Garden 2 Nourish: Wine Barrels - prepped and potted

After talking with Patrick and his dad we devised a plan for the wine barrels, so that they'll last for a long time and keep critters out. It goes like this...

Step 1: drill five holes in the bottom of the barrel for drainage
Step 2: cut wire mesh to cover holes

Step 3: Line with Visqueen (heavy plastic)

Step 4: cut slits in plastic above drainage holes
Step 5: nail metal mesh over holes

Step 6: add a two inch layer of gravel

Step 7: fill with dirt
Step 8: cut plastic a few inches from top of barrel
Step 9: smooth out dirt to edges of planter
Step 10: begin planting!

I'm sure it's important to have a plan, but each time I have actually marked one down on paper, it doesn't last! Instead of following my sketch from the other day we decided to put one wine barrel on the corner of the rectangular planting beds (four total).

Far back right barrel with Circus Rose (peach color), Dahlia*, Peony*, Iris*, and Freesia*
*bulbs

Back left pot with Gold Rose (yellow) with Peonies*, Iris*, and Freesia*

Front left pot with Dahlia*, Iris*, and Freesia* bulbs

Front Right planter with Sunsprite Rose (yellow), Dahlia*, Iris*, and Freesia*

I also added a border and wood chips to the base of the Redwood trees in the garden area.

The little Redwood sapling looks a little more dignified with the border and mulch base.

Redwood with Blue Spruce (Christmas Tree) in the background.

Check out the cow toy I dug up while putting the wood chips around the base of the Redwoods! Hilarious :)

oops! should have worn gloves!!!

The growth update:

The Parsley seedlings are starting to resemble the herb in its mature form.
Check out the new three leaf growth!

The cucumber seedlings are getting so BIG! I had these out in the sun (and wind) all day on Saturday and it might have proved too much for some of the fragile tube stems. I noticed a few have seen better days and might not survive their first outdoor experience.

Fruit tree updates: All trees we have planted are now showing some signs of life!

Asian Plum tree (had blossoms when we planted it, but lost them with the stormy weather).

The Brown Turkey Fig has some pretty leaves forming.

The Golden Delicious Apple has green leaf sprouts too :)

Tiny green leaves from the Fuji Apple.

Little sprouts on the Asian Pear Tree at the top of the row of fruit trees.

It's a wonderful time of year to blog about our property. It seems like each week something new has grown, changed, or emerged from the soil.

View of Father-in-Law, Box Elder Tree, and our old red barn!

I love this tree. The moss makes it even more interesting to look at.

These green shoots are called suckers and need to be removed before they get too large. They're on the plum tree. You can see where Patrick removed past suckers that the previous homeowner allowed to grow until maturity.