Field of Flowers

This is part of our front lawn. We are trying to make the most of how it is being used. Right now we've just left it alone, allowing a natural cycle of growth. We have a lot of clover that grows, blooms, dies and decomposes adding valuable nutrients back into the soil. The same goes for other winter "weeds" which includes the loathed henbit.

You see, there are beneficial insects that depend on areas where there are things in bloom throughout most of the year. Honeybees and butterflies are just to name a few of those who are seeking nectar. By allowing our lawn to go through the natural process, we've had something blooming in it at all times since February.

Our current bloomer is oxalis. It has really taken off this year. The waves of yellow are quite pleasing to view. So that makes the third color... first was purple (henbit), then white (clover), and currently yellow (oxalis). In the midst of all of it are bits of blue tiny flowers that I still need to identify. Seeing the population of ladybugs, bumblebees, butterflies and honeybees increase since we moved here 3 years ago amazes me. I think word is getting around that we have a pretty nice place to feast free of chemicals!

The photo here is like playing "Where's Waldo?" (click photo to enlarge) There is a honeybee on one of the flowers. Between the bee not wanting to pose and my camera's slow speed, the timing was a challenge. The bees were hopping from one flower to the next WAY before I could get focused. So 10 picture failures later...this is it!

We DO want to continue to add plants and trees to our lawn that will both feed us and them. Our plan is to build low water usage beds that will give habitat for butterflies and encourage building their population.

Maybe if we lived with a tiny patch of lawn, then having it in a condition that best worked with our needs, we would make different choices. Neighbors may not be so happy with you in a nice suburban-pristine-lawn subdivision. But, better choices could be made by considering what you are truly impacting negatively by having a basically sterile lawn. Considering a perennial bed (even if you can only in the back yard) will help. Since we are on a few acres, it just didn't seem right to sterilize the whole yard, just for the sake of aesthetics. With CCD on the rise for bees and a marked decline in other beneficial insects, our choices DO count.

Plus... it makes life just a bit more colorful I think. Now, we do mow as to not let it get too tall, and it seems we have more flowers than the fields around us. It's either that or the horses and cows have eaten all of the flowers. :)

Setting Up A Worm Composting Bin

I have had several requests on how to set up a composting worm bin using plastic totes. This is one the easiest and least expensive ways to get started with composting worms. I just found this video and the owner does an excellent job walking you through the process.

I hope this inspires others to start their own worm bin. Too many valuable nutrients are commonly discarded in the trash and down the garbage disposal. Taking these items, breaking them down through a form of composting and adding them back to our own yards builds our soil up and reduces the added bulk that is sent to landfills and such.

If there is one way to easily make a change for Earth Day this is it!

Happy Earth Day 2009!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

Purple Verbena

Thrift

And yet more Purple Verbena of another shade!

I've not participated in Bloom Day from May Dreams Garden before so I thought I would give it a shot this month. On the 15th of each month everyone posts what's bloomin' in their yard. Very fun, but I seem to forget the day! There is just something about April 15th that stands out from the crowd and so this month I finally hit the date.

I have other plants blooming that include pansies, petunias, purple pincushion flower, dwarf coreopsis, and vinca. I need to take more pictures and post them also.

Maybe on the next Bloom Day, I will be a bit more on top of things and have the official scientific names added! But for now..well I finally made it.

Veggie Garden Progress

Trying to build up our vegetable garden this year has been quite the challenge. The weather has been all over the place and I've had an extremely busy schedule trying to keep up with other obligations. The garden still grows though!

We are working on building each raised bed as we go along and plant. Once we work our way to about the middle of the garden it may be June and I can start planting for our fall garden then. That is one adjustment I've had to make since moving to Texas. Two short growing seasons with a lull in between. Not much grows fast once it gets into the 90's and above.




See the broccoli head? Yippee! We are well on our way with it. I've been pleased with the broccoli growth so far this year. We have to plant it between Feb 15th and Mar 1st. That's for transplants only. We can direct seed broccoli starting in August for our fall garden. That should save some time and money, especially since vegetable plants at the nurseries have been known to be poor for that time of year.






Our mixed lettuce is coming right along. I can't wait for a fresh salad from the garden.















Looks like a whole lot of nothing! I actually JUST planted 52 tomato plants this week. I don't rush putting them in the ground here. It seems like it never fails with late freezes. Our last freeze date is Mar 17th but, last year it froze here nearly a month later. I just didn't want to deal with covering everything this year. Maybe I will have row covers added to my supply list then! It just wasn't in our budget this year.




Added also were 25 sweet bell pepper, 9 banana pepper and 18 cayenne pepper plants. I sure hope we like peppers! With the price of bell peppers being so high, we decided this would be worth growing and preserving all we can.

Tomorrow I hope to continue on planting yellow squash, cucumbers and pole beans. It's suppose to storm Sunday on Easter, so I will be happy to have most of this planted.














Oh and I don't want to forget to include our cabbage. Wow, if all goes well we'll have 18 heads of green cabbage and 9 of the red. Sauerkraut may be in our plans this summer!

Update on Honeybee CCD

I thought I would pass along this critical update that was recently posted on Garden Rant. It scares me to know how fast our bee numbers are declining. It's just another reason I wish more people would support this fragile system and start their own hives. Our food supply relies on it.