This post is to catch up on bits and pieces around our place. Things are really looking good, and we've gotten a lot accomplished this spring.
First, the veggie garden:
The potatoes bloomed briefly before all the rain, but they are looking pretty good as far as I can tell.
The big double bed is pretty full. Serrano peppers, green beans, banana peppers, and onions in the bed on the left and Supersonic tomatoes, green peppers, Healthy Kick tomatoes, and jalapenos in the bed on the right.
A close up of the baby Serrano peppers.
A closeup of the onions.
Cukes (back) and summer squash (front).
The melon patch, with watermelon in the back and muskmelon in the front.
So everything is looking good so far in the veggie garden, except the carrots failed to come up. I probably got them in too late. I'll try again next year earlier.
Coming back from the veggie garden through the yard, there's the most heavenly scent in the air in one particular spot:
These flowers will be elderberries in a couple of months. Yum!
Up on the hill, things are moving along as well. The orchard fence is completed, ready to protect fruit trees from deer this fall.
Hubby will be working on adding a front porch to the shed along with gutters so that we can add rain barrels between the fence and shed. We re-recycled the old back steps for convenience and safety going up and down the hill. Eventually, there will be a stone retaining wall along the length of the hill, but that's a BIG project down the road.
The strawberries are winding down. I got about 4 quarts this year, and they are GREAT! Large, firm, and sweet. I'll be removing the newspaper mulch and replacing it with pine straw to make things easier for runners.
Behind the strawberry patch, the witch hazel that was planted last Samhain. Looking good!
Some wild pentas (pink flowers, a little blurry) that volunteered near the strawberries.
A couple of patches of wormwood (artemesia) that migrated from my herb bed by the back deck.
This giant comes up every year in the same spot, but this is the first that I've seen the artichoke-like thing at the top. I *think* it's comfrey.
Now for a few bits around the herb bed by the back deck, which is scheduled to be demolished this year as one of my projects. It's mostly clover and lots of "weeds", but there are a couple of gems that will be moved into the small bed by the deck. There's also a white foxglove, which is hiding among the clover in the photo of the yellow yarrow.
I *think* this is either feverfew or boneset. I remember planting both in the bed several years ago, but this kind of took off this year. The small white flowers are quite pretty, as is the fernlike foliage.
This is yellow yarrow, planted for its use as a dye.
This is red yarrow, a gift from my brother. Since it is the only perennial in this bed by the back steps, the yellow yarrow will go at the other end of the bed, with the feverfew planted between them.
So that's the Solstice update from around our back yard. Last night was quite clear, so we spent a little time stargazing and watching the thousands of fireflies flitting around the back yard. It was like the Dance of the Faeries, apropos for a Midsummer eve.
The potatoes bloomed briefly before all the rain, but they are looking pretty good as far as I can tell.
The big double bed is pretty full. Serrano peppers, green beans, banana peppers, and onions in the bed on the left and Supersonic tomatoes, green peppers, Healthy Kick tomatoes, and jalapenos in the bed on the right.
A close up of the baby Serrano peppers.
A closeup of the onions.
Cukes (back) and summer squash (front).
The melon patch, with watermelon in the back and muskmelon in the front.
So everything is looking good so far in the veggie garden, except the carrots failed to come up. I probably got them in too late. I'll try again next year earlier.
Coming back from the veggie garden through the yard, there's the most heavenly scent in the air in one particular spot:
These flowers will be elderberries in a couple of months. Yum!
Up on the hill, things are moving along as well. The orchard fence is completed, ready to protect fruit trees from deer this fall.
Hubby will be working on adding a front porch to the shed along with gutters so that we can add rain barrels between the fence and shed. We re-recycled the old back steps for convenience and safety going up and down the hill. Eventually, there will be a stone retaining wall along the length of the hill, but that's a BIG project down the road.
The strawberries are winding down. I got about 4 quarts this year, and they are GREAT! Large, firm, and sweet. I'll be removing the newspaper mulch and replacing it with pine straw to make things easier for runners.
Behind the strawberry patch, the witch hazel that was planted last Samhain. Looking good!
Some wild pentas (pink flowers, a little blurry) that volunteered near the strawberries.
A couple of patches of wormwood (artemesia) that migrated from my herb bed by the back deck.
This giant comes up every year in the same spot, but this is the first that I've seen the artichoke-like thing at the top. I *think* it's comfrey.
Now for a few bits around the herb bed by the back deck, which is scheduled to be demolished this year as one of my projects. It's mostly clover and lots of "weeds", but there are a couple of gems that will be moved into the small bed by the deck. There's also a white foxglove, which is hiding among the clover in the photo of the yellow yarrow.
I *think* this is either feverfew or boneset. I remember planting both in the bed several years ago, but this kind of took off this year. The small white flowers are quite pretty, as is the fernlike foliage.
This is yellow yarrow, planted for its use as a dye.
This is red yarrow, a gift from my brother. Since it is the only perennial in this bed by the back steps, the yellow yarrow will go at the other end of the bed, with the feverfew planted between them.
So that's the Solstice update from around our back yard. Last night was quite clear, so we spent a little time stargazing and watching the thousands of fireflies flitting around the back yard. It was like the Dance of the Faeries, apropos for a Midsummer eve.
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Update: The funky artichoke thing turns out to be mullein. There are a few of these throughout our yard, so now I'll be researching uses for it.
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