Homemade path

The front yard was beginning to look a little overgrown and the path hard to distinguish. After considering various path materials I decided to use some concrete forms I purchased two years ago and make my own stepping stone path. I have put in 16 so far and still need to make about 10 more to finish. I think it was a good choice.

Picnics at home.

There is no better place for a picnic then at home. Pick fresh flowers for the table and share the experience with the pollinators.

Summertime

Here is a shot of the cheap, but very easy and effective, raised bed. The solid block under the top standard concrete block permits planting of herbs without the need for much soil. A exterior stain adds a better appeal. Added all the leaves from my trees, then some finished compost and about a inch of bagged fertilized soil. All is doing well, even the peppers being over-shadowed by the tomatoes. All the block is dry laid. The leaves on the bottom help to retain moisture but still allow drainage.

Wow. sorry for not posting in a while. I missed commenting on my trip to the IMGC in West Virginia back in October. It was truly a very nice experience and met many new friends. I'm hoping my wife and I can afford the 2013 conference, which will consist of a cruise to Alaska, wow, wow. March was a record warm month here and everyone was jumping the gun thinking spring had arrived. We'll, April is here now and we are back to normal with nights down in the 28 -34 degree area many times. I decided to purchase a pop-up greenhouse in early March, about 7' x 9' by 7' high and put it on the patio where our table normally resides. I told my wife that with the March weather we might not even need it but put it up anyway. I put in two 3' wide by 5' tall plastic shelves and my wife has it so full she has to set things outside the door to water. It was a very good investment as long as it holds up for several years. I wanted to post a pic but can't get the image to post for some reason. I also made a small cold frame for the Penn State extension Master Gardener display at the local flower show and now that too is being used for more of my wifes early veggie trials. One of our veggie beds from last year which was 3' x 20' is being built up to a raised bed as I write this post and my wife loves it. We have our first nesting pair of bluebirds this year, but strangely enough they choose a regular birdhouse over the bluebird boxes???? I joined the local garden railway society this year and maybe down the road a year or two I will design a garden railroad. Hope you all enjoyed your Easter/holiday.

Winter has finally come to life today 1/21. Weather very moody so far this winter, with little snow.

     In October 2010 I decided to try my hand at straw bale gardening. I purchased a couple dozen bales and arranged them so I had one large area and two rows with stakes that I could run wire between. I also added a soaker hose. Although I had read several articles I am here now to report my successes and failures in my 2011 growing season.
     The soaker hose was a waste of money!! The water ran out of the bales as fast as it was supplied and was removed. I planted strawberries, peppers, tomatoes (standard and cherry), zucchini, gourds, watermelons, onions and cabbage in early spring. Because the water ran out so fast in the previous fall I thought adding weed cloth over the bales may help with evaporation. This was my biggest mistake. The newly planted veggies cooked under the cloth and most of the poor season can be attributed to this error. I did remove the cloth but too late for most of the plants. Also we had a very unusual year with more than average rainfall. The tomatoes all split, the birds ate the strawberries, the watermelons looked nice but didn't have much flavor. The zucchini was the only success. From one plant that survived we got a good wheelbarrow load of zucchini..
     The bales (I hope) should be good for one more season and I hope will net better results. This will not be a ongoing project but just a experiment upon which I will pass on information to my fellow master gardeners. Once the bales have reached the point of no return they will be added as compost to our regular vegetable garden.

April buds popping

Ninebark

 Elderberry (Eva - Black Lace)

Black Chokeberry

Early Spring Fever

A couple of warmer than normal days got me into spring fever early this year. Ordered mulch and began yard cleanup a few weeks earlier than usual. Hope I'm not interfering with wildlife habitat. Below freezing temperatures still in the long range forecast so the heated birdbath stays out and the regular birdbaths stay empty.

Summer has arrived and the warmer weather is kicking in.

Managed to get some mulching done in between weeding. Finished a fountain the wife wanted and now wants to show it off. Have a family of foxes down behind our property and I had a yellow-bellied sapsucker woodpecker walking around my front yard but couldn't get the camera in time.

I thought the calendar said Spring!!!

Here I am almost a month later and it is supposed to be back down in the mid 30's the next two nights. What a crazy spring. Here are a few most pics from this week. Hope the weather gets the cobwebs out soon. No, these aren't native; just nice to view.

Spring...Maybe

Down in the low 30's tonight. Bringing potted plants back in AGAIN and covering some tender new plantings. Here are a few perennials that popped up with the recent warm spell two weeks ago.

Going Batty

Found this design on the web. Expensive, heavy and difficult to erect. Had it for two years and have bats next door at night but still waiting for the first house guest. The first week it was up I had a woodpecker decide to give it a try.

Wonderland

One of the many reasons to leave things up until after winter is the shelter for the animals; insects that have made winter homes in the plant stems; protection for the birds; and for us - the beauty!!

August 09

The year has been cooler and wetter than last year and the plants ar taking off. Here are a few images. Soon prunning will be needed. As you can see the neighbors still have the lawn. Sad.

June 09

Continually adding more plants. It seems there is always more space when you find a plant you like. As you can see from the photos things are growing rapidly. Next year will require some prunning to keep it manageable. I now have over 80 species in this 2000 sq. ft. front yard, many of which I planted multiple of the same species. The squirrels and chipmunks love the mulch and bird feeder to the point where they are becoming aggressive to the birds. I haven't seen any rapters yet but hopefully they come and take care of the problem. I had to put up a short plastic fench to keep out the rabbits who were killing several small plants they found appealing.

Thanksgiving 08

I'm behind on my posts but on schedule with the gardens. I'm posting a before and after photos of the front yard. The porch roof w/railing never materialized due to zoning regulations so we settled for a nice sitting wall where we can put planters w/pretty non-natives. As you can see in the one photo I put out plant labels for the public because we were on the MAEscapes Garden Tour 08 and had about 90 visitors and happily were lavished with many compliments. Not in the photos are accessories we added. A small water feature, bird bath, feeders, bench, solitary bee house, bird houses, stumps, stepping stones and lighting. In the back yard we adding a bat house, martin house, bumble bee and solitary bee houses and a small vegetable garden as well as many more native plants. In the spring we want to add a large water feature (for asthetic purposes). I also want a bog but not sure where.

Waiting For Spring

The front yard is gone!! My neighbors are still debating whether they know what the heck I'm doing but are too shy to ask. We ripped out everything with the exception of three shrubs. I brought in 8 yards of topsoil to form brims for the two raingardens then put down two layers of cardboard(about 3000 sq ft, WOW) covered with 4 inches of mulch to kill all the grass and weeds. I put in two new lampposts, two electric outlets and two rainbarrels. I managed to get about 50 new trees, shrubs and perennials put in but will plant at least that many more in the spring. Still need to arrange for a porch roof to be installed this winter. Sometime before summer I will add a stepping stone path, benches, water feature, bird houses, tree stumps and what ever else I might think of. Maybe by the end of summer the neighbors will speak up. Once things are in bloom I will post before and after pics.

Fresh Start

It's labor day and the wife and I just cut down 3 trees and ripped out several shrubs in the front yard. Left 5 natives shrubs and ordered several new trees. Would like to add 2 raingardens at the bottom of the slope. Hope to get everything started because the local native garden tour just signed me on for next year.

June, year 2

Coming along fairly well. Removed a non-native and will replace with a native grass later. Some insect damage but I know the good guys willl come in later and take care of them.

Rain gardens in soCentral Pa

I'm a mastergardener who is learning about rain gardens and have a small one I created two years ago and seems to be working as planned. The one planned for this year fell thru though because the trees I needed removed to make space didn't happen. Seems the tree root grinding people are too busy to reply to my small dollar job. It will just provide me another year to better plan the design for my front yard.