Critter,

Maybe the rain and freezing temps is a sign from mother nature to take a break! Hope you're feeling better today. It always feels so good to be out cleaning up your garden that FIRST day...but usually the next day is painful!

Thanks for all the thumbs, real birthday isn't really until next Monday but since Easter is right before it's turning into a weeklong Festival. Plus it's one of those birthdays with a zero after the number. Have to leave for an overnight business trip in 30 minutes so last night after work I was out in the yard til after dark to get tomatoes basil and peppers in. Got beans planted Sunday then the party interrupted planting plans. Seeds are all in except somehow I didnt realize I was out of seeds for cavilli zucchini, my favorite. Maybe the last two seeds I found will both germinate.
Ran out of bagged soil for the containers so will have to finish that tomorrow evening when I return. Luckily it's going to be an overcast day so everything can fend for itself. Including our almost adult daughter who is being left alone on her spring break because we both have biz trips. Funny how I mentioned the plants first. Lol. Well she can get her own drink of water and eat the dinner I left in the crockpot.
I love how we all have little garden traditions. One of mine is a pot jungle of basil plants steps away from back door off kitchen. We use a lot of basil.
Ever since we had a bad Japanese beetle summer I've grown all my basil in pots on the deck, and I grow at least 4 different kinds of basil: lettuce leaf, cinnamon, lime and opal. Really overdid it this year and since the opal basil is such a pretty color I'm planting some of it to fill in the new perennial garden. And my sister and BF get some potted seedlings as surprise gifts. That's a lot of pots to fill, how did I think one bag would do?
What are your garden traditions?

Traditions? Oh boy, I'm still BUILDING! Haven't slowed down to traditions yet!

Feeling better - slept well.
Rained out today, so will be even more rested when I can get back out.
SO MUCH TO DO!!!!

Judy, I do a lot of container gardening. I have one of those pot jungles too. Traditionally, most of that is herbs, tomatoes and peppers. Occasionally I will plant other veggies in pots.

After gardening for decades, I guess another tradition would be trying to wait until after the last frost date in my area to plant. lol. I've already failed at that this year.

And traditionally, I always must have certain plants -- pink creeping phlox in honor of my grandmother, daffodils, a yellow 'Lady Banks' rose, and milkweeds, parsley and dill for the butterflies (among other things).

Glad to hear you're feeling better, Critter.



Me, I'm not planning any garden activities for today...too much snow and cold.
It's back to spring cleaning, seed starting, and indoor seedling care for me for the next couple of days...and not necessarily in that order!

Judy, good luck with those zucchini! One of my favorite summer vegetables because I love to bake Zucchini Bread, sometimes I put frosting on it and call it Zucchini Cake. LOL. I am serious, it is to die for.

I do a lot of containers as well and I am lucky I live right down the street from a Feed and Seed, I buy tons of potting soil.
Thanks for the tip about opal basil, does it stay purple for you? Does it reseed?
My traditions have changed a lot, I no longer purchase annuals or tropical's in the spring. I only have perennials and maintaining them and dividing them takes up all my time. But I love them!

I hope the weather clears up soon so we can get back out there! No ice here, just rain.

virginiarose said:Judy, good luck with those zucchini! One of my favorite summer vegetables because I love to bake Zucchini Bread, sometimes I put frosting on it and call it Zucchini Cake. LOL. I am serious, it is to die for.

I do a lot of containers as well and I am lucky I live right down the street from a Feed and Seed, I buy tons of potting soil.
Thanks for the tip about opal basil, does it stay purple for you? Does it reseed?
My traditions have changed a lot, I no longer purchase annuals or tropical's in the spring. I only have perennials and maintaining them and dividing them takes up all my time. But I love them!

I hope the weather clears up soon so we can get back out there! No ice here, just rain.

We are much alike! I am aiming for perennials only. I only get a petunia or two when I still need to fill a bare spot. Usually I choose violets/violas for their reseeding nature.

I'm still protecting some of my food crops by putting them in containers inside a 6x6x6 "dog kennel". I'm getting tomatoes and peppers out to the open bed this year, along with other things I don't think the groundhogs will want. Certainly keeping basil/parsley/cilantro in the cage!

I like zucchini because it's SO productive. Saves a LOT on the food bill. This year I'm putting one in a caged container and one out in the open bed as a test. They don't love the containers.

And oh by the way, what kind of frosting? Sounds YUMMY!

That's a very good idea about the dog kennel, critter.

I had to have the panels delivered from Home Depot - they were just barely too large for my pickup. But they were something I knew I could handle by myself to assemble. When I get my UNcaged veggie system set, I'll take it apart and put the panels up at the back fence line.
I DO have a plan, but no pics.

So imagine a chainlink fence but with a bar across the top, too.
Now imagine those bamboo "screen" fences.
BUT imagine them draped over the chainlink so the canes run horizontally instead of being vertical.
That's where I'm headed.
Who knows when $ will materialize.

Sounds interesting. Yeah, that $ can sometimes put a damper on things, can't it.

Yes, it slows things down considerably.
But I find that when I DO manage to get stuff done by myself, I'm so PROUD of it!

@crittergarden Cream cheese Frosting.

I also would like to grow zucchini because they are very expensive here, just like asparagus and I could live off those two!
By the way we are actually having a thunderstorm...so, I am not doing anything outside today, gotta work any how. LOL.

I used that bamboo screening as a privacy screen at one of our places and put it up myself on retaining wall that was already in place. Fortunately they had left the upright posts uncut so they were about 5 or 6 ft. tall and perfect for attaching the bamboo. Worked out perfectly.

SongofJoy said::thumbsup: I used that bamboo screening as a privacy screen at one of our places and put it up myself on retaining wall that was already in place. Fortunately they had left the upright posts uncut so they were about 5 or 6 ft. tall and perfect for attaching the bamboo. Worked out perfectly.

virginiarose said:@crittergarden Cream cheese Frosting.

YUM!!!

And I agree on the asparagus, too.
I have a small green one and a small purple one. No sign of life yet and I am concerned.

No gardening today as it is raining hard. Supposed to keep up all day,.

I hope it's needed rain, Rita.

Precip here has been all over the map - rain, sleet, snow, now rain again.

BUT I got a very important thing done.
I changed the bulb in the Kitchen's ceiling light.

Really.
It's been out for months.
It was a big job.
Had to rearrange the basement to get to the ladder!

So I'm quite happy with myself.

Low tonight to be 21.

THURSDAY it's BACK TO THE GARDEN!

At least it is good timing on the rain as I planted seeds yesterday and put fertilizer out on my tomato beds the last few days. The rain will soak it all in.