Free Plants!

I noticed that our strawberry plants are sending out runners like crazy again. It's a great way to get "free plants". I clipped some of the runners and planted them, hoping that some of them will get root bound.

This one already had roots forming!

And this one!

One more!

I was able to get four potted, I'll have to see if the roots take to the soil.  If so, I will give these away!

 

Sometimes clipping the runners don't take to soil well, so I also put pots of soil under the live plants, and stick the runners in the soil, in hopes that they will get rootbound.

Strawberries are such great perennials!  Not only do they grow back, they reproduce like mad!  I'd say they are pretty invasive the way they send out runners!  I'm so happy with the fruit production of these strawberry plants, that I don't even mind if they take over my entire yard!  LOL.

Pumpkins and Zucchini Plants

The plants that are doing really well in the garden right now are the pumpkins and the zucchini. Not that they have produced any fruit yet, but they are nice and healthy looking.  The pumpkin plants are growing like crazy and taking over everything.

It's even growing up the picket fence.

And attaching itself to the planter holder.  The pumpkin sends tendrils to hold onto everything!  I have yet to see flowers emerging from the pumpkin plant.  I really can't wait to see an actual pumpkin forming.

The zucchini plants are in the same bed as the pumpkin.  There are lots of male flowers, but no female flower so far.  The seeds of these green zucchini plants were given to me by Charlotte, of Char's Gardening.  I have 5 plants growing, I hope it will produce lots and lots of squash for us.  I love zucchini!  I'm hoping to have enough to freeze.  Do you freeze zucchini?  If so, do you have to blanch it first, or do you just shred it raw and stick it in the freezer?

Foraging for Wild Blackberries in My Front Yard

Yesterday, I picked these berries off the "mystery" wild berry plant growing in my front yard.  I'm 99.9% sure that it's definitely a wild Blackberry.  Indeed the berries turned from bright red to a black color.  The hubs and I tasted the berries, yup, sweet and tart.  There are a lot of berries growing, but definitely not enough for jam.  So we'll just pluck the berries as we see them ripening and enjoy them as little treats.

I foraged for these today.  I love that I can forage for food in my own front yard!  How incredibly awesome.  I can't believe I never noticed this plant growing in my front yard last year.  Many of you warned that wild blackberries can be incredibly invasive.  I'll keep an eye on how these plants grow and will trim them or pull them if they get out of control.  But for now, I will just enjoy!!

I wonder if I can consider this a harvest for Harvest Monday on Daphne's Dandelions blog?  haha

My Ugly Flower Garden is Blooming

Earlier this month, I wrote about how I really hate the front flower garden because nothing was in bloom and I was waiting for the bulb leaves to turn brown so I could snip them off.  It was a hot mess and totally embarrassing!  Finally, the perennials started to bloom, so it looks a little better but actually, it still looks like crap, but at least there are flowers now.

The Asiatic Lilies that I planted last year came back so much nicer!  I really need to get and plant more of these!

I had planted some shasta daisies in the back of the garden last year, and had no idea how tall they get! They are giant!   I need to do some research about designing a perennial flower bed.  This looks just horrible!  I want to fill in the front space with some perennial flowers that will bloom and re-bloom all summer long.  I like the look of English gardens, I'm planning to add Foxgloves and Delphinium to the bed.  I think I should pull some of these lilies and re-plant them.  Perhaps plant them all in one grouping?  (sigh) Does any of you have any recommendations for good English garden design books?

In the side garden, the orange day lilies are blooming.  These were planted by the previous owner.  I really like the look of the lilies.

They look awesome!  I totally love the color!