Playing Outside

Transplanting

We have moved some of our favorite plants from the old house to the new. Jonathan had some help with transplanting the rosemary.

Visions of Spring

He Hideth my Soul

I transplanted these hens and chicks into our rockery at the end of the summer, hoping that they would create a more refined look than the dead grass and blackberry sprouts that were growing there at the time. They have established well, although it is probably too early to expect them to spread. I have high hopes for future rocky elegance, though.

Seedlings

This is where we started in the middle of March. My table is taken over by seed trays for six to eight weeks in the spring because this is the sunniest spot in the house.

Sprouts:

Beans, peas, squash, oh my! The big round pot is for the basil that will stay inside over the summer.

The plants were put outside to harden off at the beginning of May. The parsley, dill, thyme and cilantro were added to the flourishing side yard. I weeded just enough to plant them but couldn't bring myself to pull out the beautifully flowering forget-me-nots. There are a couple of plants still tucked into pots, waiting for the blooming to be over.

Spanish bluebells are an invasive species in our area and are practically impossible to remove. However, they provide spring color just when I'm longing for more sun and, while I will attempt to control them so that other things can also be planted in that area, I appreciate the fact that they will reliably be around. I also have fond memories of growing up in a neighborhood full of these charming "fairy houses" and picking them for May Day bouquets.

The area on the other side of the fence has now been weeded and pansy plants added. The hostas are up too! Unfortunately, in the process of digging holes for the pansies, I sliced right through the calla lily bulb that was still below ground. There is definitely something to be said for a garden diagram that shows you where everything is growing--especially when it hasn't come up yet.

An Engineer's Garden

Last weekend we whipped the garden into shape enough to get the soaker hose out and plant the poor seedlings that have been languishing in their starter pots. Of course, I did have to pick the hottest weekend that we've had since last August to insist on all this hard work!
The previous beds just needed weeding and the soil turned but we (Jonathan) also needed to dig up a new potato bed since they are supposed to be rotated in order to keep down disease and pests. A new sunflower area was also required since we are trying out the truly mammoth sunflowers this year and had to figure out a place to grow them where they wouldn't shade another sun-loving plant.
We had also neglected to bring in the soaker hose at the end of last year so we had to extract it from its cozy little nest of grass that had grown up around it. Some grumbling on both sides cemented the conviction that this travesty of yard keeping shall not recur. In the end, however, it was laid out with careful attention to the mathematical relations of the hose wetting area to the bed space and the strain rate of the hose bends.



I had intended to plant the seedlings on Saturday but we needed to take our red faces inside to cool off. They were finally planted in the cool of the evening on Sunday. And then it rained--hooray!

Fresh Beginning

The weather has been mild for the last week and the bulbs are starting to make their appearance.


I am trying to remind myself that it will probably be forty degrees tomorrow and it would be foolish to try planting anything. But I can mulch and weed in preparation.




The everbearing strawberries sent out runners all year long and I ended up digging out a dozen new starts and relocating them. It is splendid to have enough to share with friends.

Tiptoe through the Toadstools

We had our very own mushroom show in our yard due to the consistently moist conditions this fall. There were probably a dozen different varieties altogether. These three were just outside the front door.


These black and grey mushrooms are actually rather common although this is the first time that we have noticed them in our yard.

Fall Smoke (Bush)

Can you see the angel peeking out from under the bush? I like my yard art to be as subtle as possible and I can just barely see her when I look out my kitchen window.


This little cluster of Oregon grape reminds me of the more mature bushes at my grandparents' house. My sister and I would crush the berries to use in "medicines" and various forms of paint, ink and dye for Paldontian projects and crafts. It was so disappointing that the juice oxidized to brown rather than staying the beautifully purple-blue color of the berries.

Blessed be the Lord of the Harvest

A sampling of the goodness from our garden.

We had a plethora of green onions. Next year we will be planting them in shifts so that we aren't overwhelmed with them all at once.


Royal Chantenay carrots. Very flavorful but also very fat--thinning for optimal growth was essential.


Acorn squash and our very own pumpkin.


Purple potatoes.


Freshly scrubbed Chantenay and Purple Haze carrots. The purple carrots lagged behind for a while but when I finally harvested them all there turned out to be far more. This will be a repeat planting!


A sampling, including the butternut squash.


This is what we did with much of the grand harvest of patty pan squash. See link to recipe here. I included the last of the peas in the stuffing as well.

Autumn Beauty

I love asters.

Garden Glories

We are finishing up harvesting the results of our second year of gardening and putting the beds to rest for the winter. As always, we learned a few things along the way and enjoyed the fruits (and vegetables) of our labors and God's provision.
First year garden (and handsome husband):

Harvesting Royal Chantenay and Thumbelina carrots:

Showing off the harvest:

This year, with the help of the Michael Delving crew, we removed most of the large brush pile that was taking up badly needed sunny space and were able to expand the growing area to be able to accomodate more peas, squash, carrots pumpkins, strawberries, sunflowers and potatoes. After considerable dissatisfaction with the variety that we grew last year, we also opted to try out a less prolific but ostensibly tastier zucchini. The blue and purple potatoes, purple carrots and sunflowers were Jonathan's contribution.

Second year garden:

Proud potato (and squash and sunflower) planter:

Side yard herb garden:

Burgeoning summer growth with peas on the fence, winter and summer squash and potatotes in the forground. The carrots, radishes, onions and strawberries are being hidden by the zucchini. Note the marigolds interspersed with the summer squash for pest control.

It was an exceptionally good year for blackberries.

Our cheerful sunflowers:

One day's harvest:


I will post more pictures of our produce when we download the fall pictures off of the camera.
In the meantime, this recipe is a very tasty way to use up all of those extra summer squash. It works on bigger zucchini too.