It has been a busy travel spring for me and I’ve been longing to get back in my garden to enjoy what all the adventures are truly about …. GROWING! I’ve been to some amazing gardens and explored how others across the country and Canada enjoy the gardening lifestyle. I have many photos from some of the best garden shows in the states to share with you as the season grows on. My adventures this spring took me across the northern border to Canada with one of my favorite plant providers, Proven Winners for their spring kick off extravaganza where I was introduced to how green the Canadians really are! Taking in all I could to share with my network and to help my own garden in Ohio grow. This container of supersowsunday lettuce mix by Territorial Seed Company featured on the left says it all! The goods have been collected and now it is time to get growing!
It could be all the inspiring information I have collected in the past two months or just the fact that it has been a while since I actually sat at my office desk to share with words but I’m totally struggling with where to begin……
Nothing says spring to me like this view featured above of my greenhouse nestled back in the corner wood-line of our home here in Ohio. Waiting on the rain to allow the raised beds filled with compost and bunny droppings to be turned and the flats of starters from inside the greenhouse to be moved out to their new growing place.In the image above on the right is my new birdhouse that my son built out of left over wood pieces he collected around the workshop. We added that old recycled t.v. antenna to the wooded garden to help support a wild rose climber last spring. The rose loved climbing the new structure even after we painted it so much we just had to add more to it. Before the ladder used to attach the birdhouse to the 10 foot section was collapsed to be put back into the shop a few birds had already moved in. I’m loving what can be done with recycled goods and the lessons of using what you have on hand can be taught even in the garden.
Who wouldn’t be excited to get their hands on these beauties and start digging in the spring soil? Another project completed this weekend was hanging some recycled peg board. The board was found at an auction that took place at a local business that was closing down. At 50 cents a 6′x 4′ sheet you can’t go wrong with organizing. I had to take the photo above quick because those tools only stayed in place long enough for a photo.
Step in the year-round greenhouse to find some of my Christmas treasures blooming and my Costa Farms goodies that have been enjoying winter in Ohio providing me plenty of happy blooms. The amaryillis will be moved to a container out in the landscape after all danger of frost has passed and the cineraria is going to be planted in the shade / sun garden in the front of the yard. I know they both will love their new home outdoors.
These late winter growers will be done just in time to start some outdoors. It is amazing the veggies that can be grown to enjoy year-round if you just find the container that will allow it enough room to grow.
Don’t walk away from the dahlia bulbs at your local garden centers. After a fabulous growing experience with them last year I’m loading up this year. In the image above you will see all the containers I’ve started in the greenhouse loaded with some of my favorite dahlia roots that are super easy to grow and put on an amazing show from spring till SNOW! The image in the collage above on the right is what you will find from November – May in my greenhouse. ‘
With the busy travel schedule I had I couldn’t help but feel like I was missing out on my seed starting adventures when it hit me one night during #gardenchat : I GROW YEAR-ROUND! It is never too late to start tomato plants and many other veggies that can be enjoyed in your summer garden.
I would like to encourage you to grab a pack of seeds today and throw them in some dirt! Wishing you a Happy SPRING from my home & garden!
I’m letting the kitties do all the napping this time of year…. no time to rest when there is so much to enjoy about spring in the garden.
Are you interested in learning more about growing in a greenhouse year-round? I’m a contributor of the site Growing4Seasons with my greenhouse sister Glenda who is the creative home and garden writer at Tootsie Time.com
Be sure to click on the link to the left to see what others are growing year-round using and I hope it will inspire you!
Sharing what is growing on in my neck of the woods is why I’ve been online from the get-go. If it weren’t for social media and outlets like BLOGGER or Facebook, I would have never have met the fabulous garden folks I know today. Where would I be today in my garden without Joe Lamp’l sharing a comment on my very first blog 2 years ago and then twitter talk about Moo-Poo with Annie Haven? I’ve been very fortunate to be able to connect with some amazing people around the world, who share the same interests.
One of my favorite social networks is Twitter. Hard to believe a little over a year ago I said GOODBYE to Twitter for a few months because I just didn’t feel it was helping my garden grow. If it weren’t for a Tweet-Out stating that ‘ I didn’t like Twitter’ and a tweet back from @interleafer I would have hung up my tweeting tools forever. Laura Livengood Schaub shared a link to tweetdeck.com and the fun began for me on Twitter. I learned so much about how to connect with others who enjoy the garden world, and now I’m the administrator of an organized chat forum that takes place every Monday evening to connect and share with some fabulous peeps who love to toil in the soil as much as I do!
My adventures in organizing #gardenchat have been featured on Martha Stewart Radio on their Homegrown Radio segment. I was likewise extremely excited to have Stacey Hirvela, garden writer for Martha Living as one of our guest hosts in April. You can check out that transcript on the #gardenchat transcript page. I was honored and extremely nervous when she asked me to be a guest on her radio show. Looking back, I don’t know why I was so nervous, because I simply love sharing gardening via #gardenchat. I had a truly great time talking about networking on Twitter. To check out what they wrote about my appearance on the show and to hear the radio interview, please check out Martha Stewart Radio / Twitter Chatting : The Next Big Thing For Gardeners. Be sure to follow Martha Stewart Living on Twitter at @MS_Living .
Feel the energy…. I was super stoked to be on the radio to talk about #gardenchat. Before I went live with Stacey on Martha Stewart Radio, I shared some fun thoughts about #gardenchat in this video.
WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT #gardenchat?
The #gardenchat thread has connected many people from all walks of life, who are eager to share what inspires them to grow. It allows those who enjoy social networking to join in the fun by sharing links to their networks and connecting with others with similar interests. Having 100′s of gardeners right at my fingertips to help answer questions and share their gardening experience is what I love most about #gardenchat.
My question to you is : IF YOU COULD CONNECT with those who make the world of gardening grow by participating in a simple forum like #gardenchat, WOULDN’T YOU? Share with me on this link what you love most about social media, and I hope you will join us on the next #gardenchat!
With spring comes a few unwanted guest to our gardens. Today’s outcasts just happen to have wings and enjoy leaving unwanted ‘ekk’ in the pond. Don’t think I’m heartless because the River runs just an few acres from the pond where the rest of the ducklings swim. I’m guessing these two were the trouble makers!
Spring 2011 has brought some very cool temperatures which I’m sad to say I’m delighted with. Is that a grammatically correct sentence? I do know that if you are are buried with tons of inside chores to do this time of year you totally know what I’m saying.
As I sit here trying to capture the week in a few sentences I can’t help but wonder once again where did the week go. However, as I look it doesn’t look like much as changed except for a few new buds forming on the trees and shrubs. I decided to cut a few of the weeping willow tree branches to bring them in for some interesting texture and color in a favorite vase. While out trimming a few branches I couldn’t help but think if these didn’t bloom indoors at least I will have done some late winter pruning.
My desk Welcoming Spring
While grabbing my only book by Martha Stewart in preparation for my radio appearance on her radio show with her garden editor to discuss #gardenchat, I found some notes I had taken from years ago when I cut branches and brought them in. I had written on a post-it note that I cut some Forsythia in February of 2001 and it appears I must have not been patient enough because it was noted the buds where starting to open as the daffodils bloomed and I discarded the branches to use the vase for the flowering bulbs. At the time I had young children to tend to so I guess I didn’t really think to get another vase so both of the spring treasures could have been left to bloom. I did learn from the note that it is best to cut the branches that were not frozen and that it takes a few weeks of soaking in fresh water to get the branches to open.
As I wait for the branches to open adding color to my desk while I try to make deadlines and get to my spring cleaning chores, this little robin keeps visiting my window as if to say ” Come on out to play!”
While searching the web to see if anyone else was enjoying bringing the color indoors this time of year I came across a creative blog called The Crane’s Nest : Forcing Spring Branches. You must check out the beautiful branches this garden blogger is sharing on her site this week.
Today is always Fertilizer Friday over at my Greenhouse Sisters site. Be sure to stop over and check out what gardeners from around the country are sharing to celebrate!
March is quickly coming to an end and I can’t help but fear we are going to have one of those springs that dives right from winter cold to summer hot after snow flakes were falling in the garden this last week of March. It is hard to believe we are heading into the last days of March and I have yet to share a report from my beloved home away from home AKA the greenhouse. It has been an amazing month here on the BGgarden blog if you have been following my shares into Spring. We’ve shared from Seattle at the AMAZING Northwest Flower & Garden Show , Miami Florida for the Costa Farms Social Summit and started preparing for the Proven Winners Extravaganza in Toronto all while starting seeds for a bountiful garden in 2011.
It wouldn’t be a greenhouse report if we didn’t share the blooms that mean the most to us. On the left is the March view of my favorite bloom from my greenhouse ever. It is the Bonfire Begonia that was hard to find a few years ago so it is a treasure to be able to share this plant that has made it through the winter in my Ohio greenhouse. I look forward to watching this bloom back in my garden once it can be moved back out into the sunny landscape later this springg after all danger of frost has passed.
My greenhouse is filled with annuals, perennials and new veggies from October to this time of year ( as pictured above). In the collage above I show the new BLUE PEONIES TREE I found in Seattle. I look forward to adding this to my garden after giving it a head start in the greenhouse. The plants that were wintered over are being condensed and re-potted to smaller containers to make room for the seeds that are being started.
This is the first time I have EVER had Hens & Chicks bloom in my garden ( and greenhouse). The bloom kind of reminds me of a mum only it has as hint of sweet scent if you smell close enough. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when this perennial is done blooming. DO you think I should divide it since the sprouts are super long and look kind of odd in that terra cotta container?
The passion vine that my husband bought for me back on our 17th Wedding Anniversary almost a year ago has been blooming on and off since November. I had cut this vine back and watched new growth grow up to this date. To see these blooms in the dead cold of winter is a wonderful experience.
Above is a quick video tour of my March 2011 Greenhouse.
Now that room has been made by condensing the plants into smaller pots it is time to start the seeds that will be planted in the garden and landscape in a few short months. I invite you to share with me your thoughts on growing year-round. Do you winter over some of your favorite annuals?
I’ve been very excited about the upcoming #gardenchat on Twitter this Monday evening not only because it is a great excuse to sit back after a long day of gardening with my growing connection but because the topic is a sure sign that SPRING has Sprung! Now we maybe enduring winter like temperatures but one look at the quickly greening grass and the early spring bulbs arriving in the landscape and there is NO DOUBT spring has arrived.
Time to open up the potting shed and get out the wheel barrows, shovels, rakes and pruners to prepare for some exciting new and healthy growth. Today I had the privilege to speak with Chris Sabbarese who is the Digital Marketing & Communications Manager for Corona Clipper, Inc. – Professional, Landscape & Garden tools. Chris shares some important facts about maintenance for Corona tool users or ANY OTHER brand you may use in your garden that will help keep our gardens and landscape in top shape this upcoming season. You will find that podcast at the bottom of this blog entry today.
Preparing The Soil For a Healthy Harvest
This is my second year using raised beds for my spring harvest. I can’t wait to harvest some of my families favorites that are easy to grow like a few varieties of peas and lettuce.
The first thing that needs to be done in my raised beds for spring cleaning is to turn that soil. The raised beds right outside the greenhouse I use have a layer of bunny compost on them that was added this winter. The awesome thing about using bunny compost is that it breaks down super fast leaving me the easy job of just turning it with a hoe or smaller shovel. Once the soil has been turned a few times it is ready to plant. I will have to have something handing to cover the seeds once they start to sprout like a sheet or plastic cover because we get nights with frost up until mid-May that can damage those early crops.
#1 Lesson I’ve Learned with Spring Clean Up
If you are taking care of those tools properly as directed in the podcast I shared today with Chris Sabbarese, those tools are extra sharp. Be sure to use caution when operating or transporting the pruners or loppers.
No Stitches Required This Time - USE CAUTION with the properly maintained tools.
It has been a busy travel spring for me and I’ve been longing to get back in my garden to enjoy what all the adventures are truly about …. GROWING! I’ve been to some amazing gardens and explored how others across the country and Canada enjoy the gardening lifestyle. I have many photos from some of the best garden shows in the states to share with you as the season grows on. My adventures this spring took me across the northern border to Canada with one of my favorite plant providers, Proven Winners for their spring kick off extravaganza where I was introduced to how green the Canadians really are! Taking in all I could to share with my network and to help my own garden in Ohio grow. This container of supersowsunday lettuce mix by Territorial Seed Company featured on the left says it all! The goods have been collected and now it is time to get growing!
Nothing says spring to me like this view featured above of my greenhouse nestled back in the corner wood-line of our home here in Ohio. Waiting on the rain to allow the raised beds filled with compost and bunny droppings to be turned and the flats of starters from inside the greenhouse to be moved out to their new growing place. In the image above on the right is my new birdhouse that my son built out of left over wood pieces he collected around the workshop. We added that old recycled t.v. antenna to the wooded garden to help support a wild rose climber last spring. The rose loved climbing the new structure even after we painted it so much we just had to add more to it. Before the ladder used to attach the birdhouse to the 10 foot section was collapsed to be put back into the shop a few birds had already moved in. I’m loving what can be done with recycled goods and the lessons of using what you have on hand can be taught even in the garden.
Are you interested in learning more about growing in a greenhouse year-round? I’m a contributor of the site Growing4Seasons with my greenhouse sister Glenda who is the creative home and garden writer at Tootsie Time.com 
Sharing what is growing on in my neck of the woods is why I’ve been online from the get-go. If it weren’t for social media and outlets like
Spring 2011 has brought some very cool temperatures which I’m sad to say I’m delighted with. Is that a grammatically correct sentence? I do know that if you are are buried with tons of inside chores to do this time of year you totally know what I’m saying.
As I wait for the branches to open adding color to my desk while I try to make deadlines and get to my spring cleaning chores, this little robin keeps visiting my window as if to say ” Come on out to play!”
My greenhouse is filled with annuals, perennials and new veggies from October to this time of year ( as pictured above). In the collage above I show the new BLUE PEONIES TREE I found in Seattle. I look forward to adding this to my garden after giving it a head start in the greenhouse. The plants that were wintered over are being condensed and re-potted to smaller containers to make room for the seeds that are being started.
This is the first time I have EVER had Hens & Chicks bloom in my garden ( and greenhouse). The bloom kind of reminds me of a mum only it has as hint of sweet scent if you smell close enough. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when this perennial is done blooming. DO you think I should divide it since the sprouts are super long and look kind of odd in that terra cotta container?
