Organic gardener growing food and flowers, lovin' pollinators and birds.

Floral Friday: May 12

This week in the front garden, the starlettes are the tulips and azaleas, with a unique solo from my early-blooming purple columbine. The late-season tulips signal the end of the spring bulb show, and although I lost many to voles over the winter, I still had knock-out performances from the "El Nino" tulip — which I believe will have a permanent home in my garden. It has the orange/coral combination that I absolutely love for its pop of color! (You can also hear me gush about it in the Still Growing podcast's episode 538.)

"El Nino" tulip, with late-season daffodils blooming in the background.

These tulips are from the Colorblends collection "Maybelline."

Columbine in the front garden.
Violas grown from seed.
Not surprisingly, the Deja Bloom Azalea has doubled in size from last year, and is having its best year in flower yet! I was given the plant to trial two years ago from J. Berry Nursery (you can read my review here), and at the time I was nervous about its ability to survive the winter. However, this variety, "Orchid Showers," can put up with Zone 6b winters just fine! This year it is even flowering before my neighbor's traditional azalea — up to a whole week before!



What's growing in your garden this week?
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The Gardener's May Calendar ~ 2017


I sat down to write this month's garden chores and I already got that sense of panic in my chest. There's so much to do. There's so little time. I have a job and I go to school. I volunteer on the weekends.

When, oh when, will I actually have time to garden?

Does this sound like you as well? Maybe you're not going to school but you have children to take care of at home. Or an elderly parent. Let's face it  today's gardeners have a lot on their plates, and having a beautiful garden shouldn't be regulated as a chore or an activity there is rarely time for.

That's why the three categories of garden tasks are divided into: "Main priority," "This would be nice," and "If all the stars align." If you are pressed for your time, the main garden priorities are taken care of.

Let's begin!




  • Hummingbirds: Lure them to your garden by setting up feeders and offering plants they like. For options read this story I wrote with suggested plants from one of my local plant nurseries. For food in the feeders, I boil 4 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar together, then let it cool before I put it outside. Make sure you are good about changing the solution so it doesn't grow black mold and poison the hummingbirds.
  • Pest control: If you have ant problems, try using diatomaceous earth. When the bugs walk through it, it gets stuck to them and causes them to dehydrate and die. It's way safer than baited ant traps. Be sure to apply it on a day without a lot of wind since you shouldn't breathe it in.
  • Get kids involved: With summer vacation rapidly approaching, make gardening a staycation choice for younger children. Read more about the benefits here.

  • Mulch: Order it in bulk! Who wants to drive home bags of mulch anyway? It's usually cheaper when you have it delivered. And stay away from the dyed colored mulch. That is so not earth-friendly.
  • Make a list of gardens to visit! Here are some places I have visited in the last two years.

Onward!

I live in Central Connecticut and garden in Zone 6b.
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