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 🌧️
As we are drawing out of our freezing mornings here in Oklahoma, I’ve been very excited to get some new herbs, fruits, and vegetables for the garden! Last week I bought some blackberries, cilantro, chives, and lemon verbena for the front porch. I had planted blackberries in full sun in the yard last year, but I think the Oklahoma full sun was too much for them and they didn’t make it. Hopefully potted blackberries on the shady porch will work out better for them.
I also bought some butter lettuce, and have cleaned out one of my garden beds for them and planted them in the garden this morning. They usually enjoy the cooler months, so I’m hoping to get a good yield before it gets very warm here. Last year I had filled the garden beds with Sunshine brand soil, which is supposed to be excellent, and mushroom compost, so this year I only had to clean out the weeds and leaves and the soil was ready.
So many amazing plants to get…
Yesterday, I got some more vegetables for my other garden beds, which still need to be cleaned out. I’m pretty sure that in the past I’ve overcrowded my garden beds with too many of each vegetable, so this year I just bought two of each kind so they can have much more room to grow. It also saves me work and money that way. I got two tomato, squash, cucumber, zucchini, and strawberry plants. One garden store that we went to even had a nice food can drive where they gave out free plants for cans.
I think I have found the best fertilizer for them in my new hobby, too. My sister’s husband got me fascinated in aquariums over the holidays, and I have already started two this year. Well, I started giving my plants the aquarium water from when I would vacuum beneath the gravel to eliminate settled waste material, and so far my plants seem to thrive on it! I’ll be hauling buckets of it out to the garden once I get everything planted!
My friend and I went to a backyard chickens class yesterday at our favorite local garden shop, too, and I was so tempted to get some. Yet I already have enough animals and hobbies as it is! 😅
