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

Floral Friday: June 30

I'm looking at my garden with what feels like a new perspective after arriving home from the Garden Bloggers Fling that took place in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. this past weekend. Here are some highlights from the garden this week.

A honey bee takes a rest on a Shasta daisy 'Becky' bloom.


The wren family is getting bigger and I think this might be one of the last weeks they will be staying in our "air B&B." 


When I say the plum trees going to have a good year, I do not exaggerate. Picture the whole Shiro plum tree looking like this, below. It's getting a little difficult to walk around the front garden without ducking to avoid the bending branches. 


The sweet William I planted from seed last year is blooming now. There are also shades of pink and purple.


Daylily season is upon us! Here's a double variety that I ordered online through Facebook a few years ago. 


And here's the 'Earlybird Cardinal', right on time!


The hollyhock I bought last year has come back, despite the mailman stepping on it over the winter! I'm hoping this one reseeds so I can get more plants for next year.


Underneath the cherry tree my orange daylilies and magenta rose campion have intermingled to create a vivid display for those passing by.


Butterfly weed self seeds in the garden in random places. I let it grow where it will. Here's a perspective I don't usually include: looking down at the plant. 


And of course, where would my garden update be without hydrangeas?



What is blooming in your garden this week?

To see what was blooming last week, click here



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Mistress Zinnie, quite merry, how does your Eco Garden grow?

Sponsored post: This post is sponsored by Eco Garden Systems LLC, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own. Eco Garden Systems LLC provided me with a original Eco Garden System for review purposes.

Look at this lettuce.


What if I told you this lettuce was grown in full sunlight, in the heat of my driveway, during the summer? Would you believe me? Probably not.

But it's true. There wasn't even a shade cloth or taller plants nearby to shade it.

In fact, these plants were in pretty rough shape when I planted them. They should have been planted in May but were still languishing in their four-pack growing cells from the garden center until a few weeks ago. I stripped off the bottom, weathered leaves and planted them in a raised bed.

But this wasn't just any raised bed.

An email arrived earlier this spring. A representative from a Minnesota-based startup asked if I was interested in learning more about a first-of-its-kind raised garden bed. I was intrigued, having spent a few seasons attempting to grow vegetables in fabric grow bags. Before long, an original Eco Garden System was on its way to Connecticut.

I was super giddy when this huge truck arrived
at my house with my new Eco Garden System.
The original Eco Garden System offers complete customization for gardeners. I chose the soil blend I wanted, and I was able to place it in a spot that gets full sun but where I usually don't have success growing plants. (More on that in a minute!) My model hooks up to the hose to help pump water throughout the bed. The entire raised bed is made from recycled materials – including milk jugs – from the United States. The recycled plastic is certified food safe by the USDA and the FDA, which means there are no bad plastics leaching into the soil where your edibles are growing.

The Eco Garden System arrived by a massive truck on June 9. I assembled it with the help of my husband and my friend in a little over an hour using hand tools. (The directions show how to assemble it with the use of a drill and attachments, but I did not have that available.) The setup directions provided with the Eco Garden Box were clear and concise, but it is definitely a two-person job: at one point, the Eco Garden box needs to be turned over so the legs, feet and cross leg supports can be attached.

This elevated garden stands 39 inches high, is 50 inches wide and 74 inches long. It is situated on the most level part of my driveway. The Eco Garden System arrived with the black plastic hoses already installed, so I just had to worry about attaching the legs, and installing the plugs and external hardware.

The hoses and the black food-grade polymer sheet (which separates the water reservoir from the soil) were already installed.
The raised garden features a hose hookup that attaches to a plumbing device and valve, which then connects to black plastic hoses that gently water the plants. (When assembling the Eco Garden System, you need to be careful to not over tighten the hookup for the hose; the threading screw is made of plastic and if it is overtightened, it can leak.)

The Eco Garden System fully assembled in my driveway. 
The directions recommend a soil blend – a mixture of sphagnum moss, potting soil and top soil – to include in your Eco Garden System. I decided to use an organic potting soil blend, which includes Canadian sphagnum peat moss, processed softwood bark, perlite and dolomitic limestone. My Eco Garden System took 15 one-cubic-foot bags of soil. Before planting, I also added some organic fertilizer to the soil, since I wasn’t adding in compost separately to feed my plants. The garden gets morning shade and then receives about seven hours of full direct sunlight in the driveway.

I decided to grow edibles in my Eco Garden System instead of ornamental plants. A good portion of my front garden (which receives late morning and afternoon sun) consists of fruit trees, berry bushes and ornamental plants. My main problem is that the area that receives the most sunlight is my driveway – a space that is difficult to use. In the past, I have grown vegetables in fabric grow pots in my driveway to take advantage of the full sun, but I had a difficult time keeping up with watering the plants in there. Usually by the height of the summer, the heat from the driveway is so intense that the fabric pots dry out instantly. Last year, I even tried to elevate the fabric pots on bricks to try and compensate for this, but still wound up with containers that dried out quickly.


Fully assembled in a little over an hour. I put the cardboard top back on to protect the black food-grade polymer sheet from direct sunlight while I went to the local garden center to purchase (many) bags of potting soil.
And by the end of the day, the soil was inside and my plants were planted. I hooked up a hose to water my plants.

Water in my area is expensive, due to our local well being shut down years ago and a poorly negotiated contract with neighboring towns who have the water. Anyway, when the water bill arrives at my house, it's high enough to clutch your chest and gasp for air. I was a bit nervous when I realized that one of the water sources would be hooked up to my very pricey water line. Despite being hooked up to my hose, so far, I’ve hardly had to water my Eco Garden System since I initially filled the reservoir beneath the plants.

Beneath the plants is a water reservoir and a (patented) air gap platform which is supposed to help the plants grow healthy roots. The water reservoir is reported to reduce water consumption by at least 65 percent. The best part? Despite being set up at the top of my driveway and in direct sunlight AND getting extra heat from the driveway, in the three full weeks since I have had the Eco Garden System, I have not once come home to find a dried out box and wilted plants. In fact, I've only watered it twice in the last three weeks with the hose hookup. Other water was provided naturally from rainstorms. But mostly, it's the water reservoir keeping the plants happy.

I mean, just look at that lettuce.



Speaking of lettuce, I decided to plant a variety of plants to see how they would do. First I planted the four lettuce plants that were looking a little worse for the wear. Two and a half weeks later, they do not look like the same plants at all! I now have gorgeous heads of lettuce that have not only survived a rough start but have not been beaten down by the 90 degree days in my driveway. I never thought growing lettuce in my driveway in early summer would be a possibility.

I also decided to grow celery plants in the Eco Garden System. I split the cell packs so half would grow in my Eco Garden System and half would grow in a fabric pot by my front walkway. (It does not sit directly on the driveway, but on a raised rock border.) 

In addition, I wanted to see how easy it would be to plant vegetables from seed in the Eco Garden System. I planted bush beans, carrots, kale and nasturtiums from seed. They all sprouted within a week. 

Why did I choose the vegetables I did? I kept in mind basic companion planting principles. I knew I wanted to grow bush beans because I thought it would be neat to be able to harvest beans without even bending over! Beans play well with carrots and celery. Parsley likes carrots, so that was planted next.  Carrots like lettuce, and lettuce likes dill. I also wanted color among all the greenery, so I planted the nasturtiums, which is also an edible flower!

I'd love for you to follow along as the growing season progresses to see how the plants continue to grow in the Eco Garden System. There will be sneak peeks in upcoming Floral Friday posts, along with an update of edibles harvested from the Eco Garden System.

To learn more about the Eco Garden System, click here

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Floral Friday: June 23

Happy summer everyone! Wednesday marked the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, and as if right on cue, the hydrangeas and delphiniums began to bloom. 

I'm especially happy to see the hydrangeas blooming now, because the frigid winters from the last two years caused the buds on my hydrangeas to die. (I quickly learned how many of my hydrangeas bloomed on old wood when the cold temperatures ruined my spring blooms!) The variety shown below is 'Endless Summer,' which blooms on both old and new wood. 



I love when the delphiniums begin to bloom in my garden. Below is a pretty lavender one that I bought on clearance last year at a local garden center sale. Do you grow delphiniums in your garden yet? Read more about this fabulous, colorful. cheerful perennial here.


My Proven Winners* 'Supertunia Lovie Dovie' is continuing to blossom in its hanging planter this week. In the basket are two 'Lovie Dovies' paired with a non-spreading strawberry and a dwarf chrysanthemum. Last year was my first year growing Proven Winners with sample plants provided by the company, and I was so impressed with the Supertunia line that I went to my local garden center and bought more for use in borders around my property. Needless to say, when I saw 'Lovie Dovie' was being offered as a trial plant this year, I immediately said, "Yes please! And thank you!"


Another new Proven Winners I'm growing this season is Karalee Petite Pink Gaura, shown below (left) in a blue pot with 'Night Sky' petunia. It will eventually reach 14 to 20 inches tall. Also shown below (right) is my Proven Winners 'Opening Act Blush,' which I received as a trial plant last year. This is the first time it has bloomed, and it is lighting up the front corner of my garden bed. It is also blooming before any other phlox variety in my garden (they usually begin to bloom after July 4). It will stay on the shorter side (reaching only 20 inches tall), unlike my towering phlox.


I really like when plants have their own intentions and create fabulous combinations. This white penstemon combined with my magenta rose campion in my holdover bed (basically where I put plants temporarily) and the result is airy and beautiful. I'll be moving these two to a permanent location together. 


I'm extremely happy that the milkweed is beginning to bloom! I have several varieties and I hope they attract monarch butterflies this season. 



On the edible front, I am excited to see how well my edibles are growing in my new Eco Garden System**. Here's a peak of the veggies so far: lettuce in late afternoon sun and bush beans started from seed. I will be writing more about this new self-watering raised bed in the coming days!



It also looks like it will be a good year for the grapes! I'm hoping I can get to them before the birds this year!


And of course, my Kieffer pears are growing bigger each day. It looks like pear jam will be in my future!


What's growing in your garden this week?

* Proven Winners provided me with sample plants to grow in my garden this growing season. 

** Eco Garden Systems LLC provided me with a raised bed to test in my garden this season. 

To see last week's Floral Friday, click here
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Floral Friday: June 16

This week, various annuals and perennials are brightening up the garden. Here are some highlights.

This Dragon's Tongue is paired with bronze fennel in a gray mosaic pot.


The Proven Winners' 'Supertunia Lovie Dovie'*  is happy in its hanging basket, where it will grow to 12 inches high.


The 'Night Sky' petunia is a variety that showed up in garden centers last spring but sold out quickly. This year I was able to buy some for my garden. 


The 'Endless Summer' hydrangeas are starting to bloom.


Also in the front garden, the roses are blooming underneath the Shiro plum tree.


Feverfew, an herb, is blooming throughout the front garden (mostly where it reseeded itself). I have not used this flower for teas, but I like how it looks in the garden.


This is a good year for rose campion, with it's magenta blooms and silver foliage.


As for edibles, the Shiro plum tree is fighting off the gypsy moth caterpillars naturally and producing fruit.


The two tomato plants from Burpee* are growing quickly in the hot weather we've been having, while the garlic is beginning to form scapes (it's time to cut those off!) and the elderberry is flowering. Below left is the paste tomato 'Gladiator' and below right is the beefsteak tomato 'Oh Happy Day,' both from Burpee.



Also in the back garden, beneath the elderberry tree, are foxgloves, that look like the perfect hiding spot for fairies.


What's blooming in your garden this week?

*Proven Winners and Burpee have both supplied me with sample plants to grow in my garden this year.

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Tea Talk in the Garden: Overzealous perennials


Welcome to Tea Talk in the Garden! Grab a drink, pull up a chair and join us! Tea Talk is the virtual letter exchange between  my garden pen pal Angie of The Freckled Rose. We share the latest happenings from our gardens, and you (the reader) are always welcome to join us in the comment section below.

Angie and I both garden in New England, so we often share the same weather patterns and regional challenges. We both enjoy growing edibles and cut flowers, but we also have our own take on gardening. Browsing through Angie's site with her beautiful photography will definitely motivate you to go outside and start digging!

Click here to read Angie's last letter to me.

My response:

Dear Angie,

Life has been so crazy, but I'm glad to finally be able to update you on my garden! I recently had a nightmare: My neighbor had decided to cut down my row of lilac bushes that mark the property line. He claimed that they were actually planted on his side of the line so therefore he was justified in cutting them down. But wait — it gets worse. He actually removed my entire front garden as well! There was just a huge expanse of lush green lawn in its place. I was aghast and crying. "But my plants! How could you take away my plants?" I demanded furiously. I ended up waking myself up, talking out loud about my poor rhododendron which was going to flower for the first time this year and how he just couldn't chop it down.

This bad dream makes me think that I have a little gardening stress. The native asters have self-seeded themselves everywhere. My tall phlox (which varies in pink, purple and white) has also reseeded itself all over the garden — including in the paths. Right now, my garden looks a little untamed and wild — which might be why my nightmare reflected an intense approach to regaining control: Rip it all out and put in a verdant lawn.

However, I didn't realize how much I hate the monoculture of a bright green lawn until I actually awoke in despair that morning!

I think part of my uneasiness is linked to my garden's bloom cycle being off this year. Spring was different in Zone 6b, with snowdrops blooming with forsythia and more mid-season daffodils blooming with later tulips. Usually every plant takes its time, which extends my season until the peonies bloom, but this year I've found that there's a huge gap. My friend recently stopped by and shared that she couldn't wait to see my garden. But while she was here, I felt that I was apologizing more than anything! "Sorry, if you come back in a week the peonies will be blooming. The front garden will look great once the wisteria starts to bloom. It looks a little wild right now. Sorry..."

Why is it so hard for gardeners to embrace their gardens — no matter what stage of growth it is in — and just politely nod and say, thank you?

When I arrived home last week, I took a photo of my garden from the car. It was raining, but the garden was a sea of green. From the car, it was easier to spot he overzealous perennials that were taking over. I also noticed some holes of iris divas who did not return this year. (And as usual, when you are expecting a main character to steal the show, and they don't, it's a major disappointment, right?) I'm a little embarrassed to show this photo of my garden that I took from the car that evening, but I feel like many gardeners are occasionally (often?) in the same boat.


It looks a bit wild, right?

It's not all bad of course. But I think a gardening goal this year needs to concentrate on creating a better succession of bloom. When I visited Winterthur two years ago, Henry Francis du Pont finessed the succession of bloom in his gardens with 65 years of observations. I obviously am not that patient, I'd like to correct this before next season!

Sometimes, I forget about all the annuals that are always ready to jump in and lend a hand. What are some of your early to mid-spring blooming varieties? I've been growing petunias from seed and I think it is time to put them outside. That should help my lack of color! Your post on providing a pop of color to the garden made me really excited! Maybe the solution to my very green garden is to focus on annuals after all!

But as of today, its beginning to look a bit more colorful. The irises, wisteria and oriental poppies are starting to bloom with the peonies. It's nice to see the color returning (there are more photos on my Instagram account, too). My garden always seems to hit its peak in early summer — thankfully! So it should only get better from here!



Speaking of early summer, the garden club in town is talking about a roving garden tour, where a day would be selected for members to tour each other's gardens. I am interested in participating, but I'm not sure if I would be officially ready to share my garden in July! Have you ever participated in an open garden day?

In other gardening news, I was able to dissuade the area groundhog from feasting on my poppies, coneflowers and black eye Susans by applying Repellex. I bought another container of it from my local garden center at the end of April, and I am so glad that I did! (Unfortunately, he (she?) ate my Queen Anne's lace before I remembered to apply it there — and I'm not sure it will recover.)

How are your raised beds coming along? I feel like May zipped by and I'm still trying to catch up! I was so happy to see that the milkweed I planted last year has come back! I cant wait to see the monarchs again and I really hope they lay eggs in my garden this year!

I will continue to follow your updates on your blog and Instagram account. I love to see the plant combinations you come up with!

Talk to you soon!

Jen
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