Random Garden Goodness (and grossness!)

Did you know that certain elements in soil have been shown to combat depression? (no source to back up this claim, I've just heard it over and over and over again)

I believe it! I've felt so cooped up and contained and cranky from this past winter. I would look out the windows and think, "I just don't have the energy to garden anymore!".

But I forced myself out a couple of weeks ago and my dormant garden soul has come alive again. I love working in the dirt! I love gardening! I love planting and evaluating what is growing and reworking my arrangements. Here are the highlights of this week.

First: The seedlings

I was a bit late in getting my tomato and basil seeds planted (see above paragraph for explanation). Almost all of my tomato seeds were from last year's plants that I carefully saved using this tutorial. Guess what? They all germinated.

And they all grew so well that I needed to transplant them all into different containers burying the first set of leaves as I re-planted them. I spent several lovely afternoons working at my backyard dining table transplating these lovelies.

Next: The Raspberries

We also got serious about our new raspberries bushes. confession: I know nothing about growing raspberries so I cannot teach the concept of raspberry growing quite yet. You are witnessing our attempts at figuring out the process.

I used old metal fencing to stake up the bushes. I strung plastic-coated garden wire through each stake and wove each raspberry plant between the "layers" of wire. I then dug a deep 8 inch trench around the raspberry area and my husband cut and set some plywood barriers to fashion a makeshift raspberry container.

 We'll see how this works!

Next up: Roses.

Confession: as old-fashioned and unexciting as it seems, I do love roses. Maybe it is because it reminds me so much of my grandparents and their love of growing roses. I know that rose gardening is a science unto itself and at this point in my life I don't have the time to devote to serious disease-free rose gardening.

Enter The Knock-Out Rose. This is a special variety that is bred to resist disease and pump out blooms all summer long. I've had my eye on this hybrid for quite some time, but I didn't like the early Knock-outs 8 years ago and the blooms that they produced. Plus, they were crazy expensive (at least in my area of the Pac NW).

So imagine my surprise when I walked into Fred Meyer gardening center and saw these gorgeous double flowering Knock-Outs that resemble a hybrid Tea rose!

And do you see the price? $14.99? And that is not on sale, that's a full price. I don't have a sunny spot left in my yard for this rose, but I'm thinking a container somewhere. Nay, I need to make a spot for a container or two of Knock-Outs!

Last: The Grossest Fungus I have ever seen

If you have been following my blog through this spring, you know that I have covered most of my planting beds with black plastic in hopes of suffocating weed seeds and keeping the soil warm and weed-free. As I was out walking the garden a few weeks ago, I came across this creature growing in one of my beds.

They appeared after a three-week bout of heavy rain. I could tell it was a fungus of some sort and it was large!

They first appeared at the bed that borders one corner of our house (the white wood you see at the top of the picture is the siding of our house). They grew quite fast and furious from under the house and soon expanded into the main bed, peeking from underneath the black plastic.

I won't lie, it freaked me out a bit. Even when I dug up the "flower" part of the fungus, it came back within the few days. I know that fungus in a garden often indicates decomposition, so I figured that it was all the compost in my soil breaking down. But sheesh - a orange, thick fibered being in my soil? FREAKED ME OUT!

Luckily, one of my best neighbors is a high school biology teacher and garden expert herself so she quickly identified it as "Pig's Ear". I googled the term and it turns out to be a common Pac NW fungus that grows after warm heavy rains. Once the sun came out, they disappeared into the night. Good riddance freaky fungus!

Linked to Tuesday Garden Party at anoregoncottage.com