The Grreat Outdoors: GreenWise Gardening 2016

 

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not."
–Georgia O'Keefe

 

7/7/16:

I've continued exploring methods of decorating flowerpots. At this point, I can recommend Patio Paint for terracotta pots. In the image below, I used this for the turtle design. The smaller pot was painted with nail polish, which adheres well, but I've not yet determined if it will hold up to living outside. Using super glue or epoxy to attach beads can also turn out nicely, on both terracotta and plastic, but has been time-consuming and requires more caution.

Clicking on the small images below will bring up a larger version.

 

Gradually, I'm moving tomatoes and peppers into larger containers. The soil is a blend of moisture-control potting mix, dirt dug up from the back yard, and kitchen-waste compost. There are 15 tomato plants this year, and four peppers: two cayenne, one Thai, and one Arbol chili. Last summer, it was nice to have twice as many, although a bit overwhelming space-wise. But I'm hoping that with careful cultivation methods, each tomato and pepper plant will have higher yield than years past.

The latest fertilizer I'm trying, on a variety of plants around the yard, is manure teabags. I like that they're entirely organic. I bought a sample pack, so maybe I'll pour a different kind of tea on three rosebushes living in similar conditions, and see which works best!

Regarding the flowers in my garden: the roses are starting to make a comeback. There are fully open bright pink and red blossoms, and several buds on the pale yellow bush. A couple more gladiolus bulbs are in bloom. The white and pink fuchsia in a hanging planter is covered in flowers right now (I think this its favorite time of the year). And the petunias are also looking great. All of these, along with crocosmia, geraniums, nasturtiums, morning glories and blooming herbs, are making the yard a colorful place this July.