Georgia gal gardens – Page 5 – grateful for the gifts of nature

April 8, 2016September 16, 2021

Seed Starting 2016!!!

Start with mini greenhouse, peat pellets, and water …

Wait a day or two before planting for the pods to lose a little moisture (leave the top off for evaporation). Agitate the soil, and bust open the tops of the pods. This gives the seeds more room, and looser growing medium.

Plant veggie and herb seeds! Or flowers, if you like. I started this batch of seeds in mid-to-late February. Most of them were leftover from last year. Some I harvested from last year’s plants-like the green beans. I also bought more seeds (& a couple tomato plants I couldn’t resist) from Cofer’s Home and Garden Showplace- my favorite garden center ever. More about that later.

I also started a second round of seeds a few weeks later. Some are the same as the first batch-like greens beans and tomatoes. I am experimenting with staggered planting times, so I can harvest throughout the long growing season here in Georgia.

Below are pics of the second round of seeds I planted.

They are just getting started in these pics from mid March. Many of the plants are now in the raised garden bed. *Fingers crossed for no late frost.* My next post will be about the repair, filling, and planting of my raised herb & veggie garden bed. The project was completed a few weeks ago with help from my sweet husband, and my friend Peggy, who was in town for a visit to Gibbs Gardens! I will also post some great pics of the Daffodil Festival at Gibbs in the next week or so.

March 2, 2016September 16, 2021

Transplanted Daffodil Bulbs

I dug up a closely crowded cluster of daffodil bulbs in the fall of 2014. After letting them dry out in the garage over the winter, I planted them in my “bulb bed” in the backyard which already contains Dutch Iris and Iris, in the early spring of 2015. They grew last year, but no blooms as expected.

2021-You can also plant them in the fall when you did them up. In fact, that is the way I do it now. Didn’t need to store them.

This year, blooms! Somewhat early, due in part to the warmer than average weather, and lots of rain. The heads are so heavy on this variety, they seem to have a hard time standing up straight.

The American Daffodil Society has a fantastic website and DaffSeek is an amazing identification tool. There are at least 25,000 different registered hybrids of daffodil! The photo below is a much smaller variety that is in desperate need of dividing. I will dig up some of the bulbs this fall and transplant them to other sites in the yard next year.

November 23, 2015September 16, 2021

Japanese Maple

Thoughtfully gifted from my father-in-law, at Christmas time a few years ago, this maple sizzles in the fall. This one soars to over 8 feet tall already, with more growing ahead.

Many varieties of Japenese Maple are found around the world.

This lovely tree thrives in USDA Zone 7b, in full sun facing southwest.

This one came from Gibbs Gardens-which is truly an incredible natural sanctuary located in Ball Ground, Georgia. There are over 220 acres of gardens! Prepare for your mind to be blown by the exquisiteness, which includes an authentic Japanese Garden.

November 6, 2015September 16, 2021

Growing Catnip from Seed

Cats Love Catnip!

Catnip, like Rosemary- and many other herbaceous plants- is a member of the mint family and has some special effects on cat’s brains.

This article from Scientific American.com discusses the chemical composition of the plant, and its well known properties.

I grew the catnip plant above from seed, and it came back for the last several years. This year it was scraggly & had some strange aphids, but I managed to harvest & dry some for the kitties.

I let this last sad, spindly stalk go to bloom, hoping it would make seeds for next year. I collected a dried seed stalk, and now there is a brown stub of a plant left, with a single green leaf left.

Aphids Love Catnip!?

You can see in the picture above some tiny aphid? creatures-not sure what they are. If anyone knows please respond to this post, I am curious what type of creature they are. They have furry butts & appear to be bizarre weirdos. They are on the stem below the blooms. The top of the plant is bent over sideways.

People Love Catnip!

Catnip is useful to humans- similar to other herbs, and is used in tea. This links to an article by a MNN writer which details, (in step number 5), the properties and chemicals involved in the human/catnip process.

Side Note on growing from seed- the following quote from botanical.com may argue against growing this plant from seed:

There is an old saying about this plant:

If you set it, the cats will eat it,
If you sow it, the cats don’t know it.

Hmm…I love old wives’ tales and folklore. There is often some scientific proof that the folk remedy or medicinal use is correct. Please respond anyone who has input on this topic. I would love to hear any reader’s thoughts on this.

October 8, 2015

Abelia! A May/December Romance

Ahh Abelia … I love the fragrance, I love the look of the flowers, I love the butterflies and bees it attracts. What’s not to love about Abelia? I have talked about this great shrub before.

It has gotten so much bigger since my first post a few years ago!

I was so fascinated by it that I had to find out more info. Now, I see them everywhere all over the landscapes of the South. They are ubiquitous, and I never noticed them before having the pleasure of caring for one the former owners of out house left behind on the sunny corner of the back deck.

October 8, 2015

Oregano Harvest

I heavily harvested the overflowing oregano several times last year, and there seems to be even more this year. I love drying this herb for use later. I cut it with scissors, rinse it under cool water, then let it dry before I hang it upside down inside paper bags to dry.

A member of the ever versatile mint family, this plant is hardy and handy in the kitchen. I add dried oregano to so many recipes. I also grew rosemary and lots of lemon-lime basil that re-seeded itself in my raised bed. My favorite is always the lavender though, which has been very happy since I moved it from a container into the bed. It is now nicely nestled between the rosemary and oregano.

October 8, 2015

Summertime Catch-up

This rose bush had trouble this year. The leaves fell off several times, but they came back and then a few roses would bloom. The picture above was taken in May. There was another cycle of blooming in late July, and I noticed yet another bloom on the small, scraggly looking rosebush last week. The weather is still quite warm here, and it seems like the cool fall temps are a little late this year. I eventually cut the entire bush way back several times, because most of it seemed dead. I couldn’t figure out if it was a pest, or some natural occurrence, or a lack of something the plant needed.

I have not posted in several months, but have been collecting photos. I will make a few more cool posts from my garden this summer. It was sort of an off season this year. I did not plant any new seeds, but tended some plants that re-seeded in my raised garden bed, and in my compost pile inside the “Earth machine” . I have enjoyed cherry tomatoes all season that came from seeds that started themselves in the composter!

May 20, 2015September 16, 2021

Daffodils of Spring Past

Okay, so these daffodils bloomed in mid March. I took pics, but didn’t get a chance to post them until now. A lot has happened since then, most notably kidney stones! Which, btw are really terrible. Stay hydrated out there this summer!

I was sidelined for a bit, but am now back focused on my writing and gardening. Again, better late than never, so the next few posts will be catching up what has happened in my yard and garden the last couple months. There are several different varieties of daffodil represented here. There are so many different types, and I love them all.

I will also be posting the rest of my writing pieces here over the next few days, and completing my Folk Literacy portfolio. Check out my writing in my Environmental Writing portfolio on the header. It contains an interesting mix of a few of my pieces that are all related to nature or the environment, but differ in genre of writing.

March 4, 2015

Raleigh Transplants

Hi Peggy!

This plant is lovely. I haven’t figured out what it is yet, but will work on it. This pic is from last year at blooming time. The plants survived the winter, and are now prepping for this year’s blooms. I also have at least twelve surviving iris plants my friend Peggy gave me from her garden in Raleigh. Can’t wait till they bloom!

March 4, 2015

Last semester & Looking forward

I was so busy finishing school at UGA the last months of 2014 that these garden pics were not posted. Better late than never, here is my raised garden bed in the full glory of mid September in Athens, GA. I posted last year in July my design and construction of the raised bed.

I grew three different varieties of tomatoes, bush green beans, multiple varieties of peppers, and some simple herbs. I dried oregano, catnip, rosemary, and lavender last summer. I used them often in cooking over the winter, especially the oregano. I tied the herbs upside down inside of brown paper grocery bags with a few holes cut in the sides for air circulation. The bags keep the dust off the herbs while they are drying, and the flat bottoms sit nicely on a surface in a cool area.

Dried herbs can be very expensive to purchase at the grocery store. I really enjoy growing the plants from seed, and then harvesting them to dry. The plants lived through the winter in my raised bed, and I will harvest them again this year. I spent only a few dollars on all the seeds, and will have all the dried herbs I could want for years to come.

Sanford Stadium @ UGA last semester. The stadium is right down the hill from Park Hall where I spent most of my time, but I captured this view while walking up from the Tate Center parking lot.

And, our cat Chloe just recently… helping with blogging work.

Yesterday, finally received my diploma from UGA!

I am currently transferring all of my writings to this blog. I previously created two writing portfolios for UGA. One is themed around my environmental writings in the fields of literary criticism, essays, blog posts, poetry, and literary travel adventures. The other portfolio is focused on my writing in the area of folk culture and literacy. I am updating daily my writing pieces, and their corresponding pages.