My Weekend -- Another Plant Sale, And Planted My Tomatoes

On Sunday, I went to another plant sale -- The Florabundance Plant Sale for the Arboretum Foundation. What an awesome sale. There were more vendors there than I've seen at any other sale I've been to this Spring. I found a couple of things on my want list, as well as a few others that struck my fancy.

Clockwise -- two western maidenhair ferns, two Sedum spathulifolium 'Carnea', Sedum makinoi 'Ogon', three pots of Cornus canadensis, and Garrya issaquahensis (a shrub)

Clockwise -- Cimicifuga ramosa 'Brunette', Filipendula ulmaria 'Aurea', Geum rivale, two Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'

I am planning to put the Cimicifuga, Filipendula and Athyrium together as a companion planting in one bed, in semi-shade. I think all the intersting foliage will look together. I've been looking for western maidenhair fern for a while now, all I can find at the nursery is Himalayan maidenhair. They are going into the shady part of the mostly native bed. I'm not sure where the two types of sedum will go, but I want to plant them together, another nice foliage contrast. I'll probably grow the shrub start on for a while in its pot, and then plant it in the Fall, so it can have lots of our Fall rains to help it establish. The Cornus canadensis is going into the back of the waterfall, planted amongst the sword ferns, native ginger, and fringecups. I'm not sure where the Geum is going, but I just loved its delicate dancing flowers.

The weather on Sunday, May 1, was just wonderful -- warm and sunny. After the sale, I planted my indeterminate tomatoes into the raised bed with the hoophouse over it. I cut circles about a foot wide out of the red plastic mulch, and dug way down. Took a lot of the lower branches off each one, so I could plant them deep, to encourage roots along the buried stem. I had read on the blog Grow Better Veggies, about putting a lot of amendments into the hole, so I thought I would try that, in hopes of actually getting some ripe, healthy tomatoes this year. The only thing on their list that I couldn't get my hands on was the fish heads, but I gave them each a drink of diluted fish emulsion once they were planted. Everything else I found on Amazon, I can never find this kind of stuff at the local nursery.

Into each hole, I put a handful of worm castings, a few tablespoons of bone meal, a pinch of mycorrhizae, and a couple of tablespoons of ground eggshells mixed with aspirin. (I've been saving my eggshells for a while). I  have some organic Dr. Earth fertilizer, but I forgot to put that in, so I'm going to give them a couple of days and then give them some fertilizer. Or I might just give them some kelp. Or maybe both.

In other news, my Rodgersia and my Astilboides tabularis have finally shown up!

 Rodgersia, looking very dirty

Astilboides

It was a very satisfying weekend!