Saturday's To Do Wish List

Spread mushroom compost over front lawn and over seed the bare spots.

Plant strawberry plants in the strawberry pot.

Dig up the raspberries that have grown out of the bottom of the raspberry pots.

Weed.

What chores do you have on deck for this weekend?
Please post a link to your chore list or a project that you are working on in the box below so that we can go to your blog to see what you're up to.

I Gave Up on the Celery

I tried to start celery from seed.  I sowed the seeds in February and placed them under fluorescent shop lights.  My other seedlings did just fine.  I even started taking them outside on warm days to give them as much natural light as I could and they still look puny.  

My pathetic celery seedlings

I had a bunch of meetings off campus yesterday.  I had about 30 minutes to burn and there was a nice garden center between meeting spots.  I couldn't help myself.  I really have little self-control at garden centers.  I bought some stevia, some pink poodle echinacea, sedum for a porch pot, and 12 beautiful celery plants. I'm a total celery cheater.

My beautiful new celery

I'm feeling both giddy and a little guilty about buying the celery plants, but I have little hope for the seedlings that I started.  If there's anyone out there who successfully grows celery from seed, I would love to hear your celery starting secrets.

No Asparagus This Year

I won't get to harvest any asparagus this year. I planted one year crowns last year. I read that I would have a light harvest this year. Unfortunately, all my asparagus spears were very thin, too thin to harvest. Now they have all ferned out. I added coffee grounds and chopped leaves as an organic mulch and fertilizer. Maybe next year will be better. If there are any asparagus growers out there who have ideas for helping the bed to thrive, I would love to learn from you!

Wordless Wednesday-Veggies

Speed Bumps in the Dog Superhighway

The dog superhighway

I have a problem with my dogs running along the alley fence. In years past, this hasn't been a problem, but starting this year, they seem to have this new habit. They have trampled down some of the emerging perennials. 

The speedsters

New speed bumps

I decided to add a few speed bumps to their highway. I added some daylilies and iris since they are tall and fairly trample-proof.  I also took the opportunity to dig out all the ditch lilies that were in the middle of the bed. I hope that the new plantings will protect my bee balm, delphinium, and lupine. This solution seems to be working so far. While they did go back into the bed to lounge near the daylilies, they weren't running along the fence line.

Naughty Baby Bunny Killers

When I was out working on my perennial bed in the backyard today, my dogs found a rabbit den with baby bunnies under my hibiscus bush.  Before I realized what had happened, both dogs had baby bunnies in their mouths.  I managed to make one of my dogs release his bunny, but my other dog killed hers.

Baby Bunny Killer

I confined both dogs inside the house.  I found the bunny that I made my other dog release hiding along my fence.  The other babies escaped, so I assumed that the bunny was injured.

Then I went to a business owner, Jan, whose shop is across the street.  She's an earth mother type of person who would likely know what to do.  I was in luck.  She had some experience with wildlife rehabilitation and said that she would take care of it.  She lives on a wooded 5 acres of land, so she's going to take it to her house.  She thinks that it's old enough that it will survive so long as it's not too injured.  She said that she will find a sheltered place outside and make sure that it has plants to munch on and water.  She said that there are a lot of bunnies out at her house.

When I returned to the back yard, the bunny was still in the same place, even though neither my dogs nor I had been in the backyard for about 10 minutes.  I found a large tub and put straw in the bottom.  Then I put on some garden gloves, and gently placed the bunny in the tub.  It could move around some, but it didn't try to flee.  I took the bunny to Jan.  By the time that we got to her house, the bunny had burrowed under the straw for safety.

Since my dogs destroyed the den, Jan suggested that I find a sheltered nearby spot outside of my fence to 'suggest' a safer place for the bunnies to relocate.  

The destroyed den

My suggestion for a new den

Jan said that I might be able to encourage the bunnies to relocate to a place outside my yard if I find a fairly close spot that is sheltered and move a shovel full of the hair and dirt from the hold nest into the new.  Along my alley neighbor's fence is a climbing hydrangea that could provide some shelter and a nice hidden spot.  I found a tucked away spot, dug a little with my shovel, and placed some of the hair and dirt from the old den in the new spot.  I hope that they build their new home outside of my yard. I really don't want my dogs to be able to get to them.

Plant Swap Plants-Totals So Far

On May 16th, 2010 there will be a plant swap at 2pm at Holiday Park in Indianapolis.  For more details about the plant swap or ideas on how to organize your own plant swap, click here.  So far, I have potted up the following plants for the swap:

Ruby Red Stella Daylilies

Rosy Returns Daylilies (pink)

Pink Hardy Hibiscus

Moonbeam Coreopsis

Perennials

• 6 Siberian or Japanese iris (purple)
• 4 moonbeam coreopsis
• 3 lamium (either pink pewter or purple dragon)
• 6 sweet woodruff
• 3 hellebores/Lenten Rose (either pink or cream)
• 6 monarda/bee balm (Jacob Klein-red)
• 2 purple coneflower
• 1 salvia (May Night-purple)
• 6 short bearded reblooming iris (yellow, purple, or light blue---probably purple)
• 3 hardy geranium (pink)
• 1 stargazer lily
• 1 daylily-probably blacked eyed stella, but I'm not certain
• 1 snowball viburnum
• 8 Stella d'Oro daylilies
• 3 ruby red stella daylilies
• 3 rosy returns daylilies
• 1 pink hardy hibiscus

Basil

• 3 sweet
• 3 lime
• 3 lemon 
• 3 thai

8 red or yellow raspberries

Tomatoes

• 3 1884
• 3 Supersweet 100
• 3 Orange Russian
• 3 Roma
• 3 Black Krim
• 5 Brandywine
• 10 Black cherry