We're Gonna Try It

We are going to try and grow a garden here in the Sandhills of North Carolina. We put in the first of our seeds about a week and a half ago, then last week we planted some reasberry, Blackberry and Blueberry bushes. Will is now in the process of fencing it all in. Here is how it looks so far:

Will tilling our spot
Peas
Carrots
Onions
Watermelon & Canteloupe
Raspberries
Blackberries

Blueberries
The half-finished fence

We are also growing corn, tomatoes, zuchinni and pie pumpkins, just no pictures of those yet. I will continue to update as the harvest progresses!

June...er, APRIL is Busting Out All Over!

Well, I have quite a few new pictures to post. New things are starting to happen in my little patches of dirt, and I am quite pleased. But, Will and I are most happy with the fact that the Crape Myrtles that we spent hundreds of dollars on last fall are all alive and blooming! Whew!

I am also finally getting around to planting my Lobelia and Cosmos that I grew from seed and have been nurturing since February! I'm really excited to see how they do in the "real world!"

My "New Baby" daffodils are FINALLY booming! They are so tiny and cute!

And, sad day, I think the last of my tulips have bloomed. Fortunately, I got some GORGEOUS pictures of them before they go!

Oh, and one final thing (for now!) I planted 3 day lillies and I can't beleive how well they are taking off! I planted this guy less than two weeks ago and all it was was that one white stem that you can see at the bottom. Now look at it! Crazy!

What a Difference Water Makes!

When I moved back to North Carolina last summer, the state was in the middle of a severe drought. Because I was in Utah for most of the summer, what little lawn we did have quickly burned, shriveled and died. The top pictures in each grouping are what I came back to. Pretty pathetic, really.

So when Will got back in October, his mission quickly became to grow a thick, lush lawn that he didn't have to be embarrased by. Everyone told us that you simply can't grow a lawn from seed here in North Carolina, but Will was undaunted. After a good couple seedings, a big bag of fertilizer and WATER, the pictures beneath are what we have thus far:

Pretty Maids All in a Row

Even More Tulips

I love how these tulips are opening up. They look like stars!

More Tulips

I am thinking (but not SURE) that this pink one is going to be a "Red Lips" tulip. It is part of a blend I ordered called "The Lovers Blend." I love how it has a pointed shape to the petals. The white one, however, is a mystery to me! We will see if it gets more color as the days go on...

Dreamland

My Dreamland Tulips made their appearance yesterday. They are quite lovely, and quite different from the Barcelonas (which are, sadly, now starting to wilt.)

New Friends

A picture of my newly planted annuals. I am, by no means, done, since I plan to eventually fill up the whole bed with perennials and annuals, but I can only do so many at a time, and, of course, once they are in, I will probably rearrange them until I am happy with the layout, but these are the ones I planted two days ago.

12 pink Snapdragons









6 hot pink Dianthus









12 light lavender Pansies (in honor of my mom's birthday!)









They are tiny right now, but I'm hoping they spread like my fall pansies have. Pretty sad, but it took me a good couple of hours to get them all in the ground. My perennials should be arriving within the next week or two, and I can't wait! I will probably have to rearrange some of the bushes (they came with the house) to be able to put them in where I want them, and hopefully my Cosmos will be able to be put into the ground around the same time. Of course, I will post pictures of my progress.

I Want That!

Garden-related stuff I want (click on each item to see a picture and details):

Garden Aerator Sandals - If you've seen our lawn, you would agree we need these!

Presto Bucket - I want this for when I'm out weeding...so much nicer (and cuter!) than a plastic grocery bag that goes all American Beauty on me every time the breeze picks up!

Garden Tool Kit - Really, I just want the tote...just cause it's pink & cute!

Glass Cloches - Cause they are pretty. What other reason do I need?

Daisy Clogs - In pink, of course...

Deadheading & Some New Annuals

So today I did my weekly weeding and deadheading of my pansies. I am wondering if I should start cutting them back, however. They seem to be sprawling quite a bit. I have read you can cut back the foliage and it will regenerate, but I don't know if I want to go that long without blooms! I will have to look again and see if I can cut them back without cutting off the buds.


I bought a few new annuals to start filling in the gaps while I wait for my new perennials to get here. I also set out my Cosmos and Lobelia seedlings for the first time to harden before transplanting them into the bed. I want to get them into the ground soon, as they are, unfortunately, starting to look a little sickly.


I noticed today that I have a bunch of new tulips getting ready to pop open, however, they are still green, so I can't tell which ones they are. With my Barcelonas, I could tell early on because the bud was so pink. These new ones are going to be a surprise, I suppose, for a while longer, at least.

And last, but not least, I wanted to take a progress picture of my beautiful Barcelonas...I am already getting sad for when they start to die off. They are just so pretty!

Seedlings

So here are the Cosmos seedlings after four days of germination. The end rows that look empty are the Lobelia, which are starting to sprout, although you can't tell from the picture. The Lobelia seedings are a lot smaller than the Cosmos, and must have a longer germination period. I will post pictures when the Lobelia are more noticable.

Barcelonas & Pansies

Starting Seeds

Well, I just made my first attempt at starting seeds yesterday. I had a packet of Cosmos sent to me in the mail, and yesterday I saw a packet of Lobelia seeds at the store. I like Lobelia for a border plant, and the Cosmos will give me some nice height in the back of the bed, so I decided to start them. I've never done it before, so I bought one of those starting trays with the peat pellets. Apparently it will take a few weeks to get them going, and then I have to harden them off before planting them outside, but thats ok. They way my soil is here, I doubt they would have stood a chance if I were to just start the seeds out in the "sandbox," as I like to call it. I figure I'm giving them a better shot at survival by nurturing them indoors for a few weeks!

First Bloomers

It looks like the Barcelonas are the first tulips to bloom. I have three of them peeking their heads out right now. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and planted one side of my bed later than the other (because of the unseasonably warm weather last fall, I planted one side, then held out on the other for fear of them coming up too early, which, of course, they did...) so I only have pink heads on one side of my bed so far. Oh well. I will know better this fall when to plant. I just can't believe that I have tulips in February! But I suppose they are the perfect color to have in my yard for Valentine's Day!

Fall Bulbs

There are the bulbs I planted in November and December. They are already starting to bloom. I ordered them (and the pictures come from) Van Bourgendien. These pictures will have to do until my own burst into color!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I have really become interested in gardening, now that I have my own plot of land to do so on. Almost an acre, in fact, to mess around in. And it is RAW, so this is going to be an adventure, trying to spruce things up!

Will and I both grew up in areas very different from North Carolina. Will in lush, cool Wisconsin, and myself in fairly fertile Utah, where growing a velvet lawn is no more difficult than throwing down some seed and walking away! The dirt here alone will be a challenge, considering we live in what is known as "The Sandhills," not to mention battling fire ants, chiggers and all manner of other unmentionable creatures! And to top things off, we are in a drought right now, and under water restrictions. So, needless to say, I am working against some awful odds, but I think I am up for the challenge of creating beauty out of nothing, and teaching myself about gardening in the South during the process!

So, with that in mind, the purpose of this blog is to act as my Gardening Journal, if you will. It is here that I will post everything I do to my little corner of the Earth, my more than likely many, many failures, as well as a few triumphs, I hope!