For the #hivegardenqotw I went back to my photos and entries in Quicken.
The garlic was ordered on July 12, 2025 but didn’t arrive until October 7, 2025. I had to order new garlic this year as the seed I had saved each year since 2008 had somehow gotten contaminated with a disease. The original seed had come from Johnny’s so I went back to them for organic seed. The variety is German Extra Hardy. As to how useful, I won’t know that until harvest in July 2026.
In September 2025 or maybe earlier, my Attar of Roses geranium that I had saved from frost at a farm store in October 2008 died. I had gotten a Select Seeds catalog and they had it in there as a plant so I ordered it. It won’t arrive until spring. I had also ordered 4 lemon verbena plants for the New Herb garden. The attar of Roses geranium is the only scented one I like; mostly geranium scent is irritating. It’s always been in the house, in what is now the sewing room on the second floor. Its usefulness is my enjoyment.
The last thing I bought for the garden last year was 20 more bales of mulch hay on November 20, 2025. This is one of the most important buys and one I spend the most money on. It has these benefits:
- It stops weeds
- It feeds the soils and beneficial life in the soil
- It conserves water
- It protects the bare soil
- It protects the small plants
- It’s safer to use than straw and lasts longer
I probably spend a lot more on my gardens than most people, but I expect to get a year’s worth of food from them too.