Did you know...!

Did you know you can plant bulbs in January? If the ground is thawed enough! just make sure you do it before things start getting icy and or warm. I buy bulbs in January because they are deeply discounted and the weather here still has a few good comfortable days. Buy a few and pot them be brave!

Winter

I've decided to add to the gardens in the front. So I've been looking at seed catalogs and online bulb books and have come up with this list of catalogs you might find useful. www.michiganbulb.com www.HollandBulbFarms.com WhiteFlowerFarm.com If you have any favorites let me know!

I'm back and we begin plotting for the spring!

Good morning Yall...winter hits HotLanta at 6:45 today that's when we get out "first" Artic blast. While I love Yankees (my husband is one) I wish they would keep their weather to themselves. I'm looking through the catalogs studying what new additions will go into my garden next spring. I have a list for those of you in Zone 7 to 8 ( you luck zone 8 people!)Now use my list to look these up and double check to see if they might be used in your yard! Ok list one: Oak leaf hydrangea-great looking back drop for other flowers can survive a little shade! White flowers look fantastic against green hedge that's a little boring. Several varieties. Brunnera (jackfrost-Brunnera is a companion to mainstays of the shade garden such as Hostas, Ferns, Pulmonarias, and Hellebores Solomon's seal- arching stems with dangling pairs or clusters of cream flowers in late spring. Rhizomes are drought tolerant and colonize well. It may reach 5 feet tall. Foxglove...I found some at a farmer's market! They were on sale because winter was coming! Since they are a perennials so they come back! If they survive I'll post pictures! Remember the spider lilies I found in a clump and had no idea what they were? They have tripled! and are trying to grow in my neighbors yard!

Summer is dragging on and things are slowly ending their cycle. This is the time of year where you start fortifying for the winter. Things start turning brown and the hot last days of the year make you lazy! Start by gathering your winter tools. Pitchfork, rake, shovels and the "can't live without" hoe. clean up any weeds that may surprise you by hiding in the flower beds. I use newspaper and cardboard under my mulch to help fight weeds. I have popsicle sticks that I use to mark bulbs I want to move. Makes looking for the bulbs easy. and bright colored ribbon goes on shrubs so they are easily identified always mark their names on the ribbon. I have a rose of Sharon that needs moving and a gigantic rose that as never bloomed. Getting my sign made that says free weeds pick your own....While you are trapped in the house by rain or the long winter have a look at my Pinterest board. Ideas and thoughts I've gathered...send me a note let me know how your garden is turning out and if you have any tips! Those of you that have never seen pinterest are in for a treat! http://pinterest.com/edfred_warren/cottage-garden-ideas-favorite-places/

Back at it after a little break

I haven't written in a while so many things taking over my life. The guilty pleasure of blogging my progress with the yard has been waylaid by things I actually needed to do. Things are getting hot here so I expect to blog more to stay out of the sun. I started posting on Pinerest there are some shots of my garden and most of them are ideas gleamed from Pinterest. Have a look. and leave me comments. Remember the rules be nice or be gone http://pinterest.com/edfred_warren/cottage-garden-ideas-favorite-places/

it's catalog time!!!

It's time to pull out those cataslogs and plot. This year we're going to attempt a victory garden and to can and freeze some of our produce for the following winter. I'm told this is ambitious. The goal is to not pay full price for commercially grown horrible tasting produce. We'll still support local farmers but commercial genetically bread nastiness? Noooo way! Something tells me we're biting off alot but then whats life without challenge? New photos to come of the winter brown that will become green!

Fall

Getting your garden ready will make it a lot easier in the spring. October is the month when you plan and plant your bulb garden. Make or buy your mulch and arrange to have your garden tilled and covered to kill off the little pests and weeds in the soil. Time to start raking the leaves and or wait for them to drop. This year we decided to pile them up and run a mulching lawn mower over them and use them as mulch as a way to be more green. A lot of garden supply stores are having sales getting rid of summer inventory. It’s the perfect time to buy your manures/ composts, pre-emergent, fertilizers, oil sprays, repellants and even some plants put them in the ground immediately (perennials) . Store things for next year somewhere cool and dry so you have them in the spring. Its also time to start collecting seeds. Remember to wrap them in paper towels to ward off mold and keep them nice, cool and dry. Mark the seed containers with permanent markers so you won’t be trying to guess what they are later. Bring in containers and plants that aren’t winter safe and store them.