Posted on 06/01/2025 5:48:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Love it! So pretty! What’s the history of those tubs and the stand? (I may have missed that part.)
They were on the farm my brother & his partner bought for a wetlands bank (brother is now sole owner & retiring there). At the time I first saw the washtubs/stand the person who had been living in the house had been using them for a little herb garden, but it was overgrown & most of the plants were dead. When I commented on it, my brother asked if I wanted it & of course, I said yes. I’ve had it for at least 8 years or more. It was rusty when I got it & getting rustier by the year. I used a primer/paint combo from Rustoleum so that should help it last. New was $250 when I got it, now up to $300. I saw a used one (rusty) for $169. Quite a ‘gift’ from the bro! :-)
Score! FWIW, all your talk of ‘Lavender’ had me buy one when I was in town on Monday. :)
I want to make lavender ‘wands’. Someone gave me one years back & it was so pretty! Plenty of video tutorials, just need the flowers. My plants (gallon pots so pretty large) don’t show any signs of blooming. They are ‘Hidcotes’.
https://www.gardenia.net/plant/lavandula-angustifolia-hidcote-lavender
The lavender farm where we got them said they’ll bloom most of the summer which is different from what the link says.
Full sun. Be sparing on the watering; let them dry our fully between watering. Lavender blooms best when it’s a little bit, ‘stressed.’ When you see buds, give it a shot of Bloom Booster; higher MIDDLE number on the NPK scale.
This time (and into the summer months) I collect as much wild grape vine as I can. I love making grape vine wreaths. I’ll start one (or a few!) as soon as I have enough material and add to it all summer long.
Our patch of Black Cap Raspberries by the outdoor dog kennels is just LOADED with forming fruit. All of my fruit trees (Apples, Pears, Peach & Cherries) are also loaded. I’m hoping for a big fruit harvest this season. Rain coming this week which will help, but if we go into a Drought Year (we just got OUT!) I’ll water them myself.
I know they like it on the dry side. They were fairly dry before planting. I watered them in when I planted them, but unless it rains, they won’t get anything for awhile.
The Little Missy boxwoods I planted are looking great so far.
Yes, the “noted previously” part was mostly about our rain and soils problem this year. I’ve had to work on our vehicles all day, today, but I suspect if I go out to the garden (esp. “plot 2”) and dig, I’ll hit water no more than a few inches down. Granted that the last rain finally quit about 36 hours ago...
I did a lot of lavender research years ago. I got the english lavender which I think is the best, blooms early flowers large and very fragrant. Hubby wanted more and bought the hidicote, disappointing as far as flowers and scent. I’ll look up the plant tag for the species name of what I have. There are 11 types of lavender.
“The Little Missy boxwoods I planted are looking great so far.”
You cannot go wrong with those. Great shrub. I’ve sold HUNDREDS of them. :)
https://starrosesandplants.com/plants/buxus-little-missy/
Oops! Forgot to say that ‘up here’ it’s smart to use ‘Wilt Proof’ on them in the late fall, before the snow flies. It’s a waxy spray that keeps moisture in the leaves over winter.
We can get a bit of ‘winter burn’ up here, (effects Yews and Azalea and Rhododendron, too) but the shrubs usually recover just fine after the dead stuff is pruned out. It doesn’t happen every year - but you never know what winter is going to hold up here for us.
Remember: Big snow cover FIRST, then Mother Nature can get as COLD as she wants to! ;)
Gardening plans for today include, but are not limited to:
Watering the whole garden. Rain predicted for tomorrow, but I keep getting fooled on amounts! Also, hitting 85! today. Everyone needs a drink in weather like that! *HIC*
Start Watermelon for Beau to plant at cabin
Re-pot Winter Squash Beau neglected to plant before his Canada trip
Freshen up my Grapevine Wreath with a fresh coat of paint
Water and clean houseplants
Trim Forsythia - getting a little too close to the A/C unit and I am going to NEED A/C maybe even today!
Water everything in the greenhouse and tuck the last few flowers (Marigold & Cosmos) into garden beds. (Yeah - still didn’t get to that, LOL!)
Tie tomato cages together for extra support
Gotta get out there NOW before the heat sets in!
Have a Good Gardening Day, Everyone!
I’m looking into getting Spinosad for pest control.
Any idea where to find it at a good price?
I’ve looked around online and the prices vary wildly, with Amazon looking the best.
Unless you can find it locally, I’d go with Amazon.
Captain Jack’s (pricey!) and Fertilome (less so) are trusted brand names we sold at Jung’s.
It also comes in a ready-mixed spray if you need a smaller amount - ‘Natural Guard’ - at Amazon. (Direct link was really long!)
So I’m a happy little camper this morning .. got everything done yesterday on my to-do list & all I have to do today is grocery shop, do some food prep & mow. Gorgeous day outside, too.
Stepped out on the back patio & there is a line of ants streaming across. No problem. I have Ortho Home Defense that I got for the boxelder bugs earlier this spring - works on ants. On to the raised beds/shop.
What in the world?? Both of my wash tubs were totally dug up, the flowers off to the side. Probably the raccoon I had mercy on the other day. I used Expert Gardener potting soil, added some fertilizer (not bone meal) for flowers, same brand. The animal must have smelled it & gone digging. The flowers were ‘ok’, root balls intact, not wilted. I replanted & watered them in. Hopefully they will be ok. If the tubs get dug out again, I’ll bring the trap up & set it at the tubs ... or maybe I won’t wait & will set the trap at the wash tubs tonight.
All other raised beds are undisturbed. I checked the lavenders because I did use bone meal (planting instructions said give each plant a teaspoon). Knowing your tomatoes got dug up, I put the bone meal in the bottom of each 8” hole & mixed it with about a cup of dirt, then put in the plant & filled the hole. The lavenders are undisturbed this morning.
Thank you!!!!!!
I find that squirrels and chipmunks like to dig in freshly potted containers too, but a raccoon is also a likely culprit.
Sounds like a beautiful day where you are. Enjoy that!
Chippies & squirrels aren’t usually out at night. It was either a possum or coon, something big. I’d bet coon.
We are supposed to get wildfire smoke this afternoon. Warm (mid-80’s) but not humid. Breezes, if in the shade, are delightful. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be 91 - good day for company & to sit inside & chat.
Monday, I’m traveling back to the old house to pick up lumber, maybe try to dig up at least one metal raised bed, & any other items I spot that I want here. Mom has doctor appointments Monday while I’m cutting & loading lumber. We’re spending the night, doing some errands Tuesday & then coming home. Right now, the trailer is full of mulch so starting Fri - Sun I’ll be shoveling mulch to empty the trailer for the trip. Glass half full attitude: with all the digging, shoveling, T-post pounding (18.5 lb pounder), the old lady batwing arms that were starting to appear are gone ... looking pretty toned with a bit of a bicep bulge :-)
The only time I had trouble with something getting dug up was when I used blood meal.
Something uprooted most of my baby onions. I salvaged a bunch of them and replanted, but it definitely cut into what I harvested.
This year I prepped the bed a week or so before planting the onions and the soil was undisturbed, so I went ahead and put them in.
So far almost all of them took. Lord willing, I’ll have a good harvest this year.
Two things have been helping me with the raccoon - taking in the suet cage every night and I parked my car between the garden and the bird feeding ‘station.’
I’m sure I’m just fooling myself, but I haven’t had any digging for a week, now. There IS more food in the wold for raccoons to find, now. Beau said they were bothering my garden due to that.
We shall see. I might be Granny Clampet sitting on the porch in her rocker at night with a load of buckshot at the ready! Maybe I’ll strike OIL?!?! I’ll for SURE shoot the windows out of my car, so I’d better move it, LOL!
Garden is watered - I could hear them SIGHING in relief! I picked about a quart of strawberries. I’m running errands tomorrow so will stop at the Berry Patch that opens tomorrow and pick up a flat. I want to make Strawberry Freezer Jam in the worst way, now that I’ve tasted those fresh berries of my own!
Best and Easiest Strawberry Jam
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/strawberry-freezer-jam/
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