The rainy days have greened up the yard again. It seems more like Spring than Autumn right now.
I noticed that my lilac bush was starting to bud again…
I was surprised to see those pretty purple blossoms this late in the season.
I love the scent of lilac.
Agnes and I found tiny pumpkins at the store. I think we need a few to decorate the front porch for Halloween.
This has become a very odd end to the Summer months. We have cool rainy days, and warm sunny days, and stormy weather too. Maybe it will calm down a bit in October.
I spotted these little fungi hiding under our large Mulberry tree after a rain storm.
I think they are cute.
Our tree must be the perfect growing ground for these little ones.
I only have a few strawberry plants left in the garden. The heat wiped out most of them, and then Mia helped out too. The four that are left are looking fantastic. They have loved the rainy weather.
I hope Mia won’t dig them up before next Spring.
I also had a few Okra plants survive the hot Summer (and the chihuahua). They are still growing, and maybe we’ll get a few okra before Autumn weather hits.
I was hoping to replant my Green Beans and Snow Peas too. I figured with Mia’s love of garden destruction, I probably shouldn’t. Maybe next year’s garden will do a bit better.
Today’s Simple Saturday d.i.y. project is all about splitting out overgrown plants for a freebie garden.
I wish I could remember just what these plants are called. I think I planted them three or four years ago. They are a pretty cool green grass, that sprouts little purple flowers, and it does well in the shade. This year they sprouted through the Winter, and by Spring they were taking over the flower bed.
I decided it was time to thin them out a bit, and transplant the extra growth to another location in the yard. The only thing was I hadn’t ever attempted this before… I was a bit nervous about this task, and I was pretty sure that my plants wouldn’t survive. I told myself though that if it didn’t work, that I would just replant them again next year.
I gathered up my supplies…
I started off at the main plants, I separated what I thought was off-shoots and new growth, and separated the plant. I took one last look at it and dug in with the little shovel. I cringed when I heard the crunching-snaps of the roots, but all was well. I dug up several large off-shoots, and enough new growth with excellent roots to plant along the entire fence row.
I dug a few deep holes, and gave the new roots plenty of room to grow. I also watered all of the baby plants, and the main plants well. I added in new mulch to the old flower bed, and the remainder to the new bed. Luckily all of the new little plants took, and they are growing well.
The main plants are doing great too. They have sprouted even more off-shoots, and the pretty purple flowers are popping up everywhere.
I’m really happy that they survived my little experiment. Give this project a try if you have over-grown plants. I love my freebie garden, it has added pretty green touches to my shady back-yard.
The weather is getting a bit warm, and the snow peas have started to go to seed. I’ve decided to collect the seeds once again, and save them for either an Autumn garden, or for next year’s Spring garden.
Harvesting the seeds was easy-peasy… I picked a few pea pods for dinner, and left a few pea pods on the plant to grow. I let the peas grow as big as they could, and then I picked off the pea pods when the pod had dried. I then shucked out the peas, and dried them for several days.
I counted out the seeds, and put them in little envelopes to store for the next garden. I decided to take a little time and separate last year’s Green Bean seeds too. I had a bunch of them. I’m storing the seeds in a kitchen cabinet, so they aren’t too hot, or too cold. It was a fun little project to organize, and it has me thinking ahead to the next garden.
Well this is where my Asparagus root used to be…
I had ten roots planted, and Mia has dug up and destroyed all but three…
I also had a blueberry bush that was showing some promise, and even had a few berries. Mia systematically chewed off all the branches, and then dug up the roots, and ate them too…
Ugh, so frustrating!
Any advice on keeping an ornery puppy out of the garden, and off of my baby plants?