wow, love the pics! Everything looks so healthy!

I am glad you posted them. I planted Nicotina and forgot where, seeing your pics helped me identify the plants!

Did you WS the Carrots? I have tried carrots direct sowing before and did a terrible job!

Karen

Wow, Vera! Just beautiful!

Deb

Thanks :)

Yes Karen, those carrot seedlings were wintersown. Last year I did the same and it makes such a difference vs. direct sowing. Having more control of moisture and humidity greatly improves germination!!
Glad I could help you find your Nicotiana :)

Vera

Thanks Vera! There are some purple carrot seeds on valueseeds.com I plan to buy for next year wintersowing...

Karen

That is where I got mine too Karen...this is my left over from last years packet :)

That kohlrabi is really pretty. Nice gardens all. What are you using for mulch? I love that you have things coming up in the road. I want plants like that.

Hi floodthelast,

I just use wheat straw...sometimes its barley straw. I usually mix in dried grass clippings, but haven't started that yet as the first few rounds of clippings get added to the compost heaps.
Other plants that are popping up in the road and elsewhere, both in and out of beds are tons of Rudbeckia hirta, Larkspur, Amaranthus 'Intense Purple', Yarrow, Blue Flax and Lavender. The most annoying by far is the Aster laevis...that seed blows everywhere...good grief :O

Vera, they look great. So you'll finally have the Yvonne's Salvia!

I have 3 A. tuberosas. I love them. They stay fairly compact and don't reproduce by underground runners. They have a long taproot so plant them where you want them to stay. I tried to move a first year one that had spent summer in the ground, about 3 or 4 months, and broke the taproot, killing the plant.

I took this pic of mine yesterday, a 4th year plant, getting ready to bloom.
{{gwi:398184}}

And if I keep it from growing seed pods (hate those milkweed bugs!) it reblooms in late summer.

Karen

Vera,

Everything looks so happy & healthy.

Was that the new bed you dug out?
Nice!
Asclepias tuberosa, I don't know what that is , I need to
check it out.

Mary

Vera, your gardens are always a welcome sight.

The only planted pot I didn't empty out last Fall had Nicotiana sanderae in it with Zinnia. I've got lots of little selfsown Nicotiana seedlings sitting in that pot to be transferred around. They're the lime green flowers. After looking at the alata I think they'd be more impressive blooms. No fragrance on sanderae and shield bugs constantly sit right in center of flowers. At least critters don't eat those plants so they're worth some space.

I know it's backbreaking work to get out all those rocks but I'd have to buy them for garden borders here...and I do want a rock garden somewhere, sometime. The only thing in the dirt here at my father's is gravel. When the shovel hits something solid with a "clink" it's either more gravel or Chinese Wisteria runners the diameter of the shovel handle.

Thanks for sharing pics of wide open spaces with sunlight and healthy gardens!

Thanks for sharing, Vera. Lovely pics, as usual. I usually direct sow my Clemson Spineless and get one or two good harvests,but this year I wish I had started them indoors. It's still very cold here and rainy, so no use putting seeds in the soil to rot. We expect good weather this weekend, so I am putting them in anyway. Rain is in the long-range forecast for the following Monday. Where is this global warming happening?!?
Northerner.

Vera - Every year i just LOVE your photos... you label everything and I can really appreciate all the work you have done transforming your yard - as I know what it is like to keep making new beds...

Wintersowing is so addictive that I created borders I never would have done had I not known how to grow from seed, especially perennials.

Keep posting your photos all season, everyone here loves them..

Carrie

Vera,
Everything looks so neat and organized (and healthy!)
I'm glad to see your Tomato seedlings are still small. I don't even have sprouts yet! The nights have still been in the 40s (sometimes 30s!) and the days have not even hit the 70s (barely reaching 65). I don't know when I'm going to get Toms, but I'm definitely not buying plants...plants wouldn't grow well in this weather either!

Great to see your progress on your garden beds...love that Hibiscus! and the Rhubarb! :-) Yummm.
How did your Lovage do? If you need more seeds I have plenty left from last year, and will have more this year.

Linda

Vera - Did you sow the marigolds in that tiny six pack or are they transplants from a larger container? Thanks

Carrie