Each year I have volunteers in my garden. The chipmunks have seen to it that I have a steady crop of dill to be found in a number of the beds. One year Cleome took over half the sidewalk garden. Despite that, I'm thinking about sowing Cleome when I move the Dutch Iris this year.
Out in the herb garden, I've grown a number of things in the center of the center box. Some of those things are herbal, and some are just for color. The annual poppies have decided that it's their turn to volunteer.
If you can see the picture above, there are Ox-eye daisies (which have volunteered now for about 16 years), and the red poppies. The salvia is a perennial. I was thinking the other day that we almost have Red, White and Blue going on, if you overlook the purple-ish cast of the salvia.
The walkway of the garden is supposed to be covered with a very white "chat" or tailings, or screenings. It's a very tiny limestone particle. We had intended to settle brick into the chat to make a brick walkway, but we haven't gotten there yet. I like the look of the volunteers in the chat, but it's been so disturbed with the rebuilding, that I may have to dig things up, lay down more chat, and maybe even lay the bricks. Right now, in addition to a few weeds, we have garlic chives, fever few, lamb's ears, the poppies, ox-eye daisies and thyme on the walk.
I'm frequently of a mind to let volunteers grow. God's surprises can make for interesting gardens. I purchased a pack of wildflower seeds, intending to have DH rototill an area for me, where I could strew the seed. I don't think we're going to get to it, so I might strew the seed on the edge of the property where we don't mow. I wonder if we will see visitors and volunteers for years to come, or whether we will be simply providing appetizers for the chipmunks?
"Bloom where you are planted!" Is this the lesson of the day, or is my mind just absorbed with the gardens? *G*
Comments (7)
I threw out a variety of wild flower seeds a couple of years ago in one area of the backyard. They're doing well still. Will have to get some water to them soon, as having higher temperatures for this time of year than previous years, due to environmental changes, I suppose.
Please send some thundershowers my way. I just realized the color of my grass is fading. Discovered the sprinklers haven't been coming on, maybe since a short power outage a few weeks ago. They're set for hours when I'm asleep. Something new to learn to operate and haven't been able to make them work, so now to find a sprinkler guru. Meanwhile, back to the manual watering. How I wish my husband had agreed to the natural environmental landscaping I wanted some years ago.
I think it's irresponsible this day and age to be landscaped here for climates as surround the Great Lakes areas, when we live in, essentially, a desert area. Water is going to be more and more scarce -- the oil of tomorrow, I believe.
Thanks for your comment over at my place.
Posted by joared | June 2, 2007 6:50 PM
Posted on June 2, 2007 18:50
I'm drooling with envy. Maybe someday I will have a small fenced area similar to what you have. One can dream about it.
Posted by janet | June 2, 2007 8:56 PM
Posted on June 2, 2007 20:56
It's tough, isn't it, joared, when we have to learn to do what our hubbies used to take care of. Dear Husband is trying to teach me what he's doing with our investments, but I also need to learn how to clean furnace filters, and stuff like that. I don't think there's much you can do to prepare for situations like Joy's where water is spurting out of the walls. We just have to do what we can do.
Perhaps you can start shifting the lawn over to xeriscaping now, a bit at a time. I'm sure you're right, that water is going to become the oil of tomorrow. For some time now, I've been buying plants that are natural to this area, and in the long driveway garden I've been planting things that do well with little to no assistance.
Good luck with the lawn!
Posted by buffy | June 2, 2007 10:59 PM
Posted on June 2, 2007 22:59
Janet, we have our predators, but the herb garden seems to do well despite them. I found it interesting that SOMETHING was pruning the sage in the horrible cold spell we had in January. It just made the sage healthier.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you get a fenced-in area for gardening, soon!
Posted by buffy | June 2, 2007 11:01 PM
Posted on June 2, 2007 23:01
I thought your herb garden looked grand, last August; but, it looks even grander, now. The new timbers help a lot, too, don't they?
Posted by Cop Car | June 4, 2007 6:50 AM
Posted on June 4, 2007 06:50
You have a lovely garden. And while you may not appreciate the chipmonks help learning where plants thrive in a garden can tell you much. (I keep on telling myself that as I do the weeding under protest at times.)
Posted by Adele | June 6, 2007 3:22 AM
Posted on June 6, 2007 03:22
Hurray! The sprinklers are working. Just chalk it up to a power outage, I guess, and my ineptness in trying to reset the timers. There are simplier ones available now, so will change if trouble with these again. At least I had somebody check out the systems front and back. I have a better idea, now, of how it's all set up.
Yeah, Buffy, you definitely need to get a grasp on all that financial stuff. Fortunately, I pretty much had a grip on it all, I just didn't keep it up, but that's another story. Everything was okay.
The permanent furnace filter cleaning I have down pat. Husband left a little chart inside the furnace area door, so all I have to do is check there to see when I last did it and when I need to clean them again. Thanks for the reminder, as cleaning is due now.
Posted by joared | June 6, 2007 5:14 AM
Posted on June 6, 2007 05:14