Twenty days ago I introduced you to our first little garden.
Having this garden has awakened some childhood love and memories of enjoying outside life and being free to observe and learn about nature. I have shared about my past tragic events and how this love of the outside world was dampened.
I would now like to move on from there and share with you some updates on our garden.
As I said before, these plants have become my little babies. They were adopted into our family and just as I keep watch over my children I am always looking out for my plants.
We spotted a really huge raccoon and a curious rabbit this week so you can imagine how much more Iβve been keeping watch over our garden.
My parents suggested I sprinkle some grounded cayenne pepper throughout the garden to help keep predators away. I also spray a mixture of essential oils that deter pests and at the same time are beneficial for the garden:
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There are other essential oils that you can explore such as lemongrass, pine and orange that will also benefit your gardens.
I also add in water and a little bit of liquid castile soap to my spray mixture.
Growth
I put together some comparison photos of when we first planted the plants just 20 days ago compared to how they look today. The before photos are on the top and the current ones on the bottom.
Observing the growth of our plants has been a real treat for my family. My kids are amazed at how much each of them have grown.
Here is a final comparison from inside the gate...
Itβs really incredible seeing these comparisons. Just to think they still have some growing to do.
Weβve had a lot of rainfall lately as you can see the mud splattered on the plants. I havenβt had to water in almost a week which I donβt mind. After the rains I go out and spray the plants as well as the soil with my mixture to help keep the pests and fungus away.
I love that we can naturally and safely protect our plants and even encourage better growth.
The Sad Discovery
Iβm sure you all remember the beautiful iris plants I revealed to you?
Gardening definitely has itβs learning curve and I have quite a bit to learn.
I felt I should have known this due to how fragile they were but I didnβt take any preventive steps to prevent this...
We had two hard rains and this is the result afterwards. I should have staked them to help them be stronger. Although I think even if I did that the hard rain would have still ruined itβs delicate petals.
Thankfully we can still reroot and plant them again at the end of Summer. I researched about it and it seems to be an easy process. Weβll just have to make sure to take away any rotted roots and stems to get them healthy again.
You can imagine how upsetting it was when I found them lying on the ground, hurt, helpless and fading away. I knew there was no saving the ones that had already bloomed so I removed them :(
Well thatβs gardening for ya. Iβm glad I know what to do now so hopefully next Summer we can enjoy them longer :)
Being excited about gardening has got me back outside more and enjoying the nature around us. Once the rains taper off I will need to get out there and pick some weeds.
Oh and we found out that plant we thought might have been a fruit bearing plant is actually a tree. It was this one...
My father told me if I donβt get rid of it, it will suck up the nutrients away from our garden vegetables. I definitely donβt want that to happen so
bye bye tree! ππ½
Stay tuned to my garden journal because next up Iβll be sharing how our strawberry planting day went ;)
