Sunflowers

It's that time of the year. 

 Sunflowers are everywhere! 

 It feels like just yesterday they were tall green funny looking stalks.  Today they have HUGE heads smiling and bobbing in the breeze.  

They are one of my favorite flowers. 

 A field of sunflowers always brings a smile to my face, and generally I stop the car to take in the fragrance, and view the magical scene.  The above picture is of my lovely daughter.  She recently visited a sunflower maze! Next time I think I will tag along!

Growing

It's a hot steamy June day here in Indiana. 

Today I'm working on estimates for future clients as well as repeat business.  Here at One Broken Nail Gardening and Landscape Artist my little business has blossomed and bloomed with new clients this Spring.  The blessings have been numerous and we are forever grateful to everyone who entrusted their yards to my vision.

I've enjoyed watching my clients faces light up with joy as they see the landscape change and grow.  Becoming everything they had hoped for and much more. 

Many times I've watched them with their "scrutiny face" as I'm dismantling and ripping apart their beds or lawn.  I'm sure they are also researching "who to call when their yard is a mess".  Then as it slowly comes back together and they step outside and it's much better than anticipated.  These things make me happy, I just wave my little magic wand, and Voila! All Better.

Nothing really wrong with the bed to the left.  It was just boring, two types of flowers that had taken over the bed. Now she has a flower garden that will bloom all 3 seasons!

My husband looked at me strangely this past weekend, which always makes me nervous.  "What?", I asked.  He smiled and said, "I'm super proud of you"  I of course told him he was being a weirdo.  Then he went on to explain, in our 18 years together he couldn't remember when I was this happy.  I laughed and said, I'm not sure it is happiness as much as an obsession ;)

What Comes Next

This summer brought about a leap of faith.  I've been a Purdue Master Gardener since the fall of 2007.  As part of our training we are obligated to give back to the community by volunteering our time, effort and knowledge to groups around us.  I've been blessed over and over to have been able to assist many organizations large and small.

Now it is time to take all of my years of training and put it into practice in my own business.  Why did it take me so long?  I liken this to being a new physician, would you want one who just graduated from Med school, or would you have more trust in one who has real-world experience through practical internships?  I've completed my 8 years of internship and I'm Open For Business.  Hanging out my Shingle!  

Now Accepting New Clients.

Thanks, just needed to say it out loud.  

  

I will always be grateful to my first client.  The Stires/Lee home.  Amazing young couple that have been working on the interior of their home.  The exterior was overwhelming to them.  The main focus has always been to just keep the overgrowth at bay.  Just doing that exhausted them.  This is where I stepped in.  

We discussed a plan of action, listening and setting their goals.  Together, we learned what they wanted to see when they pulled into their driveway.

I took a minute and learned what her favorite flowers are, and that YES she would like to be able to spend time cutting flowers and enjoying plants that bloom.   I learned that he wanted the planting beds larger and they both want flowering trees.
We had a few things to tackle.

First was the obvious dead trees in the front lawn.  I started with the removal of a very old cherry tree and then next a large maple.  Both had been deceased for years and just needed removed.  

Then I tackled the Vinca vine.  I'm not a fan of vinca, it is a quick and easy ground cover, yet it has it drawbacks.  As you can see from the pictures above.  During this time I found that there were several other plants that were trying their hardest to reach sunlight and pull nutrients from the earth.  Rest well little ones next summer will be much better now that the Vinca has been removed/destroyed/conquered! 

They also had a very large, beautiful, Colorado Blue Spruce which, unfortunately, had been planted way too close to the front porch and walkway.  The tree, while lovely, made it difficult to navigate the pathway and was actively blocking the home.  Feng Shui came to mind when looking at the removal of this tree.  It was definitely blocking our Chi. 

Before we departed there was one more "tree" to be tackled.  In the side yard was a Barberry that had become a huge thorn in their side, yes Pun was intended!  A few minutes with a chainsaw and a pick ax and their side-yard is again a yard, freed from the oppression of this monstrosity.  

Unearthing this front lawn revealed rocks, LARGE rocks everywhere.  At one time, I'm certain that there was an amazing landscaped bed in this front lawn.  Unfortunately the Vinca didn't respect those boundaries.   After the mulching was complete I put a small edge border along the driveway to keep the mulch from washing away during rainstorms.

A note regarding the before and after of this picture.

 I took the before in late July, and the homeowner added a few plants during the summer.  A choice was made to see whether the Coreopsis would revive next Spring, or will it need replaced. The goal is for this bed to have a 3-stage planting, spring - summer and fall flowering.  The removal of the old timbers, and replacing with a rounded border is to give the same flowing of the beds closer to the home.  

Next comes planning for the Spring plantings.  Placement of flowering trees, and adding more perennials and a few additional bushes.  A beautiful cutting garden will go in the space between the driveway and sidewalk. Our homeowners will be welcomed home with color, rather than kept from their door by the needles of the Blue Spruce.  

Big plans also in play for that wonderful spot vacated by the monster barberry next Spring (sorry, no spoilers here)!

Feel free to share, I'm here local to Indianapolis and planning new planting beds and fall/winter clean up for clients.  

Crimson Thorn roses in July

Over a year ago my wonderful children gifted me with my favorite rose bush.  Crimson Bouquet Grandiflora Rose (Rosa KORbeteilich)

This picture was taken this morning.  I didn't have the heart to pluck off the rose petal that was sticking oddly out the side of the bud.    I thought it added to the charm of the photo.  We have experienced some terrible storms here lately in Indiana, and I chalk this small amount of damage to one of those storms.

These beautiful ladies arrived before we moved into your new home, I placed them all in individual containers and began their journey with us.  The weekend we closed on our new home, they were installed in their new place of honor.  

Last summer they handled the heat like pros, a drought that withered many lawns.  Then they weathered through the worst winter in 30 years here in Indiana.  I have never covered my rose bushes for the winter, I give them a good pruning and mulch.  Maybe I should have last year, during the worst of the freeze I was hopeful the house would protect them.  Spring arrived, and the center three bushes immediately sprung to life.

 

 Followed by this little one that worried us during most of last year.  Her placement is not optimal and I am still debating if I should bring her more out into the planting bed. 

It is July and many times for the past month

I was ready to call the rose grower and inform them that one of the girls did not make it through the harsh winter.  This morning I was completely delighted to see that the final bush has begun to produce foliage.  

 One of the reasons I enjoy the Grandiflora roses is for their size, shape and that they can be managed for years as beautiful specimen roses.  I'm not a fan of the more modern often considered less work variety of rose bushes that have become a favorite of landscapers and homeowners.  I enjoy my time with my roses, trimming away the dead leaves, pruning them into the shape.  

Here is a picture of the 5 girls in my front area.  

 As you can see, they were also chosen for the height they grow, to fill the area without blocking the area.  The final one to grow foliage is to the right.  This makes me feel that maybe I should pull it out into the sunlight more, along with the one to the far left.   My feral cats are very fond of sleeping under this bay window, and I also like to think they enjoy the roses.

Container gardens

When you think of container gardens, what do you envision?

I would guess most of us think of a large pot with flowers,

all beautifully coordinated and arranged to grow in harmony.  

These are some of my favorite type of containers to pot up in the Spring, and place strategically around my yard during the summer months. 

Many of these pots have unique light conditions.  Keeping this in mind I will meet their needs during the weekdays, and move them to my desired location when entertaining friends.  Heavy?  No not at all, most of these pots with annual specimens are filled with left over packing peanuts in the bottom, only utilizing 5-6" of dirt.  The 1st picture I swiped off of another site. It's June here and mine look more like this in the beginning month.

This pot I wanted to be different than others.  With limited full sun growing areas in my new yard limits my vegetable garden growing abilities.   I decided to tuck in two eggplants along with the Calla Lily (my precious daughter begged me to add to the mix) and the traditional vines to add overflow.  There is a a couple of very small begonias hiding and a spike to add height.  I'm feeling confident that the eggplants will end up dominating this pot with the ivy.  (Yes, one of my dogs is completely photo bombing me today while I was taking photos.)

On to water gardens.  We LOVE the sound of water around our house.  I'm very fortunate to have a large pickling crock to use as a small water garden on my front porch.

I just recently added the water Hyacinth and a few goldfish with a small fountain that gives motion to the water.  The fish do very well in this crock despite the hot summer days, it receives full morning sun and is cool the rest of the day. 

As the plant grows and fills the container I will separate and divide the plant.  If you find you need a piece of water hyacinth this summer stop by I'm sure I can share. (And YES, that is a our little Chimichanga completely photo bombing while I took pictures)

I've experimented with this container in the past using various types of water plants.  Many of them did not do as well, needing a shallow depth for planting or more motion in the water. Last year I went with a simpler approach.

The effect was amazing and guests to our front door couldn't help but smile. 

We keep about 2-3" of small aquarium rock in the bottom of the crock.  This crock is heavy, it is slowly moved into place every year after all threat of freezing has passed and lovingly put back in the garage for storage in the fall after we have dried it out completely.  

The flowering water hyacinth has become one of my favorites.

Tomato Plants ... what not to do!

In an overzealous moment, I thought to myself "Why not fertilize the tomato plants?"  They are growing beautifully, they could use a little food to boost their metabolism "Right?"
Wrong! these little guys obviously did not need fertilizer,  I have managed to scorch and kill all of them.  I'm sure if I had tried a very soft "tea" it might have worked?

I'm sure that many of you will tell me your mixtures that you use to feed the little guys to give them a more vigorous root growth at this young age.  Unfortunately, it is too late for them.

Today I will start a new tray of lovely little seeds.  I still have enough time, It's only April! And with the horrible winter we have had we might get one more snow/hail/sleet session from Mother Nature before it is safe to put the plants in the garden beds.

On the bright side, I did add this mess to my compost bin, along with the household small collection bin, some more leaves and water.  This is one of the reasons I like these types of planting trays.

Time to head out and stir the compost, can't wait to spread it in the garden beds!  Then to the store for more supplies for the seedling trays. 

Artichoke a mystery to me

I've realized that I've become a little bit obsessive over this crazy vegetable.  Sure we enjoy the flavor, like it in our dips, on pizza or a sandwich.  Yet when I saw it in the grocery this week for the low price of $1/ea

I felt the need to stop buying them already prepared in a can or from the deli.  I knew I could do this, I could master the art of cooking artichokes! 

With the wonderful world of the internet at my finger tips I set upon a journey to ready and watch everyone else's tips and tricks. 

First I cut off the top and bottom and trimmed many of the thorny tips, this picture is of my last one and by this time I knew I would not be using the outside parts, skipped the trimming of the leaves.    Lemon seems to work the best for rubbing on the cut areas and keeping them from premature browning.  I also added lemon to the boiling water for steaming.

After steaming them I found a marinade that is a lemon base for the acid. My husband has declared this the best tasting artichoke he has every had.

 Makes me happy since I have been steaming, cleaning and putting them in a marinade for a few days.  Now I have some stored away to easily add to other recipes.

Now to figure out how to grow them here in Indiana!