Sunday 26 March 2017

Garden Stuff


My day did not have an auspicious beginning!  First thing this morning I tipped my very full very large mug of hot coffee and managed to soak both our placemats, the table and  floor. What a mess!
But the day got better; We cleaned up the mess and started over.

Yesterday my DH finished the raised garden box . I was inspired by the one Nancy had on her blog Cozy Thyme Cottage.  (In the background you can see my Crocus just waiting for some sunshine so they can open. It rained all day though.)



He also made 2 plastic covered "greenhouses" to fit overtop ( they still need handles to I can remove them on sunny days)


         We went to Home Depot and bought onion sets...


            and I saw these Gladiola  Murielae bulbs ( also called Abyssinian Gladiolus). They jumped
             into my cart as well as some fertilizer marked half price because it was last year's stock.



I used to have Cosmos in my garden and it self sowed so enthusiastically that one year I pulled it all out. This new kind grows only 12-14 inches tall and look at the colours!!  The ones I used to have were either purple or white.


So now we, like the Crocus, wait for sunny warm weather.

Thanks for coming by... have a great week.




         Granny Marigold

15 comments:

  1. Your raised bed with cover looks like a good place to start gardening while the cold rain continues.

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  2. Isn't it amazing how things just jump into our carts!! Happens to me all the time.

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  3. Ohhhhh, sorry about the large spill, to start off the day. -grin- But everything went up-hill, from there!

    Your DH "does good work". Lovely to have a handy husband, as we both know.

    Everything looks so spring like, with you. Here, we still have a lot of snow cover. Decidedly not spring like. Oh well, April is coming.... :-)

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  4. Hi Granny Marigold, you have a lovely head start on your garden. What a great idea to build grow boxes with covers! Looking forward to seeing your gardens in a few months when everything is growing.
    Have a good week.
    Robin

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  5. I just love the pictures you have in your header. Now you have your own little green houses. We do something similar using low tunnels over our raised beds and put jugs of water inside too to help with the warmth since normally when my husband sows the seed it is still cold in our area. This year is a bit different of a season.

    The Gladiolus are so pretty. I'll look forward to seeing them growing in your garden. I really like your bird bath, too.

    I know you will enjoy the colors in your flower garden when the Cosmos bloom!

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  6. Your hubby is so clever. Love the greenhouses he made for the top. My covered box is not a cold frame I found out so am disappointed! Love your crocuses and hope to plant some this year! Sorry about the split coffee! Nancy

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  7. I'm so envious that you can play in the dirt outside already! Our snow is melting but we aren't ready to dig in the dirt yet! Your husband did a really nice job on your raised beds. Happy gardening!

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  8. Your husband sounds like a very handy guy. That raised bed is a thing of beauty and my back feels better just looking at the construction. I'm anxious to hear how it works for you.
    Your garden flowers look so pretty. I have not seen cosmos in those colors. I well know about things jumping in the cart:).

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  9. Oh gosh, I know the feeling. Saturday morning I picked up my big cup of coffee and somehow twirled it around my finger, throwing coffee everywhere. Then I came home later with the groceries and in one of the bags, the lid on the large bottle dish detergent had come completely off the bottle. The bag was about half full of detergent and everything in the bag was covered too. My day didn't get much better. Seems like I cleaned up messes all day. I love all the gardening things you bought. I am so excited about spring, and flowers and planting. :)

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  10. Hi again, My hubby and I were wondering how you keep the cold frame on in the wind? Nancy

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    1. So far we haven't had enough wind to be a problem but if we do I imagine my hubby will weigh the covers down with bungee cords with milk jugs half full of water. He's done that with the cover on our RV and it worked so that's why I'm thinking he'll do that.

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  11. Are you planting the onions in your raised bed? Our first vegetable garden here was all raised beds on the slight slope of the ground. We made them out of split cedar (the top part of old telephone poles. Nice to look at, but over the years too much work keeping clean between them, and the wood created a great place for slugs to hide and the couch grass loved to send it's long roots along the inside. Eventually we took the beds apart and just made it into a big area that could be rototilled. The cover on your box will be handy, this rain today is downright depressing. I made a stop at Dollarama today, and bought a package of the same gladiolus. Recognized the picture from your blog when I saw it. 10 for $2.50, so not a huge difference in price. If I never actually get them planted, then I've only wasted $2.50 ! ;-)

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    1. Yes, I put in one long row of onions ( I use a lot of onion greens if I have them on hand).
      They have those Glads at Dollarama? I must get more.
      I agree about the rain. I am so very tired of it.

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  12. That raised bed box would be the perfect size for me! Now I just have to get a place in the country to put it. I'm dreaming, and dreams can come true! :)

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  13. You are giving me too many new ideas for my already overplanted garden... But some bulbs that bloom in the spring - surely there is room for them to show off while I wait for perennials to grow up again...?

    I had never heard of Abyssinian Gladiolus. Your cold frames are wonderful and remind me of one my husband built for me at our previous place where I had a third of an acre to plant on. You can move yours around to always be in whatever sun is available, unlike my new greenhouse that had to be put in a place where it gets none all winter.

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