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| My husband indulges my interests and made these 'wood cookie' stepping stones for the garden entrance. (The wood comes from dead beetle kill trees in Grand Lake.) I 'planted' them yesterday. This meant getting the pick out and digging through dirt that resembled cement. Now...I just need 25 more! |
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| Allium are up! |
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| Bleeding Heart - two years old |
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| Our first lilac! We planted 9 small bushes last summer and they all made it! This is the only one with a bloom. Lilac Flowers are my absolute favorite flower. Nothing smells as good. The buds on the Red Bud tree were close! |
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| This is Koby! My Grandson! |
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| Tulips in June! |
We have a well and every year as I pump gallons and gallons of water to provide moisture to my thirsty plants I wonder, 'can it go dry'? I was raised with a heightened awareness of the scarcity of water and to conserve this rich resource. But I want to grow flowers!
I spent my childhood summers with my Grandmother in the wheat land of New Mexico on the family 'farm'. It's only source of water was a well, which stopped pumping anything liquid on a fairly regular basis. We had all sorts of water conserving routines that I won't bore you with here. What's important is that I live in constant paranoia that I'll turn on the faucet and...nothing. (Yet, I continue to water my flowers so the paranoia must be manageable.)
I've been a long skeptic of soaker hoses, really doubting that they can provide the deep watering that plants require. However, during these dry, dry days I'm going to give it a try.
I purchased four 75 foot flat soaker hoses. I have laid them through the beds, trying to nestle them near the base of each plant and let them run for several hours. They barely drip anything! Will this really work? Yesterday, I purchased some CottonBur compost which is more like a mulch than a compost. I laid this on thick over the top of the hoses...hoping to hide the hoses and provide a good mulch that will lock in the moisture underneath. I'll let you know how this goes! Has anyone out there used soaker hoses in a dry, dry climate and found that they provide adequate hydration?
I spent the winter searching for inexpensive rain barrels but found none. Guess it can wait awhile!
With the onset of another bone dry summer I am cutting back on my expectation of growing a vegetable garden. It's just too much watering. I planted Yukon Gold potatoes over a month ago and there is just one plant barely pushing up. I'm not willing to start over and do all the watering. In these times of diminished water, I'll sacrifice the vegetable garden and let it sit this year. Vegetable gardening at this altitude is dismal for the water it requires.
(I do have a zuchinni growing in a flower pot, a cherry tomato plant in another. Both of which were started by my sister-in-law in her in-house greenhouse. Would that be cool or what?!) I'm trying basil, dill, cilantro and chard in the pots as well. So, maybe I didn't completely give up on vegetables. Oh! I have harvested some spinach and lettuce from the garden thus far. They grow very well here! My husband refers to this as our $64. salad. (If you haven't read the book, 'The $64. Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity...you must.)
I have another selfish reason for giving these soaker hoses a try. While I love to spend time outside in my flowers, I like to do other things too! In order to deep water I would have to go from one plant to the next (several repeated times) and really soak the base of each and every plant. This takes all day! Then, if I go somewhere for a few days, it's all I can do to catch up.
It's sunny outside and nearly 65 degrees at 8:30 this morning. (It's reached 80 degrees already this summer!) I'm headed outside...I should probably water.
