How does your garden grow?

It seems a fair number of us are veg or flower gardening this summer. Anyone care to share what you are planting, your successes, trials, and tribulations?!

DH is going all out in the veg garden this summer. That is, if the rain lets up! We've got several types of tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot), eggplant, musk melon, water melon, zucchini, and burpless cucumber. Those are all seedlings. DH wants to try carrots, beets, radishes, savoy cabbage, pumpkin and a few other things from seed.

We're doing flowers, too, but not sure which ones yet.

How 'bout you?

- Tomato and basil, both planted yesterday.  I know it's late for tomatoes, but I'm hoping for the best anyway.

- A mixture of annuals called a "butterfly mix", also planted yesterday.  I've never heard that term before, but the flowers are meant to attract butterflies, according to the blurb on the package.

- Possibly some other herbs and easy veggies.  We'll see what kind of seeds are available at the store tomorrow.

I'm a champeen plant killer (my mother said I had a purple thumb). Unfortunate, as I grew up on a small farm. But my DH is a fantastic gardener. Last year, he finally got the greenhouse he has wanted all his life. He kept me in fresh veg over the Winter (he doesn't touch green things himself).

Now, he's added three raised beds with peas, potatoes, gherkins, spinach, onions, tomatoes, broccoli and...other stuff, I'm sure. How the flippin heck am I supposed to eat all this? I'm learning to can in self defense. Oh, plus the herb garden. He doesn't eat those, either.

That's not counting the fruitcage. That's got black currents, red currents, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries. And the property is covered in wild blackberries. At least he eats soft fruit.

As for flowers, he's done well with those, too, this year. But I'm such an ignorant monkey, I can't tell you what they are. They're pretty. That's what they are.

It's not a huge garden, but he's certainly squeezing a lot of horticulture into it...

After I get back from FL, my neighbour is digging up a small patch for me between our houses and we're going to put some tomatoes and cucumbers at least. I'd also like to get a window box of herbs going.

Tim and I have grand plans for a large veg garden in 2010 though!

I don't have a lot of space, but I started some basil, sage, and tomatoes on my windowsill about six weeks ago.  The tomato seedlings have already been repotted once, and I have to put them in larger pots this weekend, and move them outside under a tomato grow bag.  The biggest plants are already a foot tall.  And my basil is growing like a mad thing as well.  That will stay on the windowsill since it's flourishing there.  I hope I get enough to make some pesto.  The sage is also doing well on the windowsill, I plan to dry it and use it in stuffing for Thanksgiving.  This weekend I think I'll plant some lettuce as well and maybe some cherry tomatoes.  I've never been much of a gardener, but I'm really keen to grow as many vegetables as I can to be a bit greener and save some ££. 

DS gave me a big terra cotta strawberry pot last M's Day with a lot of herbs, which we planted.  Hoped they would winter over with burlap wrapped around but done for!  He also got two tomato plants, pepper plants and mint which we put in big pots.  A few toms but no peppers!  Trying again this year.  We actually have quite a big garden plot way in the back yard (what my mum called the "Back 40") but its constantly invaded by ground hogs (greedy beasts!)
Hating to mow, have turned over most of the front yard to flowers and shrubs:  daffodils followed by day lilies, poppies, peony, etc.  Replace the dicentra and added a buddleia this year.

Speaking of ground hogs... not sure if we have those, but we have lots of rabbits and squirrels. Anyone got any tips on keeping them away or is it wishful thinking and DH will be camped out all night shooing them away?!

We seem to have a bumper crop of slugs this week and what's worse, they seem to have been making their way into the house.  We think we found how they're getting in - a wee gap at the bottom of the front door frame, and we have jiggered something to plug that up.  Fingers crossed.  I stepped on one as I walked down the stairs this morning.

Yes, we have a pretty severe bunny problem this year. DH says he's going to shoot them, but I don't believe it. I've seen him empty a mousetrap. Red in tooth and claw he ain't.

He's also threatened to bring in the rent-a-ferrets. Local ferret rescue bring them out and let them eat their fill (win-win -- the ferrets have to eat, and people get rid of bunnies). That one he might do.

If he does, I'll take a walk that day. I hate cute-on-cute violence.

Ewww on stepping on a slug Mrs Robinson!!

We have a fairly good sized garden, but it's a rental so I'm not interested in investing a lot in planting, as much as I want a lilac and hydrangeas and rose bushes, etc., etc. 

What I have is a border on three sides that already had some permanent plantings, so I've filled it in again this year with lots of bedding plants.  I also have accumulated four big pots in the past three years, a couple as gifts and a couple I bought - so those are also planted up and look pretty good.

The front of the house has a hanging basket outside and door and a couple of long, narrow planters leading up to the door, plus a couple of 'baskets' attached to the front of the house.  They're all overflowing with trailing plants.

Everything's been planted for nearly a week now, and the slugs have only got at a few things...bought something today that's supposed to keep them away, not kill them, but if that doesn't work, I'm afraid I'll be forced to take stronger measures!!

We seem to have a bumper crop of slugs this week and what's worse, they seem to have been making their way into the house.  We think we found how they're getting in - a wee gap at the bottom of the front door frame, and we have jiggered something to plug that up.  Fingers crossed.  I stepped on one as I walked down the stairs this morning.

Oh no!  That's awful.  We have snails in our garden, one of which I stepped on the other day.  Crunchy+squishy=horrible.  I try to avoid them because I don't like killing things, even pests.  But if they eat my lettuce I will show no mercy.

I have yet to get to the garden centre, but I am hoping to get there this weekend. I am on SNAIL patrol this year so they don't eat my hostas, so far so good...my 3 year old is helping me to point them out. I am using slug pellets, ain't gonna lie! And I plan on building a raised bed (okay, if my dad comes over, I am planning on him building me a raised bed) and I am going to grow some cucumbers!!!

Speaking of ground hogs... not sure if we have those, but we have lots of rabbits and squirrels. Anyone got any tips on keeping them away or is it wishful thinking and DH will be camped out all night shooing them away?!

In my experience, squirrels don't really go nuts on the growing stuff (apples and nuts being the main exception), especially in a relatively urban setting.  Too much other tasty stuff to eat.  Put out some birdseed, and they'll be happy.

I can't really help you with bunnies, though.  The bunnies in our neighborhood are spectacularly, mind-bogglingly, stupid, and wouldn't know a vegetable patch is an all-you-can-eat buffet if there was a neon sign with an arrow.

In my experience, squirrels don't really go nuts on the growing stuff (apples and nuts being the main exception), especially in a relatively urban setting.  Too much other tasty stuff to eat.  Put out some birdseed, and they'll be happy.

I can't really help you with bunnies, though.  The bunnies in our neighborhood are spectacularly, mind-bogglingly, stupid, and wouldn't know a vegetable patch is an all-you-can-eat buffet if there was a neon sign with an arrow.

I hope you are right. But our local squirrels have already eaten through our plastic trash can and dug up Mom's pansies! I like the birdseed idea though.

Not sure how smart or dumb our bunnies are. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough!

Speaking of ground hogs... not sure if we have those, but we have lots of rabbits and squirrels. Anyone got any tips on keeping them away or is it wishful thinking and DH will be camped out all night shooing them away?!

I misread that at first as "shooting them away"    
The only thing that helped with our ground hogs was a dog.  We also have the varmints in the cemetery where my family is buried.  They have tunneled under the headstone at the front and dug up all the plantings!  Gotta go and check what they're up to this year before they topple the headstone.