wait till next year, since I haven't bought any herbs or even seeds this year. I hope to correct that soon, though.

    Your flowers may be dying back, but they still look beautiful to me. They are still stunning in my book.

    Thanks for telling me that is chick weed. I have it EVERYWHERE in my flower bed. If I recall, it dies out soon, though. And talk about dandelions. There are SO many this year. I hope to get out and pick the blossoms before they turn to seed, although my neighbors to the north (who rent) have even more than I.

    I want that cobalt bottle tree. I'm in LOVE with all things cobalt. I had no idea it would shift like that.

    I had trouble loading photos last night, too, so I feel your pain. It sucks, doesn't it when the buffering is longer than the actual uploading.

    Thanks for sharing your coffee with us for T this Tuesday. At least it's still Tuesday on the west coast (grin).

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  9. everything looks good-all this rain has gotten me behind again this spring-I seem to be in much more pain this year too-sigh anxious to see how your straw bales work out for you. I would love to have a lawn of dandelions-we don't have enough here to harvest-and I found several recipes for them-

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  10. Great quote and such fun to see your lovely bottle tree along with everything coming to life in your garden.
    Part of me would like to slow down the blooms a bit...
    they seem to come and go so quickly.
    It is cherry blossom time here in the Wash DC area and they are so gorgeous.
    Your apple blossoms are a picture!
    Good to know where your snake buddy hides out :-)
    Happy T Day
    oxo

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  11. Wow what beautiful garden! The last of our snow melted Saturday and I did a Snoopy dance (in my head... the reality of it would have alarmed the animals lol). I really love non poisonous snakes, but I also really love knowing where they are. Once I reached into the candy tuft to turn on the water and turned a garter snake instead of the handle lol. I really don't know which of us was more shocked.

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  12. Wonderful post Carol - my, have you been busy! You are creating a real paradise there - complete with snake and apple trees! Love the quote at the end, too! Take care of yourself Sweetie! Hugs, Valerie

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  13. Wonderful post Carol - my, have you been busy! You are creating a real paradise there - complete with snake and apple trees! Love the quote at the end, too! Take care of yourself Sweetie! Hugs, Valerie

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  14. WOW! I'm out of breath from reading your post.....you have been very busy!

    LOVE the blue bottle tree and have been trying to figure out how I can get one made. Apple blossoms are a favorite of mine, reminiscent of younger days.

    Belated T-day wishes

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  15. So much work Carol in the garden. CH and I looking for ways to cut back... we have gotten rid of some of our beds! But if you love it, gardening can be the best anxiety buster! We have a couple of brown snakes, more I am sure, but we keep shooing them back to the woods because we don't want them to bother the nesting bluebirds. Good Morning!

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