June 9, 2012

Welcome to Poland!  18 countries viewing our garden now :)

Deer fencing is installed!  

We have had a lot of problems with wildlife.  Sometimes you can see  a whole herd of deer in the field next to our garden, patiently waiting for us to finish what we are doing, waiting for us to leave. now. please.  I know the minute we are gone it is dinner time in the vegetable garden.  Our first crop of corn was doing just fine and then one morning it was just gone.  We have deer, rabbits, groundhogs and geese living in or next to the garden.

Extra small mesh to keep rabbits out.

ground hog hole

family of geese

The fencing and towers are gone.  Yeah.

In the Children's garden:

A very large pit to play in.  Sand or small pebbles will be added.  We are still deciding what to add.

In the Native and Hedgerow gardens:

Butterfly weed - Asclepias tuberosa and Purple coneflower - Echinacea purpurea

Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca

Bottlebrush grass - Elymus hystrix

Vegetable Garden:

Asian garden 

Potatoes in front - lots of straw used as mulch

Pumpkins

Different types of tomato supports

Different types of trellises. The one on the left was from a large maple branch that came down during a wind storm.

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.

MAY 19 2012

SORRY!  Very behind in posting.  I am going to stay on track with the dates pictures were taken.

We have 17 countries viewing our blog - welcome to Latvia, Serbia,  Taiwan, Vietnam and Guatemala.

Well, with warmer days comes the need for diligent watering.  Wonderful Master Gardeners have stepped up to make sure that our plants stay healthy and happy.

Signs were posted in the composting area to help people learn what matter to add and what to avoid in their compost bins.

Information on composting  is posted

endless supply of organic matter

Demonstration area shows different ways to water containers.

watering ideas

salad table

Lots of things blooming in the Children's garden:

peony

Walking path

Native Garden:

The show is starting!  Beautiful native flowers and shrubs are in bloom.  The magnolia has a wonderful sweet scent.  The butterflies are starting to show up.  Hopefully they will make their home in the milkweed patch.  Milkweed and Asclepias (butterfly weed)  are host plants for the Monarch butterfly. We have plenty of these plants, so soon I will be looking for eggs and caterpillars.

echinacea

sweetbay magnolia

sweetbay magnolia

milkweed

Monarch butterfly

rudbeckia

virginia sweetspire

Vegetable Garden:


Some successes and some not.

Green beans doing great :)  Corn was doing well until some animal came by one night and had a huge meal of corn plants :(

purple green beans - they are purple when raw, then turn green when you cook them.

signs painted by a childen's group

tomato supports

Early Spring

potato blossoms

store bought trellis

First corn crop

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.

PLANT MARKERS

Welcome to Malaysia!  12 countries so far.









Spent some time in the garden today planting something different.  Identification Signs!  These were hand made by a group of Master Gardeners and their family members.  Thanks to Betsy and her husband for the woodworking and construction.  Thanks to Dan for the research and printing of the beautiful pictures.  I will soon post the name of all the others involved.  The lamination is first rate.

Lots of teamwork

The stakes holding the signs are tall enough so you don't have to bend over or kneel down to gather the information.

Lots of information

Pink flags mark recent transplants for the watering brigade

Betsy's 5 year old grandson Dylan came by to help.  He spent time with the rubber mallet pounding in the stakes and helping us make sure they were nice and straight.   Very quickly he found the Children's Garden and spent a very enjoyable evening in the dirt!

picture taken with adult permission

The show is definitely in the Hedgerow and Native Gardens this week.

blueberry- Vaccinium corymbosum

Fringetree- Chionanthus virginicus

Fringetree blossom

wild geranium - Geranium maculatum Expresso

Red twig dogwood

Spiderwort

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.