How am I Doing You Ask...

...and I answer hesitantly, "could be doing better". 


This weekend was supposed to be a weekend of tilling and prepping. But, alas, it was filled with illness and this bedridden gardener was unable to play in the dirt. 


Never fear! I am well and able to make my next move. I am hopeful that I will not only till and prepare my plots this upcoming weekend but plant my flowers as well. If all goes as planned by next week I will have two plots ready for the growing. 


I leave you with a few words of wisdom. Head them well.

"Bulb: potential flower buried in Autumn, never to be seen again."

"Hoeing: A manual method of severing roots from stems of newly planted flowers and vegetables."
- Henry Beard

"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows."
- Doug Larson 

Been a While Eh?

Ray's Garden has been on an unannounced hiatus for the past month. Those of you reading now, thanks for not abandoning me.

Life for this novice gardener has been a little hectic as of late. Some great changes have been happening in my life which has, unfortunately, kept me from devoting time to this lovely blog of mine. But, never fear for I return with great hope for the future...

The spring is fast approaching. Winter's benumbing weather has begun to break and I now wake to the warming sun. I've begun to see sprouts of grass growing in my yard and my garden is starting to fill with the perennial annoyance of weeds. So, I say to myself, "self, it's time to get back to it".

With that in mind, I've made a weekly goal checklist. My hope is that by the end of the month and beginning of April I will have a fully planted garden ready to start growing.

Birds Aren't the Only Thing Tweeting in my Garden

Well. Ray's Garden has gone tech and has a twitter account now. I'll be tweeting about anything from articles I like to blog updates. Follow me on twitter and don't miss out.

Fall, oh how you make me lament!

Well, the end is near. My flower garden is slowly dying. The sunflowers that once worshiped the sky now bow to the ground, as they prepare to shed their seeds in promise for a new generation. The hostas' surprising blooms are slowly turning from a bright alabaster white to an earthly brown. Long ago I saw the last of the alysum die out leaving only the faintest aroma of a honey-like smell. 


Far from gone, however, is my desire to grow. I look to the future as I harvest my sunflowers and protect their seeds. I enjoy the last of the hostas as I think about the pleasure I had watching them grow. Finally, I begin to consider what I will add to the garden next year to compliment the sunflowers and hostas which I hope to grow again.


Thank you, my flower garden, for giving me so much joy.

I Garden For This

 I view out my pane

And catch a scenic moment

After the cool rain

Wha..Wha..Cool

So, I've mentioned that I don't know much about flowers and gardening right? So, there should be no shock when I tell you that I was very surprised when this happened.

It seems my hostas have been holding out on me. Who knew they'd flower? Really, did anyone out there know?

Well, I'd have to say this is a happy surprise. 

I'll be sure to keep you updated on the flower progress.

Take a Minute to Look at the Flowers

I love the instant before you hit the summit of a roller coaster. In that moment you can feel the build-up hitting its peak. Your heart begins to pound and you begin to imagine the thrill that lies ahead. I feel as if I'm there now with my flower garden.

Recently the alyssum began to bloom, little white flowers now fill my bed. The sunflowers are at that point where I can see the bud beginning to form but it's not quite there yet. I can now see, with my minds eye, the garden as it will be. Sunflowers standing tall over a beautifully fragrant white bed of alyssum surrounded by leafy hostas.

As Seen on Westervin.com

I've recently been featured as a guest blogger on westervin. Check out my post on composting, then take a minute to peruse this eclectic site full of wonderful posts. Read up on making cocktails, or watch some fantastic music videos, maybe win a giveaway, and discover a new artist to love. I'm excited to be included as a guest blogger and I hope you'll enjoy westervin as much as I do (I check it daily...it's kinda sad).

Weeds! Mulch!

A garden is a relationship. You give and you give and you give...and you give.....where was I going with that. Oh yes! If you don't put in the effort your garden will fail. Sure, maybe it'll be fine for a while. The seeds will germinate, the plants will grow, and the soil will stay moist. But, eventually weeds will form. At first they'll be small. You may even mistake them for seedlings. Upon further inspection and upon ignoring the issue they will soon grow. Before you know it, they'll take over.

Finally I Get to Plant Some Flowers

Let's review.

This is what my flower garden looked like

Now it looks like this

 Oh yes, that's right, I finally got to one of my gardens. So, lets talk about the process.

Flower Garden

So far I've talked about my vegetable garden. Originally I didn't plan on starting a flower garden. But, as I was mowing yesterday it became apparent that there a space at the front of my house that just needed to be renovated. 

 
















  
Being even more of a novice at flower gardening than I am at vegetable gardening, I did a quick Google search for "easy flower garden" and came up with many wonderful websites about flower gardening. My favorite so far is http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com. This site is filled with wonderful tips and information about flower gardens. The articles on this site will be invaluable to me as I start in on another gardening adventure.


What's to come on Ray's Garden?


-indoor seed starting for tomatoes
-more on composting and an update on my compost system
-choosing the right flowers for your garden