June and July have been even hotter than usual here in northeast Oklahoma, already reaching 100+ F temperatures, and this week we are forecasted for a 110 degree day, so a daily watering is definitely order for all of the plants.
After today’s watering I got a few garden diary pics: a ripening tomato, a flowering lotus, and watermelons in the shade of the leaves. The squirrels have nabbed a lot of the plants from my “vegetable garden,” leaving only watermelon and one little pepper plant. And I’m pretty sure they ate my first baby watermelon! Hopefully the new watermelons can grow big enough to elude the neighborhood wildlife.
The balmy, rainy weather we’ve had here in northeast Oklahoma lately has been perfect for my new plants. Yesterday was cooler so I spent some time pulling weeds (though it’s never enough!). Also, I have my first fruit of the year, a baby watermelon; I am so excited 💚
After a week or so of heavy downpours, most of my new plants are thriving, especially my tomatoes, which were only about three inches high when I first planted them a few weeks ago. So I placed some stakes in the pot for them to climb on.
Tomatoes
My herbs also look beautiful. First, I think I need to start utilizing all of this wonderful dill that’s growing so quickly in the back!
Herbs
Some of the plants in the vegetable garden look like they had a rough time in the storms (or with the dogs), but most are faring well.
Shishito Peppers
Gherkin Cucumbers, a Little Delicate
Zucchini, Hoping These Pull Through
Hardy Watermelon
And my Columbine and Moonflowers have started blooming! 😍
April has witnessed another spring metamorphosis in Oklahoma, when everything turns green and blooms with pops of color, and when the sky shifts from sunny to dark grey, and pops with thunder and lightning, and then to sunny again.
And once again my good friends and I did our annual garden shopping, which is an exciting time for me! This year I got a bunch of herbs and tomatoes for front porch containers; shishito peppers, gherkin cucumbers, zucchini, and two different types of watermelon for the raised bed vegetable garden; and a few lovely flowers for the front yard. We went to a farm at Robinson Ranch and Southwood Garden Center to shop for plants.
Chickens on the Farm at Robinson Ranch
Chicks on the Farm at Robinson Ranch
Shopping at Southwood: I Want Them All
My wooden raised beds deteriorated this year, so I bought a metal one and put it together a few days ago. Then I covered the ground with four layers of landscaping ground cover (because one layer never keeps out the grass here), placed the raised bed on top, and surrounded it with landscaping stones, which also covered the landscaping cover on the sides of the raised bed. I bought soil for vegetable gardens and a few bags of mulch for the garden. I mixed it with mulch to improve drainage. And finally, I planted my beautiful little veggie plants in it.
Veggie Garden
Shishito Peppers and Gherkin Cucumbers
Zucchini and Watermelon Plants
For the herb garden, I did something different and placed all of the herbs on one big container. Here we have three different types of basil, dill, cilantro, mint, and lemongrass.
Container Herb Garden
And finally, flowers for the yard, with a fresh layer of soil and some mulch. This year I planted gorgeous columbine and moonflowers.
Columbine and Moonflowers
And now we are about to get a warm rain, which is exactly what my little plants need after being introduced to their new homes 🌧️
This week the idea came to me to start noting odd things that make me very happy, in case I forget them when I’m in a bad mood (another of the many things I feel the need to journal). Apart from the obvious, like spending time with family and friends, so far I’ve remembered two things that make me very happy: decluttering and visiting plant nurseries, the latter of which can also get expensive if I’m not careful!
Blue Juniper
Today I went to our local Raska Nursery in Broken Arrow, my favorite place to shop for plants, and found a beautiful little blue juniper evergreen to replace the evergreen that died in this last winter freeze. I was advised to plant it a bit raised because we have a lot of clay soil in our region and if you plant trees too deep here, they can’t drain well in the clay soil.
In other news, my little tropical/succulent garden is doing well. The tropical plant is flowering like crazy in our rainy, hot summer! Some of the succulents are starting to form new buds, too.
Little Tropical/Succulent Garden
I’ve also planted about 100 watermelon seeds in the backyard raised beds and I think all of the seeds sprouted and they are growing fast! On dry days I mist the garden for about 20 minutes and they’re thriving! I hope we have lots of wonderful watermelons soon!!
