Garden Notes

Probably 15 years ago, maybe more, I discovered this plant, a trailing flowering vinca. It was only carried in one particular nursery and that nursery closed many years ago.  I found it a couple of times other places, but in the last years, I'd given up ever finding it again.  This year here it is!!!!  I plant 8 hanging pots every year on our front porch, all matching.  I needed very heat tolerant plants and enough to fill the eight pots.  Well, the trees have grown in all those years, so I now don't need to worry so much about the heat tolerance, but I'm excited to have these again.  I've only ever seen three different varieties of it.  Two kinds of pink and one white with a pink center.  This is the only variety that this nursery had enough of to fill my pots.

I paired them with a common non flowering trailing Vinca Vine.  I had to buy new pots this year too as a couple of my old ones cracked or the hangers broke.  Having rope suspending them is new to me too and now I have to go adjust the ropes as some are hanging crooked like this one. I do like the look of the rope though.  I found these at Menards.  I'm putting it off because it will be tedious to get them to hang just right. I hope they do as well as I remember them.  I'll keep you posted.

I am experimenting with potatoes in tires this year.  And, I guess potatoes in general.  First time I've ever planted them.  This spring I had time to get them in early and I look forward to creamed new potatoes and peas.  My husband, nor any of my children, have ever had the delicious fresh from the garden dish, and I was a child when I had it last.  Time to rectify that!  So we will add more tires on top of these two and add more soil and continue on up.  I'm not sure how many tires we will be able to go, three maybe?  I'd love to hear from anyone who has planted potatoes in a similar way. I also put a few spuds in a row because I wasn't sure how I'd access the new small potatoes in the tires without messing with the growth going on when the peas are ready.  (First time for putting in regular garden peas too!)

I planted lots of flower seeds this year.  But with the cold spring they are a little slow to get going.  I started quite a few indoors, but once transplanted, again with the cold, they are dying or just barely alive. :(  I got so excited about the Love Lies Bleeding from last year, that this year I ordered seven different varieties of Amaranth!  I'm hopeful to get at least a few of each variety to grow.  I'd also like to hear from anyone who plants Amaranth.  One variety can actually be grown as a crop for the seeds and one variety is a noxious weed in Nebraska.  I think all are edible.

I hope you all have a really nice weekend!