Monday, April 23, 2012

Cleaning up the Mulch


This year I had the task of cleaning up my front garden beds, which includes raking up all that old, large mulch that is too big to break down into the soil. I had laid down the original cedar mulch about four years ago. The bucket above is full of old mulch that came just from the small space it sits next too.

After raking up the old mulch, I laid down a layer of bagged cow manure that I pick up each year from Pahl's Market in Apple Valley to give the plants some added nutrients. I rake it into the soil around the plants, then put down a new layer of mulch on top. Voila, a garden is reborn!

Friday, April 13, 2012

African Violet Makes a Baby


The other day I noticed my African Violet was listing to one side and I wondered what was going on. Looking under the leaves I noticed a baby violet was growing off the main trunk. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I "googled" it and found a site that had a solution for saving the baby.

At first I thought it was a little far fetched, but decided to try it any way. I unpotted the parent plant and shook off the dirt. Looking at the baby, it was apparent there were no roots growing off of it so it was indeed a "sucker". I gently removed the baby from the plant with a sharp knife and then according to the other website, placed it in a plastic bag and sealed it up. I actually forgot about it in my laundry room for the next couple of weeks, but when I happened upon it about three weeks later, I was shocked to see little roots growing off of it (as seen in above photo). I can't believe it worked!

So now my little guy is growing in a pot all on his own and about twice the size when I first removed him.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Tahiti Daffodil


The "Tahiti" Daffodil is probably one of my favorite daffodils on the market. It really stands out in the garden and they come each up year with no problems. I was surprised to learn they have been around since 1956. Too bad they don't last but a week or so.