What not to do with your Husbands new Lawnmower.

Relocating Spring Bulbs

Recently my husband decided to remove the flag pole from our front yard. I am not really attached to it as it came with our house when we purchased it this February. But, surrounding it were daffodil and Hyacinth bulbs that have been neglected for about 3 years.
This spring, as soon as they would put off a flower they would begin to wilt and be dead within a week. I knew they needed to be transplanted because there were far to many in such a small area, but late spring is probably not the best time for this. All my garden books say to transplant bulbs in the fall.
My husband couldn't wait that long. So my children and I spent about 3 hours Saturday digging them up and placing them in a bucket. I have been told that you can store them in sand or vermiculite until the following season, but there were about 200 bulbs in there I kept thinking "what if I kill them all? There is no way I could ever replace them.
So... I armed my children with little shovels and we began to dig. We were able to separate them into four piles that we placed all over the front, back and side yards. All of this from one little bed!

We just removed the top two inches of grass and roots, placed a few bulbs here and there and sprinkled them with bone meal. Usually you would only fertilize right before a bulb blooms, but I wanted them to hurry up and grow new roots.
I'm not sure if this will work, but I figured its worth a shot. I guess we will know next spring!

My Tomatoes

So this year is the first year that I actually have a yard to grow in instead of my second story balcony. So this year one of the many plants I have decided to add to my gardeners belt it tomatoes.

Now it took me awhile standing the Lowes garden center to decide which variety to go with. At first I thought about a cherry or grape tomato but I knew that my children would rob me every afternoon and I would have nothing to show for my work. Then I thought about a plum tomato, but those are best when cooked and do I really want to spend my summer in the hot kitchen making sauces. I decided no so moving on I discovered the Better boy tomato. Is there anything better in the summer than a garden fresh tomato on your salad? I think not.

So I took my little six pack home and sat it upon my porch. Now what? It was still too cold for ground planting. How long was I to leave these tiny little things in the plastic pack? So after about two weeks of contemplating this, I finally retrieved some terra cotta pots from my shed and went to planting.

To my surprise, they actually started growing! I left them in the pots for about six weeks. I pinched the tops off after they had four healthy shoots ( just like they say to do). And they grew even more! So finally I picked a spot close to our fence and planted them, knowing that they would probably just die. I had ran out of potting soil so I just used the ground dirt and my son 'Helped" me fertilize them and I was sure they were burnt, and then it rained for 13 days.

I was sure they would drown so imagine my joy when I trekked through the mud to check on them yesterday and my little babies are now almost 3 feet tall!! Just goes to show that there is such a thing as beginners luck. I can't wait for that first tomato.

Growing mophead hydrangeas

When I think of a flower of the south, the one that comes to mind first is the Hydrangea. Visions of snowballs as big as my head all over my grandmother house in the summer is what led me to purchase my first bushes and plant them in front of my entryway. Mine are the heaven blue variety and look stunning against my tan house.

Mophead hydrangeas are the most common grown. They are personally my favorite, although there are five different varieties available in the US.

Where do I plant my hydrangea?

Hydrangeas like moist well drained soil so either plant them where the water will run off or add a few shovel fulls of compost when planting. They also like the sun but should be protected from the blazing afternoon for the most blooms. If they begin to look wilted they are thirsty, but mine do best if watered in the morning.

How do I change the color of my bloom?

The color of your bloom all depends on the ph level of your soil. You can buy a tester kit for fairly cheap at your local home store. For blue blooms your soil needs to be acidic or have about a 5.5 ph level or lower. For pink blooms try to get the ph level to about 6.5. If your soil falls in between don't be surprised to see multi-colored or purple blooms.

How do I prune my bush?

You will have a healthy looking, larger bush if you will prune it back by about 1/3 very early each spring. They can be pruned to be kept smaller but if you are wanting a shrub less than four feet high this would not be an Idea choice. Hydrangeas bloom on the previous years wood and on new growth, so for the most blooms each try not to cut back too far.