Verdict: tiny adorable birds = guilty, Biobabbler = innocent

One thing I learned in 2014: it's not my fault.

All the times I sowed seeds to fill my iris bed

(with plants that would bloom when the irises were done)

and ended up with nothing but weeds,

I thought it was me.

More than once I sowed and planted,

and watered and waited,

and watched and watered and waited.

And nothing.

Zero new flowering plants, just a boring, perennial line of iris blades.

Therefore, I was a lame gardener.

But this year, I am redeemed!

The birds totally ate the seeds.

How do I know this?

"Your Honor, I would like to submit exhibits A and B."

Exhibit A:

Sites where I did not protect the seeds from birds.

 Look how tidy and clean and plant-less it all is...

And, Exhibit B:

Site where I did protect the seeds from birds.

Rows of baby plants. Cute little tinsies (and a few weeds), bursting with promise. A miracle.

This may have changed my life.

I am not a hopelessly unskilled gardener.

I can make things grow,

I can fill out my iris beds

with things that will bloom after spring,

providing DH & I lovely sights (incl. bugs) to admire for months and months.

Hooray!!!

xoxoxobb

wildlife commute, t-peas & backyard bloomers

Morning commuters

Evening traffic

In the above, the bobcat was eyeing my 2 white hens.
Needless to say, I changed its mind re: what to eat.

Next time I saw it (about 1 hr later), it had other prey in mind. Yay!

Kitty (-like).

Not kitty-like. Giant eye-spots!

And off he goes!

Gorgeous. Can you imagine looking THAT GOOD naked?!? Wow.


T-pea

Gently plunked handfuls of been-soaking-3-days
sugar snap peas into the garden, yesterday.

This crop is nerve-wracking.

Everybody & their uncle LOVES to eat baby peas.

So, I covered the peas w/dirt, dried pine needles, dusty weeds,  

rusty chicken wire, and brainwaves of protection.

Hoping maybe 2 dozen baby pea plants survive to clamber skyward.

ALSO hoping that, like the last time I made a legume t-pea,

said cone-o'-plant will host a bird nest!


Backyard wildflowers

 Baby blue-eyes (Nemophila menziesii) are a favorite native wildflower of mine.
Jepson eFlora says that "Nemo·phila" derives from Greek for "woodland-loving."
How sweet.

 I love the tiny stamen (= white filaments + dark anthers*) shadows.

The above bugs ADORE these flowers.

Now go back up to the 1st flower shot.
See? Take your eye back a few inches & that bug is WAY hard to see.
Petals save lives.**

Okay. I owed you an update.
Busy this time of year.
Going out today and tomorrow and maybe tomorrow and def. next weekend.
As in outside.

Hope to see you out there!!
Please feel free to share any outings you've had or will have;
I think it all inspires people to get out more.

xoxobb

*omg, a botanical mystery novel title: Dark Anthers. You heard it here, first! It's MINE.
** a botanically or bicycle-y themed safety message. Pedals or petals save lives. Also mine. =)

modern-day bustle for gardeners...

 
pockets full o' (seed) packets.

gardener's bustle, a photo by biobabbler on Flickr.

=)

SO stylin'!

bb

just ordered a TON of seeds 4 the garden...

  

Totally excited.

The joy of garden planning:

images in your mind of swaying choruses of bright sunflowers,

cathedrals of pole beans clambering higher and higher,

pumpkin & melon vines crawling low,

ferreting out unclaimed patches of sunshine,

and the sweetest, richest tomato ever, cut up in your bowl,

still warm, swilling aged Balsamic vinegar.

And other delightful produce.

And all the buggy friends we make along the way.

Ah.....

And then they arrive, those potent packets of potential.

So exciting! Time to embark!

Then I'll read the directions of the first packet.

Envision the work I have to do:
add ash, compost, manure to the soil

when to plant,
how deep should the seeds go, how far apart,
thin the seedlings when and how far apart,
early vs. later watering needs (we don't get rain),

the pH the plant prefers (vs. what we have),

potential bug or fungal foes and ways to foil them,

do I treat the seed before planting it
(soak, scarify, refrigerate, inoculate),

do I stake,
prune,
fertilize,
shade it,
& if so, when?

Okay, it'll seem like a lot. But, doable. And worth it.

Then I'll read the next packet. And its instructions.

And the next one.

And the next.

Until I freeze. Overload.

And stare out the window at the garden, asea. 

I'll never get it all done.

And I'll take a break.

Maybe for the rest of the day.

Maybe a week. Maybe more.

But, eventually, on an irrationally cheerful day...

it begins again.

=)

Every year is a new beginning.


And I can't wait!

xoxobb

ordered $41 worth of seeds for garden...

  
Woah. Three days ago ordered a ton of seeds for sundry goodies for the garden, including things inspired by my chatting here with y'all (red amaranth, the "three sisters"). Then today ordered 3 kinds of sunflowers. Just talking/thinking about it here helped me realize I really wanted them, so why the heck not?

(poor bee has biobabbler on her bum)

Then, inspired (3 days ago), I drafted a little list of yard work I could do this week to help prep for it.

Then (2 days ago) it snowed. And snowed again.

Hmph.

So, all things I might dig, etc., are covered in snow and DRENCHED, so I should probably wait.

In the meantime, what are your garden plans?
Have you ordered seeds already? If so, what? If not, will you?
What are you most excited about?
What do you dread?
What works, what does not, and do you know why? Esp. re: the climate/soil conditions near you.

What works here:

Tomatillos. They are so happy here, they're weeds. They grow and sprawl and bloom and draw bumblebees like mad. I get volunteers every year. They must love hot, dry days and at least tolerate cool evenings, of which we have many.

What doesn't work here:
Raising tomatoes and peppers from seed. Since I have cats, cannot raise things in the house, which is required to get and keep soil at 70+ degrees. It gets cool here every night, and I will NOT spend $50 for a mat to heat the seed tray for the green house. Just won't. So, buy plants from local nursery in May.


I'd love to hear about your gardening experiences and plans. How do the ecological conditions where you live play into it all?

biobabbler