Love of the Earth...Gardens, Plants, & Seeds

The rain garden is looking fantastic! I added a couple of St. John's wort plants a couple of weeks ago and they are beginning to bloom. The black-eyed Susan is going crazy! There are mushrooms everywhere because it's been so rainy and humid. I love it...I think the birds and other little animals do as well...

My SIP tomato garden seems to be doing fairly well too. Though it is probably too soon to tell...at least I think that the water reservoir is doing the job of keeping the plants hydrated. I bought some worm castings from Whole Foods last weekend and have begun to add it to the planters.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered some seeds for my herb garden. They haven't arrived yet and I'm beginning to worry that I won't have enough time for them to sprout and get rooted before the end of summer arrives. One plant that I'd really like to get rooted and going is agrimony. But, in reading about the seeds, it looks like I'm going to have to pop them into the freezer for 4-6 weeks first. Summer will be coming to a close by then! Though, I have read that cold stratification is not necessary. May have to concentrate on getting the seedlings going and then transplant into a container that can be easily moved inside for the winter and planted outside in the spring.

Tomorrow, my partner and I are going to tackle the back of our yard. It's covered in weeds and old mulch. We want to clear it out and start new but it will probably be fall before it's ready for planting. We have a stack of newspaper and are going to pick up a bale of pine straw. This is a great organic way to prep an area that is very weedy. The idea is to lay out the newspaper, wet it down, then cover with mulch. This method not only inhibits weed growth but kills back all the ground cover that's currently there. In the fall we will add some ornamental grasses.

It has been raining most of the week and is threatening to come as I type this. I'm feeling the need to get outside and hold ritual. It has been awhile since I've stood in circle and I am missing it. The mosquitoes are out in force though, soooo...doing ritual inside is sounding very appealing. Maybe I'll set up a mosquito free zone like I used to do when I lived by Pine Lake in Georgia. (I had such a lovely outdoor ritual space there by my little yellow cabin). Must get outside soon...