Seed-sowing
The weather ended up way nicer than it was supposed to be today, so I did some yard work:
- De-grassed the remainder of the perennial garden. I did 2/3 of it last year, composted, and mulched the top, but left this part because I didn't have enough compost. The good news is that the mulch has done a fabulous job keeping the grass from coming back.
- Planted cosmo seeds in the rear of the perennial garden (though they are not perennials -- I just can't figure out how else to name the sections).
- Planted snapdragon seeds in the front of the perennial garden. I don't know that I can grow snapdragons from seed in Boston in mid-May, but I gathered the seeds from last year's snapdragons, so it doesn't hurt to try.
- Planted zinnia seeds in the annual garden.
- Planted morning glory seeds along the front fence. When facing the street, the seeds on the left were store-bought, and the seeds on the right I gathered from last year's morning glories. It'll be an experiment!
- Bought basil: 2 in the Bed of Doom, 3 in the back of the strawberry patch, and 1 in the perennial bed.
- Bought a lovely deep purple flowering columbine and added it to the perennial bed. The columbine I planted last year is growing happily, but never seems to flower. What's up with that? (Columbines are some of my favorite flowers. Want more!)
- Moved the pot of lettuce and the pot of herbs (chives, rosemary, sage) to the back of the Bed of Doom, because it looked like they were getting munched by something in the front yard. The front generally gets more bird activity, so hopefully a change of venue will make them forget about my tasty leaves.
- Tossed an endless number of cutworms out of the yard to the street. They're moth larvae that eat the stems of young plants. I haven't seen a lot of damage, but all the same, get outta my garden! I'm sure I didn't get even a small percentage of the ones that are there, though. The thing to do, I'm told, is to put down paving stones and mulch to attract beetles, which eat cutworms. I've done that, but no beetles yet.
- De-grassed the remainder of the perennial garden. I did 2/3 of it last year, composted, and mulched the top, but left this part because I didn't have enough compost. The good news is that the mulch has done a fabulous job keeping the grass from coming back.
- Planted cosmo seeds in the rear of the perennial garden (though they are not perennials -- I just can't figure out how else to name the sections).
- Planted snapdragon seeds in the front of the perennial garden. I don't know that I can grow snapdragons from seed in Boston in mid-May, but I gathered the seeds from last year's snapdragons, so it doesn't hurt to try.
- Planted zinnia seeds in the annual garden.
- Planted morning glory seeds along the front fence. When facing the street, the seeds on the left were store-bought, and the seeds on the right I gathered from last year's morning glories. It'll be an experiment!
- Bought basil: 2 in the Bed of Doom, 3 in the back of the strawberry patch, and 1 in the perennial bed.
- Bought a lovely deep purple flowering columbine and added it to the perennial bed. The columbine I planted last year is growing happily, but never seems to flower. What's up with that? (Columbines are some of my favorite flowers. Want more!)
- Moved the pot of lettuce and the pot of herbs (chives, rosemary, sage) to the back of the Bed of Doom, because it looked like they were getting munched by something in the front yard. The front generally gets more bird activity, so hopefully a change of venue will make them forget about my tasty leaves.
- Tossed an endless number of cutworms out of the yard to the street. They're moth larvae that eat the stems of young plants. I haven't seen a lot of damage, but all the same, get outta my garden! I'm sure I didn't get even a small percentage of the ones that are there, though. The thing to do, I'm told, is to put down paving stones and mulch to attract beetles, which eat cutworms. I've done that, but no beetles yet.