Garden Diary - June 28

First raspberries today (2) and strawberries on Friday (5)! I've finally figured out a pest-repellent strawberry protector - copper wire mesh wrapped as a bag around the berries.

The forsythia is out of control (in desperate need of pruning). The lamb's ears are far bigger and taller than I ever thought they'd be (I may try moving them to the back yard where there's more room). The sorrel grew way out of control, so Mark pruned it down - hopefully it will come back as a nice, attractive plant without tall flowering stalks. The rose is smaller this year than last year (probably a good thing).

We're planning to make more self-watering planters - the squash are far happier in there than anywhere else.

The lemon thyme is blooming with tiny purple flowers. I thought it was blooming earlier this spring, but now realize they must have been bright yellow new leaves.

Garden Diary - June 16

Everything's blooming fabulously now - the sage in particular. And I've realized that the golden sedum is blooming - that's why it's sending up tall stems. There are so many plants that never flowered last year when they were new transplants.

Most of our seedlings have taken - the red mustard giant is growing especially well. I don't know that the peppers and eggplants are going to get large enough to bear fruit.

Garden Diary - May 31

There's even more room for plants in the front yard now - last weekend I expanded the bed (so there would be room for a row of plants in front of the brick pathway), edged, weeded and re-mulched. We got many of the new seedlings in the ground, and the hanging tomato planter installed. 

And on May 31 I edged and re-mulched some of the beds in the back - still more room for a few more seedlings back there!

The blue oat grass has been putting out seed heads - something that it never did last year when it was just newly planted.

Garden Diary - May 15

Things are really growing now - the purple sandcherry is in full bloom; my trilliums and other woodland plants have all returned; the backyard smells of lilacs. We've also bought the lumber for our two raised beds (one will be going on the near end of the driveway, the other where the wooden shed currently stands). And we also bought lots of other supplies - mulch, manure, a wheelbarrow... there's lots of work ahead in getting things built and tidied up for the summer season.