Tag Archives: Salem Massachusetts
Today’s Mail… the Pinetree Seed Order!
There are so may fun things to look forward to in this envelope.
I can’t even list them all. There’s herbs and vegetables and flowers… lots of everything that I love to grow.
Among the early starts that I need to plant asap are onions… I chose Alisa Craig Exhibition and Southport Red Globe.
I also ordered Green Magic Broccoli which can be started outdoors in early spring, or indoors now. I’m torn about that because my indoor space is tight. Is anyone else direct seeding broccoli here on the coast of New England?
I have a few varieties of peppers to get going this week along with impatiens and pansies. We grew both successfully at Bass River last year so I’m looking forward to trying it at home.
Not far behind are the ten varieties of tomato, the cucumbers, the basils, the beans… the list goes on!
As you can see I had fun with this order. Pinetree Seeds was highly recommended by my friends Ed and Betsey who grow the most beautiful garden I’ve ever seen. Remember their onions?
One of the things that I like about Pinetree Seeds is that you can order a smaller quantity of seed at a much lower price than most other companies. This is great for the home gardener like me who only needs twenty plants per variety at most. I can try lots of fun creative things and still stay well within budget. The cute packaging and unexpected free gift of velcro garden ties were an added bonus. Let’s just hope these seeds germinate and thrive!
My goal is to grow almost, if not all, of our garden from seed this year. I had such a good time with my seed starting adventure last year that I’m feeling pretty optimistic about the season that’s about to begin.
Yes, the season is beginning!
The garden may look like this, but spring is coming!
Woo Hooo!!!
Did you place your order yet? What are you thinking about growing this year?
Are you as excited as I am?
Michele
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day from Incredibly Snowy Salem
We’ve received 87 inches of snow in Salem Massachusetts since January 23rd.
That’s a lot.Â
Here’s the garden this morning. We’ve lost sight of the fence and picnic table. The chickens are in there somewhere.
The flowering plum tree is in danger of being completely covered.
Our front walk is a memory. It’s buried 89% of the time these days.
And I’m not sure that the Juneberry tree is going to make it. It’s always kind of fragile, even in good weather.
But we have puzzles to do.
And Michael gave me this pretty orchid for Valentine’s Day.
It’s still Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, even with 87 inches of snow!
 I had a good time taking photos of it..
Different backgrounds, different camera settings…
Who knew that one day I’d enjoy photographing orchids?
Maddie and I think that life is pretty great like that.
In other news, I came across these onion seeds in the basement…
Their from last year but if I can find some seed starting mix I think I’ll get them planted!
Spring will be here before we know it!
Be sure to visit May Dreams Gardens to see blooms in gardens all over the world.
Those wonderful posts will fast forward you straight to springtime!
Stay warm and well,
Love, Â Michele
Blizzard in the Garden
It’s Wordless Wednesday but I couldn’t really do a post without words today. We just had a blizzard after all…
The official snow total for Salem is 24 inches, but honestly, I think our number is a little above that. It snowed well into the night last night, long after I read that on the internet.
The garden fence is buried. Michael usually shovels through the arbor but decided to take a little break from that this time. That made me feel better about all of the shoveling that he does.
The coop can be reached again!
But there’s not much room to play.
Which is just fine with the girls who are refusing to go outside. I’m with them!
Michael feeds the wild birds..
The cold snowy bunny hutch doesn’t have a path yet…
but that’s okay because Paula Tucker is happily tucked away in the chicken coop.
The pond is white now, and the big rock is submerged in snow. See the track across the bottom? A deer or coyote must have gone through.
As buried as we are, all is well. Everyone stayed warm and dry.
The next storm is on Friday but nobody’s talking about that yet.
Stay warm my friends!
Love, Â Michele
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- From the Cold Northeast USA- January 2015
What’s this? A GBBD post from me in January?
I think that’s progress!
I looked back at my Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day posts from last year and there were none at all in January or February and I posted pictures of my birthday flowers in March. How sad is that? I remember wishing for winter blooms and thinking that the likelihood of that ever happening was a long shot..
But, here I am…
There may only be four but I think we’re moving in the right direction.
This kalanchoe plant was a gift last year. It bloomed as it arrived in February then spent the summer in a shady spot on my deck. I’ve been reading about how to care for it and it looks like it’s naturally winter blooming and could continue for awhile.
 I bought this poinsettia for 99 cents on Black Friday and added it to this pot with the philodendron. It still seems pretty happy but it’s probably heading out soon unless I find a cat proof place to let it rest for awhile.
This Christmas Cactus in my office was given to me at the end of a plant sale last summer and I have to say that I was a bit skeptical about my ability to stay with it. It’s very forgiving and clearly enjoys hanging out with my seed catalogs. 
 I’m also seeing some success with this pretty African violet. It’s also in my office and gets lots of filtered light at this time of the year. This room is adjacent to my kitchen so I think the humidity level might be favorable to plants.
That’s it for me! It’s very cold here in Salem, as it should be at this time of the year, but spring is coming!
It’s nice to have a little bit of color and bloom to get us through.
Be sure to check out the other GBBD posts on here on May Dreams Gardens!
Stay warm!
Love, Michele
Wordless Wednesday- Brrrr…
Love, Michele
Christmas Herbs
It’s been so warm here in Salem that we have lots of fresh herbs for Christmas this year.
I consider them to be my own personal Christmas gift~
There’s little bits of dill popping up out front… not quite enough to cook with but there may be just enough for a bowl of carrots in a day or two.
I brushed my hand over lemon balm and was transported right back to July….
…in my mind, but it was very pleasant.
a few more days like this and we could have blooming lavender again.
There’s fresh growth on the sage…
…along with the oregano.
My rosemary plant that never quite made it inside this fall is full of beautiful fragrant foliage..
…same with the thyme.
And I’m putting fresh parsley in everything..potatoes, chicken soup, you name it!
Merry Christmas to me!
Love, love, love,
Michele
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day- November 2014
Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!
Sometimes I have things blooming into the fall and sometimes I don’t. This has been a pretty forgiving fall with the exception of some snow storms that lasted for a few hours so we still have some color in the garden here in Salem, Massachusetts.
As I posted last month our lavender is still with us.
The stevia flowers are sweet, both in appearance and taste.
Actually the flowers aren’t sweet but the leaves sure are!
The snapdragons are always pretty hardy and this year is no exception.
This is the last little bit of a new ivory echinacea  that I just planted. I’m pretty excited about this addition. I think it’s going to mirror the traditional purple echinacea just across from it nicely.
We still have rose buds but I’m worried about this one. Are those little thorns evidence of rose rosetta disease? What do you think? 
 I have lots of grasses scattered around and I love the transformation that they make at this time of the year when they “bloom.”
And of course, I have a red chrysanthemum on the front porch. This one is still beautiful!
How’s your garden growing? Â Be sure to check out the other GBBD posts on May Dreams Gardens right here!
Three posts in four days for The Salem Garden… hmmm…soccer and hockey seasons must be over!  😉
Enjoy everything!
Michele
It’s Not Too Late to Plant a Few Bulbs….
Maybe your feeling kind of done or like  you’ve missed the window to get those bulbs in the ground….
…but guess what? You haven’t!
As long as the ground isn’t frozen you can still plant bulbs.
And in a few short months when spring springs you’ll be glad you did!
I decided to put some daffodils and dutch iris along this little walkway in my herb garden.
I used simple bags of bulbs from a big box store. You can be fancy and order them, or buy organic or whatever you like… or, you can just go buy some up the street like I did.
Here’s the key.. Read the label and plant as directed. Be sure to take note of the planting depth and light requirements.
Considering the light requirement is so important, just like it is when you plant everything else!
The correct light, soil type and water, that’s what does it!
I like to loosen up the soil well then place my bulbs a few inches apart. Â 
Next I dig holes to the depth indicated on the package and gently place the bulb in, pointed side up. In this case the daffodils are planted six inches deep and the iris 2-4 inches. I’ve also seen gardeners layer them with the deeper bulbs sitting under a layer of soil with another layer on top. I was working in and around the herbs so I planted them randomly but if your grouping them together to fill in an open space they’ll look great if you use the layering method.
Does that make sense? I hope so…
You can add a handful of bonemeal as you plant if you have some. I didn’t have any on hand but it helps!
Fill back in with soil, and their all set!
I chose to scatter bulbs along the sides of this pathway, in between and around the herbs. Most of the herbs are perennials so they should be part of the arrangement when spring comes.
And now we just wait!
One last quick tip… don’t add manure of any kind to a bed where your planning to plant bulbs in the near future. Some lighter compost will be fine, but manure will burn your bulbs and you’ll never see them again.
Let’s just say that I learned this lesson the hard way 😉
Hope your inspired to grab a bag of bulbs off of the sale rack and spend a few minutes brightening up a corner. Look for a spot near a doorway where you’ll enjoy them often!
Hurry, before the polar vortex sinks down and gets us all!
Enjoy everything!
Michele
ps/ Since I wrote this post this week the weather systems have ramped up and the snow is coming, so I’m clicking publish and telling you to hurry! You can do this!
Wordless Wednesday-Cutie Patootie
The Salem Garden 