much excitement in the spring garden

much to tell since my memorial day adventures...

got all the boxes planted, finally.  after the initial seedlings haul, i've been to two other nurseries to pick up "just a few more things".  oy.  it's like an addiction - just one more, i can fit it in.  but i think i'm done. i picked up a cool sweet bay plant along the way, and potted it for the patio.  i think i need one more pot of annuals or a potted fruit tree for the patio.  then i'll really be done.  really.

much excitement on the low-maintenance-ing of the garden front.  we (meaning hubs) forged 3 connected rain barrels from the 55 gallon drums i brought home a few weeks ago.  they are so cool!  why does free water make me so giddy?  we don't have the gutter diverter on yet, and they are already filled with just the rain we've had.  such a simple, cheap project that is so integral to the happiness of previously mentioned plant addict.  oddly, i loathe watering.  i love planting, weeding, staking, harvesting, but watering just sort of pisses me off.  and this video from the penn state cooperative extension office (shout out!), gave us the confidence to just do it.  easy peasy.

yeah, string of 3 barrels for 165 gallons of not-having-to-pull-the-effing-hose around happiness

connected at top and bottom

close up of strainer thingy on top

so the barrels, combined with this dope new drip irrigation system that the hubs designed, ordered and installed, has me so freakin happy.  all drip irrigation supplies ordered from fedco.  they are so helpful up in there.

inspiration for said drip irrigation system:  new portable speakers for the ipod, and the minutemen playing

drip irrigation checklist:  tape, hoses, fittings, coffee, blowtorch, cute hubs

and maybe the most exciting piece of news is that i have some baby broccoli growing!  i'm so proud (that i haven't killed it yet)!

variety = packman.  wocka, wocka, wocka, wocka, ...

my camera battery died after the broc pics, so i will have to take some pictures of the rocking patio garden for next post.  marigolds are coming up and are almost ready to be thinned and transplanted.  the borage is getting big and i'll probably move 3 of the 4 plants coming up.  the foliage is kind of prickly - not the best thing to have planted by the front door, perhaps?  [also, i saw some full-grown borage on a garden walk i took this past weekend, and i'm not a bit afeared of its size.  we'll see...]

scary-big borage plant - eeeeeeek!

my next tasks will be figuring out how i'm going to hold up the tomatoes.  cages?  trellis?  stakes?  i want something pretty and sturdy.  since this garden is front and center in our yard, i don't love the idea of the ugly cages, but i already have them, and i know they work.  i would love to design up something more rustic looking.  but i've read that some trellis systems take a lot of fussing.  something to obsess over for the next week or so.

and now for some inspiring pictures from the pocket garden tour i went on with my mom this weekend in portsmouth.  lots of fabulous ideas out there.  maybe for future revisions to our space.

cool idea for pathway = wood stumps on end 

love the way this rosemary is potted with another plant trellised over it

neat-o bench with tree/vine? up through middle.  nice and rustic-y

loved this dna-looking sculpture that housed a vigorous vine

um, hi, i'm a honeysuckle that blends oh so well with my neighbor the gorgeous rose.  what's your name?

friends are necessary in the garden

this flavor of osteospermum always attracts me.  they absolutely pop!

how great is this idea for garden sculpture?  i would have chosen different plants, but the idea is solid.

random ornate gate

mmmm, maple-licious!

i definitely want to work alliums into my perennial garden.  just love how they're so space-age looking

simple yet elegant staking for allium

hard to see but neat pairing of tree limb stakes - the farther one has a birdhouse on top

curved twigs as edging

this garden had a lot of "themed" beds:  tea, perfume, zoo animals, etc

"tea bed" complete with sun tea brewer

um, yeah, little person hang out idea or what?

grown-together hornbeam tree archway = drooooool

rustic archway = future entrance to the orchard?