Thursday, May 17, 2012

New Gardening Potential {Try New Adventures Thursday!}

Last year we grew our first-ever vegetable garden and had moderate success. It was all in containers, since we lived in an apartment. We got our feet wet and learned about things like aphids, blossom end rot, and weird zucchini fungi. Our bell peppers and herbs thrived the most.

Now that we've moved, I'm so excited that we can actually plant things in the ground or in raised beds!

Here's the front yard potential....

the flower bed has potential, eh?

This huge bed is pretty much empty and ready for...something. It has a lone rose bush (yay!) and some random plants here and there. Come fall, I'm thinking of planting vegetables farther back towards the window (this area gets the best sun) and then flowers towards the front of the bed.

flowers

I already planted a few flowers (zinnias and marigolds) in another front yard bed, and some impatiens in the back yard, which is more shaded. I've never done flower gardening before (for any length of time with any measure of success), so I'm excited about this! I think I'm sort of between planting seasons, since full-blown scalding summer is right around the corner for us Floridians. So I'm not sure what to plant right now...need to do some research!

Do any of you grow flowers in Florida? Any advice for me?

I have a rose bush now! How fun is that?

The rose bush is a tall, scraggly affair that has given us one beautiful rose at a time since we moved in. This is rose #2 in her loveliness.

Which brings me around to the fact that I know nothing about rose gardening except that rose bushes have to be pruned.

Some front yard play...

The front of our house also boasts two large fig trees and four (four!) tangerine trees. Homemade fig newtons, anyone?

The tangerine trees seem to have a black mold and some white eggs (?) on the leaves. We've treated all the trees with neem oil once, but I need to figure out what else we should do to keep them healthy....because I'm SO excited at the prospect of a good citrus harvest in December!!!

Herbs!

I've planted some staple herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary) in a pot by the front door and they are already taking off. The herbs I planted last year grew like weeks and were such a lovely addition to many of our meals. I'm hoping to add an additional pot with thyme, parsley, and dill. I'll plant cilantro in the fall.

Another cool gardening thing? We have a compost barrel in the back yard!!!!

Who knew rotting vegetables could be so exciting, right?

Did you plant a garden this year? Flowers, vegetables...or both?
_________________________________


It's Thursday--time to link up your new adventures! It's easy-peasy: Link up your blog post, link back to Alicia's Homemaking, and then leave a few sweet comments on other participant's posts! You can also tweet your post or others with the hashtag #TryNewAdventures. I look forward to seeing what you've had up your sleeve. :)



  
Share/Bookmark

13 comments:

  1. We get too much shade to have a real garden {and I'm not complaining - I'll take shade in Texas over a garden any day!}. However, this year I've done a tomato plant in a container. But, funny enough, we've gotten a lot of rain in the last two weeks and I think it's killing my plant. Haha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seriously! Shade is not to be underestimated. We have a good mix of sun and shade, so I'm really thankful for that. Mostly sun in the front, mostly shade in the back.

      I hope your tomato plant makes it!

      Delete
  2. You must grow some morning glories! I was convinced that they would only bloom in cold weather and Miles has proved me wrong! It's so exciting every morning to go out and see how many there are! We try to guess the night before how many there will be :) Stacy p.s. of course Brandon has way more gardening advice than me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm so glad you said this! Andrew LOVES morning glories...we had a plant when we first got married!

      Delete
    2. we had 20 this morning! They wilt quicker in the hot weather but they're still fun.

      Delete
    3. oh! and if you want good manure, let me know! Brandon and I went on a great date to a horse farm in Newberry to get some. We can direct you there if you like :)

      Delete
  3. and lookie there, Alicia! I finally figured it out. Stacy :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. What fun, you're so brave! I want to plant some stuff but our bed are full of junky soil and I'm so intimidated. Last year my neighbor helped me plant a lot of basil and I unfortunately missed out on a lot of it because I was newly pregnant when it was at it's height and I couldn't stomach the thought of making pesto. Your front yard is dreamy, hope you can figure out the bugs on your trees!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Neat-O! Congratulations on your new home, Alicia!

    We're not planting vegetables this year, because we're moving in August. I do need to spruce up the yard a little though, before we put it on the market. We've been minimalist with the lawn and garden. Now we've got to get busy making whatever inexpensive improvements we can, inside and out.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have had no luck with vegetables and am longing for a yard with choice about where I plant them...might go better that way. Flowers though, butterfly plants like milkweed (although it's poisonous I think)grow like crazy here no matter when you plant them and twice a year on the milkweed we get monarch caterpillars that turn into chrysalis' and then butterflies. The kids love watching that process.

    Recently I discovered the clearance plant section at Lowe's. Some of the plants are dying but others just have roots growing out of the bottom of the pot and are thriving but they are half off or more usually. Look on the pot for the brand that says Florida something...designed for our weather and to survive year round...my kind of plant. Home Depot doesn't do clearance plants though.

    Happy planting.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had no idea you were in FL! We're in FL too! I'm going to read the comments here because I've also been wanting to grow a garden, I'm hoping to do raised beds, it just seems like it will be better 'organized' for me that way. We will see! I have no idea what to do, but I think starting out with herbs will be the best way to go!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yay! So glad you have a bit gardening space this year. :) We planted 2 kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, and hoping our chayote squash from last year will grow again. I got some tips from a neighbor, so we hope to be putting some flowers in soon.

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments. :) I know your time is precious, so I appreciate the time you spend reading and giving feedback.

Please be respectful of others and kind with your words.