Rain Barrels!!

We now have three AWESOME rain barrels in the garden! I'll post pix soon! Two hold 50 gallons and one holds 156 gallons! They fill up so quickly because the rain just pours in off the roof. One of the most frustrating parts of gardening here is never knowing if we are going to have a dry summer or not. Keeping my garden alive and looking great requires a lot of water, which causes huge water bills every summer. I've even started adding my cooking water (unsalted/seasoned) to the rain barrels. If the water is good enough for a bag of pasta, it's good enough for my plants! Just hold the salt! Next on the menu... laying new soaker hoses and marking them so I don't lose the end! 

Killing Dalea

If you've ever met someone who claimed to be a gardener but professed to never having killed a plant, they are either a liar or only grow plastic flowers! I have successfully grown and killed Dalea purpurea or Purple Prairie Clover each summer for the past two years. I always start out with the best intentions. After having researched the plant and located the perfect spot in my garden, I eagerly planted my small seedlings and waited for them to grow and thrive. It never happened. One year they were planted in soil that was still too heavy, despite being ammended with fast draining growers grit. Last year they were kept in absolute darkness by the exhuberant growth of the plants around them, especially the trumpet vine, which I'm sure is plotting to take over the entire yard. However, this year will be DIFFERENT!!! I WILL NOT KILL THE PRAIRIE CLOVER!!! It's happily tucked away in a big pot by the back door, far, far away from the trumpet vine!!

Daffodils

I planted a bunch of daffodils from a big pack that included numerous different varieties. I look forward to seeing the different flower shapes and colors every year. Spring wouldn't be as wonderful without daffodils!!

Standing in the backyard, staring at the soil....

I stood in the backyard today, just staring at the soil, willing it to push forth my garden. I dug gently around the edges of what I thought to be a clump of coreopsis 'Sunshine Superman', hoping for a leaf but desperate for a mound of green. Nothing. To the right lay a pile of new foliage, quiet from the effort but ready for spring, its leaves alert and waiting. Even farther right lay a small hill of perfectly formed leaves, soft to the touch, complete. I sighed and slowly stood up. The garden is still sleepy and as it slowly wakes I must learn patience.