Butterfly, butterfly, flit and fly!
Butterflies are so good for the garden and they bring a touch of whimsy with their effortless flitting. I snapped a few shots. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
--Tara
--Tara
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Butterfly, butterfly
Lamp- reborn
This old lamp 80's style has been reborn. It came back to life as a chandelier and a cloche (French for mini green house). I rewired the thing and added flame light-bulbs. I also added a handle to the cloche for ease of checking the delicate plants below. The glass makes a great insulator. The original lamp was a $10 find.
Fence Pots Garden
Okay, I found this really cool idea in a BHG do it YOURSELF magazine. Their project cost $70. not bad...not good either. So I took their idea and looked around my house to see what I had tha
t I could use. (the pic with the words "on he fence" is from the magazine)
I had the pots from last season $0, they spent $20.
I had the paint from some leftovers $0, they spent $12 on spray paint
I did not use painters tape because I used a brush and not spray paint $0, they spent $3
And the fence hangers, I used a screw on the back of the fence post and an old chain hooked around it. $0, they spent $32 (plus when I went to the hardware store, those fancy fence
hangers were no where to be found!)
Oh yeah they spent $3 on screws, Me $0... I already had them.
Their total for a really cool project $70, me $0. Yeah ME!
(The bottom pic is of my little picket fence on my porch.)
t I could use. (the pic with the words "on he fence" is from the magazine)I had the pots from last season $0, they spent $20.
I had the paint from some leftovers $0, they spent $12 on spray paint
I did not use painters tape because I used a brush and not spray paint $0, they spent $3
And the fence hangers, I used a screw on the back of the fence post and an old chain hooked around it. $0, they spent $32 (plus when I went to the hardware store, those fancy fence
hangers were no where to be found!)Oh yeah they spent $3 on screws, Me $0... I already had them.
Their total for a really cool project $70, me $0. Yeah ME!
(The bottom pic is of my little picket fence on my porch.)
Fence Pot Garden - a "how to"
pots, scrubbed of exc
ess dirt from outside
Chain from old bunk bed screwed to fence post
Pot, unpainted, fits nicely and hangs in chain
End result -- Pot painted with freshly planted flowers.
TaDah!!!
Marigold- King-Daddy...Fist size
I got these seeds several years ago, and to my surprise, the seeds produced lots of marigolds, but not the typical quarter sized buds, but fist sized blossoms. I dubbed these King-Daddy marigolds...because they are the most majestic in size and color of any other marigolds I have seen. Here you can see the two kinds of flowers, side by side.
Fake fruit...the conclusion
Well, the peaches have bloomed and become fruit... The fake fruit, which you can now see on the ground did actually help, but it did not solve the birds eating the fruit problem completely. However, I still think I will opt for a bird net next season.
You can see that I did get some peaches off of this tree. I was shocked because it was only planted last October.
Here is the first peach, cut open and ready to eat. It was good!
How does your Garden Grow--update
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? With lavender, and carrot tops and tomato plants all in a row.....
Just an update. This is what my garden currently looks like. Jadey Baby is picking some tomatoes for me...and being shocked that they are actually growing AND ripe.
You can see in the last picture how much growth has happened in the last month. YIPPEE!
The only thing that still struggles to grow is the Poppies and the Black-eyed Susans. Everything else is getting along quite nicely
Mini Green House Comparison
I thought it would be cool to do a comparison of plants inside the cloche (mini greenhouse) verses plants outside.
These are my black-eyed Susans. They have struggled to come up. They were planted in a row just like all of the other things I tired to grow. In the bottom of this picture you can see the row of poppies being bushy and happy. So I thought I would put a cloche over just a small section of the row of Black-Eyed Susans.
As you can see, One lonely sprout has emerges in the row where there was no cloche verses a bunch inside the tiny greenhouse.
These are my black-eyed Susans. They have struggled to come up. They were planted in a row just like all of the other things I tired to grow. In the bottom of this picture you can see the row of poppies being bushy and happy. So I thought I would put a cloche over just a small section of the row of Black-Eyed Susans.
As you can see, One lonely sprout has emerges in the row where there was no cloche verses a bunch inside the tiny greenhouse.
Chamamile
I have been attempting to grow chamomile. I had the dickens of a time getting them to grow. My brother told me to use a cloche - ( I know it is spelled wrong and I am probably pronouncing it wrong too, but they are mini greenhouses) and sure enough. Under the mini greenhouse the sprouts are getting quite big, where as before, they would only break the surface and wither away. It isn't even that hot here right now. It's somewhere in the mid 70's.
This is a peek straight inside the cloche.
Garden View
This was my garden on Feb 15, 2009. Some tiny green sprouts were present. 
This is my garden March 16, 2009. I'm getting quite a few plants growing. My tomato plant has some fruit growing. And my peas have some blossoms. I had to fence in the garden and put some chicken wire around it so my chicks could not help themselves. Which I caught them doing! I also put some sparkly things and a pinwheel to keep out the other birds...I hope.
This is my garden March 16, 2009. I'm getting quite a few plants growing. My tomato plant has some fruit growing. And my peas have some blossoms. I had to fence in the garden and put some chicken wire around it so my chicks could not help themselves. Which I caught them doing! I also put some sparkly things and a pinwheel to keep out the other birds...I hope.
Fake Friut...and tiny real ones
As I mentioned in a previous post, we wired fake pumpkins to our new little peach tree in hopes that the birds will leave it alone. I couldn't find season appropriate fake fruit, but the color was GOOD!Well, we are getting some little peaches! You can see it here next to the fake fruit.
Fake Fruit
I heard from my brother, that he heard from an expert that if you hang FAKE fruit from your fruit trees while they are blossoming, the birds will be faked out. Apparently they try the "fruit" and realize that it isn't a source of something yummy. Then when the real fruit ripens, the birds think, "been there, done that" and they leave it alone.
So I am trying it. I went to the dollar store in search of something fruit-ish. I found mini pumpkins, which are not grown in spring. But, I thought they had the right color. I have a peach tree. So I used twisty ties and attached them to a few branches. I don't know if it will work yet, the fruit is just starting to come on. I'll let you know!
Who ever heard of Hayseeds...
I was out with my chicks cleaning out their chicken coop. I have a bail of hay at the end of the coop that I use to make a layer at the bottom of the hen house. That makes for easy clean up too because all you do is sweep out the hay and presto... the poop goes with it! I realized what a huge mess the chicks were making out of the hay. They had spread it all over the rocks I have around the coop. As I was raking it into a pile, I took a good look at the bail of hay. There were green spouts sticking up out of the top of the bail! Who ever heard of hayseeds. Well! They are real and they sprout!
Blackberry bush...gardening?
This is my little blackberry bush. I have been told that these grow really well in the Sonoran Desert. I read this book by the Garden Guy, Gary Owen (I think). He said that when you plant the bush, get one of those black buckets you get trees in, from a nursery. By doing this, the roots do not spread and take over. Well, I did not have a black bucket, but I had a purple bin that had a crack in the bottom. So I broke out the rest of the bottom and used that as my bucket. This served a second purpose. It kept the square shape while I was putting the cinder blocks into the ground! Yeah for me. Two for one! As you can see, we still have to finish setting up the sprinkler line to this box, hence the bricks laid across the back. Also notice the chicken wire. Again, I want to keep my favorite chicks from attacking this bush.
Gardening...at least preparing to garden
Aaaaah...the garden box. Here in the Arizona desert, gardening is, well lets face it TONS of work. You have to designate a spot, water the dirt, add good dirt, water, add top soil, add compost, water, add straw, add nutrients, water, add chicken poop (at least i have that part covered) and water the dirt again, turn the soil, add a sprinkler line and water it again, make a covering for the garden to protect it from the sun.....and then, plant your seeds. Then water, water, water and hope! Out of 500 carrot seeds, you will get three glorious two inch orange sticks. But you grew it your self! Yum! And to top it off, I have to protect my new seedlings from my Chicks. In fact, right after I planted the seeds, I put some chicken wire over the dirt to deter some unwanted pecking and scratching. That same day, I came home and found Sparkle (our black chick) with a bloody beak! What? How? Where? When? As I was inspecting the yard for hazards, I happened to look into the garden box. (there was no cute fencing at that time, but the red bricks were in place.) There in the corner was evidence of scratching and peck marks. Ah ha! The Chicks were trying out my garden. But I have a garden, just the same.
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