Psst! Hey You!

Seems I have a couple voyeuristic sunflowers spying on my through my office window -

All these sunflowers self-seed from last years plants.  They randomly popped up, so I transplanted them in a row at the back of the garden and they all took off.

The Gold Finches, Titmouse and bees are in their glory!

I get an up close and personal seat to watch these critters forage.

Pictures to follow...

Spring Garden Prep Ritual

It's that time of year, garden prep time, aka a good workout and full body soreness...

As I do every spring, I turned (tilled) my large vegetable garden yesterday afternoon!  I spread some compost before started and turn it and the winter rye, that had taken off, all into the soil.

There were oodles of sunflower seedling that had started to grow from last years crop, that I transplanted along the top edge of the garden, about (25) of them.

Now we wait a little bit longer until it's safe here in New England to get veggies in the ground.

Pollinators Rejoice!

My MAMMOTH sunflowers!

These monsters did well and are named properly, as some are close to 10' tall!

Their flowers started this week and are already hosting all sort of insects and critters.

Not the best afternoon for taking pics, as you can see it was dark and overcast but still impressive.

See My Garden Grow!

Father's Day weekend garden update -

I planted my third and final batch of Silver Queen corn!  I sow (50) seeds in each sunken clump and planted them each 2-weeks apart with the closest clump planted yesterday.  This will give me plenty of corn to enjoy for weeks!  Also, come the fall, I'll have plenty of corn stalks for decoration.

I planted a row of MAMMOTH sunflower's along the fence, which are doing great.  I planted the entire package and will be sorry when it comes time for fall clean up.  As the name indicates, Mammoth sunflowers get BIG and tall, which makes pulling them when the season is done a lot of work.

I also have (9) Beef Stake tomatoes in with stakes already in place.  They're doing great and with all the rain we've been getting, they're getting big.  I'm trying something different this year and instead of just letting them be, I'm doing a controlled pruning.  Removing all the lower stems and all the suckers that are so typical with tomatoes.  I may not get as many tomatoes with this approach but hoping the plants will be more manageable and the fruits BIGGER! 

I also planted basil, along with my usual marigolds.  Basil is a soulmate of tomatoes and when planted together, the basil helps repel insects and the dreaded hornworm caterpillars.  "They" say basil also helps improve yield, hmmm.  Marigolds are also known to help in keeping unwanted insect pests away too.

MAMMOTH - Go Big or Go Home!

I planted the entire package of sunflower seeds this past Tuesday.  I didn't realize until I started planting that these are MAMMOTH sunflowers, so I might be sorry.  They're BIG and beautiful, however, removing them at the end of the season has proven to be very difficult.  It's like trying to remove small trees, UGH.  A shovel and long handled loppers are needed but I'll worry about that come the end of the season.  For now, my fingers are crossed that they do well and grace my garden with a plethora of flowers!

Reach For the Sun!

And we're off...

I planted two packages of Sunflower seeds this past Sunday - Pike's Peak and Incredible, both supposed to grow over 15' tall!

I certainly don't need 32+ sunflower plants (if all actually grow) but let's see what takes and what makes it.

The one's that grow, once big enough, I'll transplant outside in the garden.  They make a great backdrop to the garden, bees love them and so do the Gold Finches, come fall.

Looking Up

Reaching for the sun!

Sky So Blue!

The weather, although humid, has been absolutely beautiful!

Makes for a terrific back drop doesn't it?!

Reach For The Sky!

Here are just a couple of the sunflowers we have this season!

All are well over six feet tall and all grew on their own from last years seeds that I'm guessing the Gold Finches spread as they feasted.  I transplanted them all early on and wasn't sure what to expect but VERY pleased with the results...and so are the Gold Finches once again.

Our Sun...Flowers!

 

A sampling of just some of the sunflowers we have adorning our yard this year!

They're Called "Teddy Bear" Sunflowers

What do you think of these little beauties?!  Cool ain't they!

They're called "Teddy Bear" sunflowers.

The plants themselves are short, can't be more than 3' high.  However, I'm not sure if this is to be expected or perhaps a results of, (a) being started in doors and/or (b) the crazy, wacky Spring weather we had.

In any event I love em!  They're unique looking and add some pizazz to the garden.  They also contrast well to the "Mammoth" sunflowers that Emilie and I planted.  Those dudes are well over 7' tall - pictures to follow soon.