Greetings! It is officially spring!
The danger of a freeze hopefully is over. Boy, we had a few weeks of wonderfully warm weather then cool again. Here at White Dove Farm, I have had a few helpers (thank God!) to assist me in all of the preparatory work of cleaning up the property. Our burn pile has grown quite large this year and needs to be moved little by little to the burning spot as to be safe.
When burning outdoors, do not burn huge amounts, but safe small controlled burns with water hoses surrounding the burning area. When you are limited to using a metal barrel, then you need to chop up the branches and debris to smaller pieces. If you are unable to burn in your area then you have to lay your branches on the ground and tie them up for the garbage man to pick up.
Other smaller items that you do not want the seeds to germinate put into a garbage container for pick up, not more than two feet above the lid. Especially jacaranda seed pods. My son has checked out the rotor-tiller and changed out the gas priming bulb, which deteriorated with time.
My husband Steve took the tiller to a neighbor, a small engine repair person, who changed out the rope on the recoil starter. Now we are ready to roll!
Try planting tubers, rhizomes and bulbs. I picked up some of these at the box stores recently and planted them, some in containers, old bath tubs, and assorted and unusual pots. After two or three light rains, lo and behold they sprouted and are already giving color to our garden. Many of the previous year’s plantings are coming back to bless us.
We are digging up and cutting out many of the roots of the beautiful but invasive sun flower trees since we have accumulated too many. A lot of people love the flowers, especially in large bouquets, but they can take over a large area of your yard. So be careful (I don’t mean the regular sunflower plants).
I like just about all varieties of growing plants, and I have learned to place certain plants (trial and error) in appropriate places. For example honeysuckle, which is a twining vine, attracts hummingbirds, so it’s good but also bad because it travels at a high rate of speed and chokes out the plants near it. So, where should you put honeysuckle? On a fence with no other plants nearby.
Are you interested in garden art? This is my expertise and passion. We have had hands-on demos and training in many areas of art. No charge, only bring your own supplies. Here are a few examples!
Steve and Jeanne Wolfe
Garden Connect meeting:
April 21, 2018 at 3:30pm, third Saturday.
RSVP 813-991-9786 or whtdovefarm@yahoo.com