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Arlene’s Gardens 2011 Slide Show
Arlene Wright-Correll
Welcome to my gardens such as they are in my old age. I am in my 75th year and each fall I say this will be my last garden and then the spring comes and I find myself buying bulbs, seeds, shrubs and other good stuff such as rose bushes. However, the gardens like myself are declining as one can see from the links to different years. Mostly now I find I cannot stay out too long in the heat and hot sun. So I write about it and have many good gardening articles in my How to Do it Article page. Click here to see some of them. Also I have some good gardening books I have written and you can see them here and purchase either the hard copies or download them for a fraction of the book cost. Click here please. Many of my paintings are of the fruits and flowers that I have grown and you can bid on them at my auctions by clicking here now. All my personal royalties from my articles, books and art go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital so I thank you for your purchases.
March 27, 2010
Here we are well into the end of March and I have just begun the 2010 Arlene’s Gardening Newsletter.
These past two weeks have been busy once the weather broke and we could go outside without freezing to death. It has been a brutal winter here for our park of Kentucky.
Carl has pruned a lot of overgrowth and trees that have gone amuck and he also got the ponds going again and the fish fountain set up in front of the new Creativity Center.
The propane truck guy ran down one of our large peach trees and broke it off at the ground. Too bad it was one Fred and I planted back in 1999.
Jackie, my helper , has planted 12 new rose bushes of which 8 are climbers.
Here is another view of the fish and ponds.
Carl has put in a new stone path and I have been working in the green house setting out flats of new plants from heirloom seeds. So far the only thing up is the lettuce and that is starting to worry me.
The orange lilies that I divided and put into other planters are starting to show.
Kitchen Garden Planner at Gardener’s Supply Company: Grow your own fresh, organic food in a 3′x6′ raised bed garden!Carl has made some new planters for me.
I planted a new azalea in the side arbor and a new lilac in a large container, plus I filled up about 12 containers with some perennials and Carl set out a flat of pansies down at the post box planter.
March 28, 2010
Carl brought in the straw for my new intensive straw bale gardening project this year. We set out 10 bales and hopefully will pick up 12 more when we pick up the 6 dogwoods we ordered from Bonnieville city hall project.
I set out watering the bales in the 10 day watering regime that is required at the start.
Here I go starting the project with Day 1 of 10 days of watering before planting anything. That is Glynis’ home in the back.
The daffodils are going berserk down at Glynis house and here are some from around our part of the Home Farm compound.
The flowering Cherry Trees are all abud and ready to pop.
The grape hyacthins are up as the regular ones and the violets are coming up all over the place.
March 29, 2010
We got a real heavy rain about 3 a.m. this morning and today it is overcast. The bales got a free day 2 of rain.
Last week Jackie got all the containers cleaned out and refilled with soil and I am ready for putting in my beloved geraniums once they become available at the local nursery.
The Cook’s Garden Cottage Flowers
Here are other parts of the garden on this day. Home Farm’s driveway and a good view of my brother, George’s property on the other side of our dividing fence.
Here is a view of the pergola from the Cottage Garden side.
Now a view from the front side of the bunk house.
March 30, 2010
We got some more bales set down and below is Jackie clearing out last years growth so we can put the rest of the bales in.
March 31, 2010
The past few days have been so busy and the days have been warm. We have been doing tons of outside things that we are pooped by the end of the day. Jackie got 6 flowering dog woods planted and I go out each day and give them a bucket of water so that means I am dragging pails of water all over the place. However, in a week or so I will not have to do that.
My newest endeavor is experimental straw bale gardening and we finally have all the bales down. There is a 10 day preparation of these bales with total soaking of them each day and adding ½ cup of Ammonium Nitrate every other day and finally on the last day a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer which at this point one can plant seedlings directly into the tops of the bales or spread a thin layer of potting soil on top and then put the seeds in.
Carl put the stakes in for the ones where the peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers will go. As the plants grow I will run gardening wire or string between the stakes to create trellises.
Everything is starting to bloom here. I got about 20 planters filled with my beloved geraniums and the Forsythias are out all over the place.
Weeping cherry trees have blossomed and all the fruit bearing trees are ready to pop out as are the Cleveland and Bradford pear trees down the long driveway.
Carl got the last of the bales in front of the Creativity Center and he also put up 4 more birdhouses I had painted. We lost a total of 5 this winter so I will give him one more to put up.
4/1/2010
The ground is covered with violets and the plum trees are just about ready to burst open. The temperature was about 84 degrees today and I suppose now we will start to see the global warming that is being talked about.
This is the path down to Glynis home.
I have no idea why 95% of the flats in the greenhouse are not producting. I used good Miracle Grow potting soil and zippo after 15 or so days.
The mowing guys will have to be coming in soon as the grass is starting to grow along with the weeds.
4/2/2010
It was 74° by 10 a.m. today and it was a wonderful morning to work in the garden.
This is day 4 of the straw bale gardening experiment and that meant just plain watering the bales. It was also a time to water all the containers because yesterday was a bright sunny day with temps as high as 84° and containers, even large ones dry out faster than plants in the ground.
Hopefully we will get some rain tomorrow and I can have a day of rest, even though that will become the 5th day and I will have to scatter each bale with ½ cup of Ammonium nitrate.
The Cleveland and Bradford pear trees lining the driveway are coming into bloom and are almost totally white. This photo is the entrance to Home Farm and Avalon Stained Glass School & Creativity Center.
4/4/10
I got a lot of gardening work in during the morning including treating the straw bale gardens.
4/5/2010
Another beautiful day that got up to 84 degrees and I worked the straw bales as per directions then cleared out an area to put in several packages of zinnia seeds.
One thing I am noticing with the straw bales is some of them have grass growing up thru them on the edges.
The other thing I have noticed is none of the flats of tomato have done anything. I put them in those plugs I have used for years and this is the first year they have not worked. Perhaps the plugs are too old.
4/6/2010
We awoke to another beautiful day today and the weather channel said we will have a record high today. I worked the straw bales and then had to leave and go pick up Jackie because her sister did not have enough gas to get her over her.
When I returned I cleaned out another section of the Cottage Garden and planted Shasta Alaska Daisy, Old Mexico Zinnia, Batchelor’s Buttons and mixed colors Calendula.
4/7/2010
Did day 9 work on all the bales and then had to stop to teach some art lessons.
My flats of tomatoes are not going to produce so I had to go and buy some tomato plants and all I could get were big boys. Also my cuc flats do not seem to be thriving so I picked up some cucumber plants.
It started to rain about 10 p.m. and rained all through the night.
The Cook’s Garden Vegetable Seeds
4/8/2010
Overcast and some rain until noon today. I got the 10-10-10 on the bales as the last of the bale conditioning for day 10. It is cool and windy today with only a high of 54 degrees.
4/9/2010
The redbud trees are ablaze all over the place and the grounds in the gardens are covered with purple and white violets. The paperwhites are blooming all over the place as are the last remaining tulips.
4/10/2010
The blossoms are just about gone from the Cleveland and Bradford Pear trees, but the fruit trees are ablaze. The Magnolia Ann across from the Munfordville Library is in full glory today.
4/11/10
The weather has been hot and dry here during the day and down to the mid to high 30’s at night and it has raised the heck with my tomato, cucumber and pepper plants. They may well have to be replaced.
I had put them into the straw bales and they look wretched because of the 2 cold evenings. I am watering every day. Some of the flowers are starting to peek through the dirt in the greenhouse flats, but the tomatoes in the seed plugs are goners.
I started the Miracle Grow potting soil out on some of the bales and put in some tomato, cucumber and mixed pepper seeds. I have 14 more bales to go.
This morning I discovered over half the mammoth sunflower seeds I had planted were dug up, cracked open and all over the top of the ground. Birds? Who knows?
4/12/2010
Carl went out and got all the rest of the limbs into the big burn pile we have been growing. I worked in the garden for about an hour.
4/13/10
It was another hot day today and much watering was needed as no rain is in sight for a few days. I went out and worked for about 2 hours in the gardens. I replaced about 6 tomato plants with mixed emotions of wasted money and time. However, I got rid of the celebrity tomato plants which are not my favorites and replaced them with 2 Early Girl and 4 Roma tomatoes which are.
I worked on the straw bales and here is how they look as of this writing.
I also was able to get some replacement sunflower seeds in though they are not the mammoth kind that the birds ate. I also planted some asters, zinnia and marigold.
4/14/2010
I got the rest of the straw bales seeded in the one area.
Carl drained the ponds and cleaned them totally out and hopefully once they get refilled the pump will not keep plugging up with weeds etc.
The Siberian Iris is starting to pop out all over the place.
More rain!
4/27/2010
Full day of rain today and cool so we had the heat on with possible frost tonight as per Carl.
4/28/2010
Cool this morning 48 degrees. Clear day. Many of my hay bale tops are washed away with all this rain.
4/29/10
The rains started and continued until 4/30/2010
5/1/2010
Still raining
5/2/2010
Flash flooding and still raining.
5/3/2010
Johnson Springs Road flooded out and closed today. Sun is finally shining but everything wet, wet, wet! Azalias are out after all that rain.
5/4/2010
Sun is shining and the yellow Iris are popping out.
5/5/2010
The roses are starting to pop out all over the place.
This is the first year for this bush planted earlier last spring.
Carl has straighted up the wrough iron archway for me.
The tripod is loaded.
5/6/2010
The Siberian Iris are out.
How did these guys get in here?
The orange and black are almost ready to present themselves.
The Weglia on the driveway down to Fred and Jeff’s old house.
We lost a couple of more fruit trees this past winter. We have planted 6 flowering dogwoods this past spring. Some of the tomato plants are perking up in the greenhouse. All the veggie plants in the strawbales are wiped out between a couple of late frosts and all the tremdous rains. Our main road to town is still flooded and not passible.
5/8/2010
65 degrees and very windy today with lots of blue skies.
5/9/2010
The roses on the arbor are out and the late lilac is blooming even though only a bit of it is seen in this picture.
The peonies are at their peak.
The little white climbing roses are out all over the place in abundance and here is a flower I cannot remember the name of amid the honeysuckles that are starting to show their faces.
That $2.98 climbing rose I bought at Publix market in 1998 or 1999 has made it through another winter.
5/10/2010
My help is almost impossible to find and pulling the ligament out of my right upper arm has made gardening impossible. Between that and the tremendous rains we have had has knocked my straw bale gardens for a loop.
The False Indigo is still growing like crazy and I love the color of it.
5/13/2010
One of the yellow rose bushes is blooming and the old grape planted in the side arbor has decided this year to cross over upon the antique Albertine Rose and is starting to wend its way among it and across a telephone wire.
5/14/2010
I painted this Garden “Fruit Stand”Birdhouse today and it is for sale at this link.
5/15/2010
Some of the peonies are starting to go, but the one in the back is just coming into bloom.
5/16/2010
It rained so hard from 6 am today and all day that all the blossoms are off the peonies.
5/17/2010
Overcast today and we are supposed to get more rain. Weather alarm is going off about flooding and 60 mile per hour winds nearby. Weather bureau says record rain for KY in years.
The flowers are so loaded with water that they are on the ground especially the Iris near the Clematis.
The roses are taking a beating also.
I painted a new garden birdhouse and it is for sale at this link
5/19/2010
I picked up 6 watermelon plants and stuck them into 2 of the straw bales. I also planted about 16 tomato plants again in some other straw bales.
The straw bales take a lot of work and a lot of water.
5/25/2010
We have had lots of hot, hot weather and that means lots of watering. The geranium containers were just about wiped out with all that rain we had for days so I had to dead head them and the pink climbing roses also.
5/26/2010
The lilies I divided last fall have filled up their container again and the small ones are coming up in the other container next to it.
The roses are continually being beautiful and fragrant especially the ones on the arbor.
I think this is a climbing tropicana.
The Lambs ear is a about to burst into flower.
5/31/2010
We finally got about 30 minutes of rain and then my gardening help was able to come in and weed out all the rose beds and other places.
The Yucca plants bloomed today and so did the pink lilies. Don’t ask me how this one sunflower got into this container.
6/1/2010
I recycled this small bench that had fallen apart and put it into the garden. I put new slats in, painted it with tiny bumble bees and it makes a great kids bench even though we have no kids here any longer.
6/3/2010
Another bench recycled and painted gayly with flowers and butterflies.
6/5/2010
It has been raining all around us and not much here so a lot of watering is going on for the containers.
The Cleomie are blooming slowly but surely.
As is the Lamb’s ear.
The Black Hollyhock have made an appearance
As did the first of the Black Eyed Susans
Finally the pink and the white lilies have opened up.
Even the Orange lilies I divided are coming up in the 2nd planter.
6/9/2010
A tremendous thunder and lightning storm awoke me about 3 a.m. this morning when the skies opened up with torrents of rain. We finally awoke again to an overcast and humid day.
I repaired and recycled this one birdhouse so Carl can put it back up on the fence post.
The rain brought the lilies finally into full bloom.
6/10/2010
More rain.
6/13/2010
Blue skies and hot.
6/22/2010
The past few days have been in the mid to high 90′s and again we are in need of rain.
The Gladiolas in the past three days are showing their faces even the ones by our ponds which we have turned off in order to conserve water. The lilies in the background are a mass of color straight across a 2 by 6 foot area.
On the shade side of the house all the Hostas are starting to bloom and the Echinacea are all over the place showing their beautiful faces.
It seems like each and every day something new appears and today I was able to bring in a small bouquet of Queen Ann’s Lace, Sweet Peas and some small yellow perennials that I never can remember the name of.
However, today’ stroll was really a day for the Echinacea and now matter where I looked they attracted many butterflies.
I am not a good photographer, but I received two wonderful rewards today when I was able to capture two of Echinacea’s visitors.
July 14, 2010
The gardens have gone to rack and ruin in the back. Lack of rain has seem to make the weeds grow and dry up the flowers.
We did get about 4 hours of good rain yesterday and the lone surviving sunflower blossomed.
The grapes on the arbor are getting ready to delight the birds.
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