"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I have been fighting the battle

of extreme drought, choking dirt, and blasting winds,................and to my delight........
the soil is breaking,

from the zinnia seeds I have planted in my zinnia gardens. I have planned slightly larger gardens this year, and I am anxious to see how they turn out !

I am also trying to raise tomatoes in container crates on the patio, instead of out in the open wide spaces. The patio is more protected, and I am looking forward to many dishes of fried green tomatoes and tomato pie.

Even the pincushion cactus that is accustomed to the harsh conditions on the prairie, seems to be enjoying itself in it's new container home.

I absolutely love rose moss, and planted a large crate full of this a few weeks ago. It has turned out so lovely! As for my pumpkin growing,............it has been a tough season, however, I have planted them in different locations to see how they do. Hopefully, I will have pics to show later. How about you?
Do you prefer container planting or open space growing?
I would love to hear!

20 comments:

Paula said...

Bless your heart, Kathleen... it has been dry here too and the ground is getting so parched..
But you must have a wonderful green thumb- everything is looking great!
I love the pincushion cactus~ it is adorable!

Gingerbreadshouse7 said...

Hi Kathleen,your flowers are absolutely beautiful and what wonderful colors :o)...I love fried green tomato's too and this year I made beds and protected them from the deer and the birds..I used hoop houses with deer netting and so far it has worked ..I even made a hoop house with netting to house my new Blueberry bushes :o)...I find it a great way to go..

Anonymous said...

That pincushion cactus is gorgeous, I have never seen one before! I know how you feel about the dry dirt, we planted a huge garden like we do every year and we had to replant twice and then we had to water everything twice a day because we are having record breaking heat in NC, but it finally started raining and cooled off a lot!! I pray that your garden continues to do well!

aprilmecheelesdulllife said...

I know what you are going through Kathleen !! My grass( weeds)is dead from lack of rain. It is bad when weeds can't take the heat!!! lol Your plants look great !

Unknown said...

There is Hope! Lookin good!

Sue said...

I like both open and container flowers Kathleen, I am so relating to the drought you all are having, we are having dry conditions too, though I don't think it is as extreme as yours. As I am praying for rain for us, I will pray for you all too. Blessings,
Sue

lil red hen said...

I understand about the dry weather; it's only been two weeks since we had half an inch of rain, but the heat and wind has really dried things out. This usually happens about the time I plant seeds. I'm babying some tiny columbine plants in an open bed. Flowers from bulbs do best for me. I also love rose moss, and I've seen some of the most beautiful blooms on prickly pears; they tempt me to bring some to the yard.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Not much open ground around here, Kathleen. LOL I use a lot of containers, and the plants in a regular garden bed are always fenced in to protect them from marauding chickens. And dogs.

It's terribly dry here, too. I just keep thanking the Lord that we're not having the flooding other parts of the country have suffered.

Connie said...

Kathleen, I'm so glad to see your zinnias are coming up in spite of the drought. Your flowers look very pretty. I hope your pumpkins will do well too. I planted several kinds of flower seeds this year, but I think the squirrels followed along behind me and ate them! I'm still waiting to see if anything is going to come up or not.

Bev C said...

Hello Kathleen,

Oh good luck with the zinnia plants. I am sure they will soon be blooming. dI have a fair few pots full of plants but sadly they tend to be a bit hot in our Summer too.
Happy gardening.
Bev.xoxo

Terry and Linda said...

Moss rose here, never seems to get as huge as yours!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

Try that cactus fruit and let me know how you like it.

Dawn said...

Your plantings look like they're doing well considering the lack of rain. We finally got a downpour here last night near Atlanta. It's been so hot and dry! I love your rose moss..it inspires me to put it on my planting list! Keep up the fight in your garden. The rewards are definately worth all the work.

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

I'm so sorry you are having a drought in Texas. I know it's hard to grow anything in such hot weather. It's been dry here, too. Your roses are lovely. I hope you will get rain soon and the weather will get cooler. I love the pincushion cactus.

Tink's Tinkerings said...

I just love it here it's like visiting grandma or a favorite aunt so much cute stuff. I am going to get some plants today and Rose Mose will be one of them they are one of my favorite too. I will be back soon, Have a great week. Tink

Vickie said...

Dry here, too, Kathleen. Makes me wonder if I'm saving any water at all cuz we're having to water our garden so much. I guess it's worth it tho to have fresh food...

Mine is out in the open, but I do have some tomatoes on the deck in containers and they're doing very well. They get hand-watered more. And I told my hubby that I DO need more mulch in my flower/rose gardens - I think it would help so much.

I can't wait to see your zinnias. I planted some by seed this year. Some did not come up, some got washed away by the one big rain we had, but the ones that stayed put are so pretty. I think of yours every time I see mine!

We just have to pray for rain...

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Kathleen, it's been dry here too on the VA eastern shore and the veggie gardens and fruit trees get watered daily. We had a good thunderstorm this past Sat nite, but need much more raine. Our veggie gardens are in the ground, but we do have a couple of square beds for strawberries and asparagus.

grammy said...

It all looks great. I love rose moss ... but have not had any for years. Hope your tomatoes work for you... nothing like a garden tomato.

Conni said...

Glad to see your little garden is thriving in the harsh conditions.

We're experimenting with the square foot gardening method this year in two 4x4 foot wood containers that DH made.

Tammy@Simple Southern Happiness said...

Hello and thank you for your prayers, they are greatly needed.

I am taking the time to look in on a few of my fav blogs. I see you are still in dry condition but your garden is coming along. I pray for rain to come your way and for us too. We got a few days of rain but the heat is relentless.

God's blessing to you and yours.