Saturday, September 18, 2010

Spring cleaning

This is the first Gaillardia flower about to bloom in our garden in Spring 2010. I am glad that I kept one plant of gaillardia from last year instead of chucking them all into compost when the weather gets cold and the gaillardia had stop flowering and looks like they won’t survive. Surprised me this morning when I saw this flower blooming between cauliflower leaves.

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Gaillardia seedling from seeds sowed end August has popped out from the soil.

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I have been busy with my studies this few days and feeling a bit depress because I was so busy that I went to lab very early in the morning and go back late that for a few days I have not able to see Rayyan smile because he is asleep whenever I am at home. I have been missing a lot on his growing development, according to Mik he have start to call Ilhan by name. Ilhan and Mik have helped to prepare same space to sow sweet corn seeds this weekend. This patch look like this early last month.

calendula (3) It was a hard decision to pull out the broccolli plant from this patch because it was still producing many sprouting broccoli. But thinking of fresh sweet corn in summer, sorry my broccoli plants I have to replace you with sweet corn. Well we can still eat broccoli fresh from garden because there are other place in our garden growing and producing side shoots. However, this was the biggest one in the garden. Ilhan helped Mik carried the broccoli to the compost heap. We thought as the broccoli plant were big that it will have a very deep root but it was only about 25cm or so.

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Calendula has been pruned and is still flowering at the front patch as a border. Moreover will play its role beckoning more bees into our garden. There is still other plant still left growing as well ~ carrots, lemon grass (dormant in winter and has been over harvested), hollyhocks. Horse and chicken manure has been added into this garden patch. DSC08824 All we need to do is pop in sweet corn, sunflower and honeydew seeds into the soil and hope it will give us many produce end of this year or next new year.

8 comments:

One said...

Hi! The Gaillardia flower is really beautiful. That enormous broccoli plant is way bigger than your son!!! Do you think the horse manure got a lot to do with it?

Stephanie said...

Gaillardia? I just got one is my garden :-D I am glad to know that it survived the cold. Now, you just made me thinking about my gazania. I have one that dried up. I am still hoping that it will grow back for me ;-) Your calendulas made a pretty border! Btw, the broccolli bush is not big enough yet to dwarf Ilhan and Mik... strong boys!

Malay-Kadazan girl said...

One~ I have not use horse manure with those broccolies. I dig in waste kitchen than plant broccoli seedlings afterward. The new plants for summer veggies will be my first try with horse manure.

Stephanie~ Your gaillardia must be very prettyas you are very good with flowers. Mmm...gazania maybe they need to be divided if it is overcrowded? Gazania only open up when they received sunlight don't they. I grow them too but they are consider as weed here.

CathJ said...

Oh that is a big broccoli plants.. ^_^

Sue Garrett said...

Our gaillardia overwinter - even last year when we had lots of snow and really low temperatures.

Funny to read about spring when we are thinking of autumn.

rainfield61 said...

Boil for a few minutes and the broccoli will then taste so good.

kitchen flavours said...

Your gaillardia is a beauty! The brocolli plants are really huge. I can imagine how hard your decision is to sacrifice the brocolli! I would too! Have a lovely weekend!

Wendy said...

Rayyan has gotten big since I visited last. He's precious, and looks healthy and happy. Hope everything is going well.

Nice little helper Ilhan is!

The gaillardia is really pretty. Looking forward to seeing your sweet corn grow!