Planting Day

Well seeing as yesterday I took a plant straight from the ground and transplanted it (unfortunately it doesn't look so well today) I decided that today I would not only plant the plants I had, but take the empty planters I have accumulated and go and explore the nearby wooded area.

I first started my day by deciding to plant the hostas and poinsettias that I had on our deck into our yard. The central one is hard to see but is the one with beautiful mixed foliage colors. I decided since I only had one, I would make it the center of attention. Next to it, I planted the matching maroon hostas on either side of it. Deciding the poinsettias weren't going anywhere being in their little planters, I would round out the little pattern I was making by placing them on either side. I am hoping that in nice open soil they will possibly grow larger but if they don't it's fine.

After planting the hostas and poinsettias, I decided to go for a walk through the woods to find some native plants for our landscaping. I went for a walk through the woods and transplanted some Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, from the ground into a small planter. It is a native vine/ivy like plant. You can identify it by the star or palm shaped look of the leaves. It is what is called palmately compound. Compound meaning that there are multiple leaflets per stem and palmate describing the way the leaflets are arranged on stem. Virginia creeper is a great strong native plant that is great for trellises, ground covers, green walls, climbing vine, essentially a great plant for a huge variety of uses. It is also a great landscape plant year-round. It provides pretty white flowers in the spring and summer. It provides pretty blue berries in the summer and fall. It provides amazing fall leaf color in the fall and the branchlets are a vibrant red color on the new growth, making it quite pretty in the winter. It is also good for a variety of conditions. The plant that I found was in practically full shade and it was competing well with other vines. It can grow well in nearly every type of soil and is resistant to strong winds. It's pollution and urban tolerant. It is hardy zone 3-9. Possibly the only drawback is it is difficult to get rid of once established. If there were one native plant that I would be sure would be invasive in other countries, it would be this plant.

As I continued exploring through the woods, I discovered this next plant. I walked along and nearly gasped at the horrible condition it was growing in. Vines were climbing over it, weeds were all around it. It was in basically full shade with one small entrance to the west where it was possibly getting some evening sun. Having only a small digging trough with me, I set to work digging up this tiny tree, trying my best to not cut too many roots. This small scraggly tree that I dug up is Eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana. Now instantly by the Latin name you are likely confused. This plant is not a true cedar but in fact a juniper tree. By the genus name virginiana, it is also obvious that this is a native plant to the east coast, as well as the common name "eastern redcedar." This tree is medium growing and will grow to be about 50' by 20'. It does well in poor soils as well. It will grow in gravelly areas and is very pH adaptable, being able to adapt to both extremely acidic and alkalkine soils. It is a lovely east coast native that adds some nice evergreen coloring to your personal garden. One word of advice if you are going to either buy one or pick it from the forest like I did. It has a very strong taproot and very sharp spiny needles, making planting it very painful and difficult. 

Seeing as I got plants from the forest, and deciding that the Juniper needed to go in the ground asap, I planted the other plants which I had in planters, wanting to get them out of the potters and into the ground and established. Here is the Little Henry sweetspire in the part of our yard that typically gets wet and swampy. This plant loves moist even swampy soils so I figured it would be good for this back area. There is also poison ivy on the tree behind it, so any plant to buffer off poison ivy is good for when daycare kids are in the hard. It also adds a nice pretty look to the area. 

 Seeing as I was taking pictures of the plants I had, I remembered that I said I would take a picture of the bean plants I had put in yesterday. Here they are. They are somewhat hard to see, as most have very thin "trunks" but they had just got a nice summer rain just a few minutes before and I am hoping they will do well and take off.

Exploration Day

Well today me and my family went to Sugarloaf Mountain, a mountain about an hour from our house. We went there and we were exploring the paths and trails and I decided to do a little detour route. Well as I was doing so, I stumbled upon some wild serviceberry, a small native fruiting tree that is part of the rose family, and I was elated. I got my hands a little bit dirty, but I successfully dug one up, keeping the roots nice and intact and carried it along with me for the trip. It is now planted in my backyard. The one thing that I absolutely love about it is the fact that the berries, which ripen in June, are edible and, apparently, taste like wild blueberries. Although I don't think my sapling will be fruiting this year, I saw that others the same size as it were fruiting so I know next year it will definitely have fruit.
Additionally before the trip I decided to plant the beans that have survived from my brother's science fair project and planted them by our fence in a nice sunny spot. I have also planted some pumpkin along the same fence and apparently beans and pumpkin are great companion plants.
The other day I also transferred the Eastern Red bud into the yard, putting it in a spot which has light shade. I've jimmy rigged a system to keep it upright but I hope that it can support itself sometime down the road. In terms of the Hostas and Canna I will likely be planting them in the next few weeks and once I do I will take pictures of them as well as all the other things, as to show my progress.

Summer time

Well hello my followers! I am quite excited today! First off I just finished finals and I am now on summer break but I also have some new plants that I will be planting. First I have a Canna x generalis 'Hello Yellow.' It is a tropical plant that with heavy mulching can survive our winters. I got it for my moms birthday yesterday. I also bought some lovely sage at the UMD Farmers Market. It smells SO nice. I've also bought some cilantro which I planted with the parsley and bell pepper. Today I bought an Itea virginica 'Little Henry.' I will be planting that down in a place that occasionally gets swampy. Then I got some pumpkin seeds which I will plant next week. I am also trying my first stem propagation. The plant is Aucuba japonica 'Variegata' gold dust aucuba. It loves shade and I plan on planting it on the north side of our house. I made some "willow water" the other day. You can make by essentially brewing a cup of willow branch tea. Take green stems from any willow and take the leaves off them brew the stems overnight and strain it in the morning.
In addition to getting more plants, the plants I have are doing well as well. I was just outside and saw my tomato plant forming its first little tomato. Additionally the carrots are sprouting up right under it. Over on the side of the house the chamomile is leafing out. Lastly, the aloe vera plant (I can't remember if I told about that) which we have in our sun room has sprouted a little sucker (literally). Everything is going great in the Jenny garden.

My birthday is also in less than a month and I believe my parents are going to buy me a greenhouse for my birthday.

Pictures

Well this post will be solely dedicated to pictures.
1. Tomato
2. Pomegranate 

3. Hostas 

4. Oregano
5. Blackberry bush
6. Mint
7. Bell pepper
8. Basil 

9. Honey locust 

10. Parsley 

11. Eastern redbud 

12. Poinsettias
13. Lavender
14. Thyme

Thyme and Reorganizing

Well yesterday I bought a little planter of thyme. It looks pretty healthy and I plan on planting it with the lavender. The other day I also planted the lavender in a very sunny area. I planted some chamomile with it due to their similar soil needs and the fact that chamomile creates alkaline soil. I've also got a new large pot which I put the bell pepper and parsley in. If I called it cilantro before I apologize. I also plan on planting the landscape plants in my front yard. I need to head out now but like before, ask any question you wish.

Plants Galore!

Well hello peeps. I have been given even more plants by my professor and couldn't be more excited! First off these honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, are now in individual tubelets as I call them and in my possession. Like the Cercis canadensis it is a native member of the Fabaceae family. I will be growing 9 of these. In addition to these I received a much larger basil and a new stronger tomato plant. The last edible thing is a green bell pepper plant but my list doesn't stop their. I received some wonderful landscape plants, who's names are escaping me right now. They are annuals but they are pretty and I look forward to planting them.
In addition to these plants I got for free, the other day I bought some seeds from a gardening store, Benhke's Nursery, in Beltsville MD. I bought carrot seeds, lettuce seeds and chamomile seeds. Starting today is the start of corn planting season so I may buy some corn seeds as well. I planted the carrots in a large pot which I have been planting my other plants in. I will take pictures in later posts. Its coming around quite nicely. Literally right after I planted them our area got plenty of rain and mist which was great for the plants. 

When I get home today I will be taking out the not so well tomato and planting the nice healthier one. I am also planning on planting the Lavender by our fence.