I don’t know if anyone would be interested in a peek into my veggie garden since I first planted and I last showed it to you, but it seems to be doing well this year ***knocking on wood***. No signs of the dread blight so far. I’m thinking maybe the landscape fabric is helping? Anyway, here’s a little slideshow of the progress so far:
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School got out last week. I felt like I’ve been in a flurry of activity every day since. Today was the first day I really felt like I was out for summer break. With the exception of my older daughter going to driving school (at her high school), I didn’t have to go anywhere. Today, I did summery things!
I worked in my garden, which looked so cheerful in the morning summer sunshine:
Everything seems healthy and happily growing. I added tomato cages to the sprawling vines today. I also noticed my hydrangea is starting to bloom:
I am delighted with all of the buds it has this year. I have often lamented my lack of luck with hydrangea. I don’t remember this hydrangea always being pink either; I know that soil pH can affect their color, but I haven’t moved this plant in probably 10 years. It has never been a great bloomer for me, so maybe I just don’t remember! Lots of buds still to come:
After the garden I picked up the yard for lawn mowing. I got to use a little chain saw to chop up a large branch that had fallen into the yard – that was kind of cool! After mowing the lawn, I vacuumed the pool. It looked nice and sparkly. I should’ve taken a picture.
My bird feeder has been extremely active since I refilled it a couple days ago. I also learned today that my squirrel-proof feeder is no longer squirrel-proof:
Industrious little thing, huh? I couldn’t understand just how the squirrels were getting at the seed. The feeder is set up so that if something heavier than birds lands on the feeder, that wire covering with the perches on it slides down and covers the opening to the seed. I went out to investigate. One of the openings had the plastic chewed away so that the opening was not completely covered when it slides down! That is the opening our little friend here is jamming his or her head into! The squirrels broke the other feeder I had put up for them in a near-by tree in the hopes of keeping them away from the bird feeder, so I’m not sure what I’ll do next.
At the end of my busy day, I landed in my second-favorite summer place – my deck with a good book (first favorite would be the beach, but that is a few hours drive away). And my little hummingbird took what seems to be one of his favorite places these days too:
That is a skinny little branch at the top of a small tree at the side of my property. I look for him there now when I am outside in the evening. I thought this made for a pretty cool shot of a hummingbird at rest; not a sight you see all that often.
Let me know about a good summer day for you in the comments if you’d like! June Photo Hunt re-cap coming soon – I’m waiting on a couple folks taking advantage of the extension. In the meantime, there are plenty of links to check out in the comment section of that post, so please go check out the submissions when you have the chance and leave them some love in their own comment sections.
A wise woman once said, “All weekends should be three-day weekends; then you’d have a day for running errands and chores, a day for socializing and a day to yourself to do whatever you want or nothing at all.” I may be paraphrasing a bit, but the wise woman is my sister and I couldn’t agree more! Thanks to the wonderful servicemen and women of this country who gave their lives for us, we are able to celebrate this three-day holiday weekend. I got to thinking about all the things I am appreciative for this three-day weekend and thought I’d share my appreciation with you.
I am appreciative that I was able to get my veggie garden planted with a minimum of back pain. I finished off that garden today by planting my little sentry row of critter-guarding marigolds:
I am appreciative of the warm weather that we have been granted after very wet spring. It allowed me to continue my planting frenzy this weekend. In addition to the veggies and marigolds, I planted all of my containers of flowers. A sampling:
(I can’t take credit for that top one – that was my mother’s day gift from hubby._
New guinea impatiens in my whiskey barrel
I put the bee balm that I bought for the hummingbirds in the ground near the butterfly bushes and fuchsia, and I found a spot in one of my flower beds for the new columbine:
I am appreciative for my home, my family and my friends. As I’ve enjoyed my yard, and having my hands in the dirt this weekend, I’ve taken a good look around. As appreciative as I am that we are past the long, harsh winter that Mama Nature had us endure this year, I couldn’t help but feel she was making up for it with an absolute bounty of beauty this spring. Remember all those wonderful lilacs I showed you? Now in bountiful bloom I’m enjoying both my rhododendron and my irises; I don’t remember such huge displays last year:
Looks like I’m also going to have plenty of rosebuds:
and that the chipmunks are going to have plenty of strawberries:
( Lord knows I never get any of them! Really need to get around to moving these one of these years)
While they are not bountiful yet, the very first of my peonies opened too!
So thank you Mama Nature, thank you fallen soldiers, and thank you blogging friends; you are all appreciated.
Remember what my garden space looked like a couple weeks ago after I cleaned it out?
I spent yesterday from about 9 am until about 5pm (with a break for lunch) weeding (yes, they did manage to invade after all the rain we’ve had), raking, digging and planting. It was probably one of the warmest and most humid days we’ve had so far this spring (86 degrees F), but I finished planting all my veggies:
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It doesn’t look like much right now, but there are 18 tomatoes, 33 peppers (varieties of both bell and hot), 12 zucchini, 6 yellow summer squash and 12 cucumber. I hope I haven’t overplanted my garden space this year! I started putting down some landscape fabric too (you can see that along the foundation of the house where the tomatoes are planted) in an attempt to keep weeds down a bit this year. I got too hot to finish that job; the black fabric just seemed to be throwing extra heat my way.
In addition to the veggie garden, my flower gardens have had some beautiful blooms this week too. Rhododendrons, woodland hyacinth, bearded iris and just this morning, poppies have all opened up. Do I have pictures for you? Of course! I even spent sometime with my extension tubes and tripod.
These are woodland hyacinth. They are not a large, showy flower. Those little bells are about 3/4 of an inch. The plants themselves are only about 6-7 inches tall. I thought they might make a nice extension tube subject, but my tripod, of course doesn’t go that low and resting the camera on the ground would be too low. So, I got down on my belly and parked my elbows on the ground as I held the camera. Here’s the best shot I got:
The rhododendron is in full blown bloom now:
and so are my beloved bearded irises:
Of course I played with the extension tubes on these also:
The bright orange poppy got in on the act this morning:
My crazy poppy! I must admit the light was just right for this shot this morning, and it has its own beauty, but it does look a little crazy where it is planted – take a look:
Right next to the delicate irises. Oh well! They are here to stay.
I just love this time of year. Don’t you?
This is what it feels like here today, so I thought to myself, “Self, how about taking some pictures of all the plants you bought at the garden center yesterday? Good idea, Self. That is certainly more cheerful than pouring rain.”
Every May, I make a trip to my local garden center, 16 Acres Garden Center, to stock up on veggies, herbs, annuals, and usually a couple perennials to add to my gardens and landscape. Years ago, when my mother still lived in the area, my mother and I, and sometimes my sister, would make what we called the annual “pilgrimage” to 16 Acres to spend gift certificates. Now the trip is usually just me, but I look forward to it each year. This is my take for this year:
Tomatoes, jalepenos, cucumbers, zucchini, basil and parsley are pictured here. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the other hot peppers that I want in stock. I’ll still be on the lookout for cayennes and thai dragons.
This tray contains some filler items for my containers like the spike in the back, and the ivy in the front, marigolds for the border of my garden, a bee balm perennial plant (supposedly hummingbirds love them), and some snapdragons. Garden tip: I plant marigolds along my garden fence to help discourage critters from being attracted to my veggies; many critters don’t like the smell. To further discourage exploration of my vegetables, I plant the hot peppers just inside the garden fence. This combination has been working for me for many years now. Give it a try if you have critter issues. Even if you don’t like hot peppers, you could make some hot sauce or salsa with them or give them away to your neighbors who do like them. Or if you are local, you could give them to me! 
I thought some of the other lovely specimens I purchased yesterday deserved their own photos. Even though there is not much sunshine to be had today, I found a nice little protected spot near my front step to set up these shots. The use of the nifty-fifty lens gave me plenty of light and a pretty focus.
Dwarf dahlia
Dianthus
Verbena
Geranium. I know one of our blogging friends says she doesn’t like geranium, but I think maybe even Tracy might have to admit this one is kind of pretty, maybe Tracy?
In addition to the bee balm, this is the other perennial I bought this year – columbine. I was reminded of columbine in this lovely post of Robin’s. Robin hadn’t seen columbines before and was really taken by them – so much so they are in her current blog header. I have a few columbine around the yard, but don’t really get a ton of blooms. I also have some kind of strange looking double columbine (click to see my Flickr photo), but I don’t find them as photogenic as the traditional single blooms.
I’ll still need a few more purchases to complete my plant shopping for this spring, but yesterday was a good start. If anyone local spies those peppers I’m looking for please let me know! I also have my eyes out for a trumpet vine; I’d be happy for a suggestion of a place to find one.
I’ve been rather alliterative this week! Well, okay, I only wrote three posts this week, but still!
I spent this Saturday morning as I spend most Saturday mornings - drinking coffee and reading Twitter on my iPod while I eat my breakfast. My usual M.O. after finishing breakfast is to bring the cup of coffee to the computer and catch up on the blogs. This particular morning, the sunshine was calling me outside… for yardwork. I did do some blog reading this morning, but by 10:30, I found myself outside to deal with this:
This is the area for my veggie garden, untouched since last fall when I plucked the last tomatoes and peppers. Some years I have left the entire ordeal of cleaning and prepping the garden for the same weekend as planting. And I have paid dearly with back pain. I am trying to be a smarter 40-something-year-old this year. Two and a half hours later, this is what it looked like:
Raked, pulled, weeded, hoed. Not completely ready for veggies in a few weeks – I’ll still need to amend my soil – but much better.
After a quick thundershower and some doing of other errands, I remembered there were more spring arrivals outside to share. First, the ones I love to fill my lungs with each time I go to my car, lilacs:
I wish someone would hurry up and invent smell-o-net for beauties like these! I was a little disappointed with the light outside; at the hour I was out there it should have been lovely. All of a sudden, it seemed like the universe was listening to me:
Hi there! It’s me! The sun peeped out under the clouds, just enough for this pretty light to show:
Newly arrived in the yard this week, in addition to the lilacs, are the sweet little bleeding hearts.
I think these could be my next extension tube subjects if I get a sunny day with not too much wind soon.
Now that it finally looks like spring outside, Scott’s 4-season assignment has been on my mind too! I’m hoping to get over to the location I selected for that tomorrow; be sure to get your shot soon too! 32 school days until summer!
Today’s photo prompt was actually an easy one for me. As soon as I read my email, I knew what I was going to take a picture of:
Today’s prompt told us to: “ Be on the lookout today for something that speaks of promise or possibility – something hopeful, touching, soul stirring. Something that reminds you that anything is possible and we have everything to hope for.” For a gardener like me, especially here in New England, what could hold more promise than the Burpee Seed Catalog? I thought my garden area with what is left of the snow and the watering can made the perfect backdrop.
Harvest time has begun here in my veggie garden. I mentioned the cucumbers last week. I’ve been picking zucchini for several weeks already. This week I’ve gotten to eat my summer garden favorite, tomatoes. Cayenne peppers have also been ripening fairly regularly.
Jalepenos…
…and Thai Dragons are coming along.
Have you ever seen these hot peppers growing before? Isn’t it strange how they grow upwards?
My bell peppers are a bit further behind…
…but at least it appears I will get some this year, unlike last summer.
Remember my story earlier this year about the only surviving seedlings that I started? I am shocked to discover that I may actually get to eat watermelon from my garden this year!
According to information I’ve read, icebox watermelons are supposed to be 6-10 pounds at maturity. I’ve never grown edible sized melons, so I don’t know what to expect for size. I took this picture to try to give you some idea of the size…
(I do have relatively large feet for a woman! Size 9 1/2) Any ideas whether this is close to eating size?
Not all of my plants are in tip-top condition, but at the very least it appears I will be able to harvest some of everything I planted this year. That’s a definite improvement over last years woeful garden, due to an extremely wet summer here in New England in 2009. I’m happy so far – especially with those tomatoes! Delicious! I should have taken a picture of the one I sliced up to go with my lunch today ( or with my dinner last night) to share with you, but I ate it too quickly!
Just a quick post today for a first of the season. I finally picked cucumbers from my garden!
I actually tried using this as an exercise from the book I’m reading, Understanding Exposure, using a small aperture to try to get my garden in focus behind the cucumbers. I’d thought I had it when I looked at it on my LCD, but as you can see here, the garden isn’t clear. I think this was at f22. I still have much to learn about lenses and such; I’m wondering if the garden isn’t clear because I was using the 55-250mm lens when I should’ve been using the 18-55? I’m only just realizing now that aperture minimums and maximums are at the mercy of your lens. I had no idea I couldn’t stop down past 5.6 when the lens is zoomed out. I guess those numbers on the end of the lens should’ve clued me in. But I digress…
I made quick work of my first cuke and chopped it up to have with dinner last night.
Delicious!
I’ve also picked zucchini and cayenne peppers from my garden - so far, so good. But for me, the real prize of the summer veggie garden is still to come, and by the looks of things coming very soon:
(Side story about this blog post. When I was writing this post in my mind, that picture of the tomato was where the post ended. Unfortunately, as I sat down to write this evening, I realized the picture of the tomato that I took yesterday was in fact unfocused. Dedicated blogger that I am -maybe a wee bit perfectionist? – I hiked out to my garden in the dark to get a focused picture of the tomato.)
Last weekend, after my mournful Red Sox Game, I spent my Saturday planting my vegetable garden. This has been a Memorial Day weekend tradition for me for many years now. In the early years of my garden, I easily grew luscious tomatoes, bountiful peppers, and piles of cucumbers and zucchini. I dabbled in corn one year – result, epic failure, due to local raccoons managing to pick virtually every ear just a day or so before it was perfectly ripe. I’ve experimented with carrots, onions and radishes. My clay soil is not overly friendly to root crops, although radishes flourished for a few years. Eggplant and summer squash have come and gone from year to year. I even gave tomatillos a shot one summer, but we don’t really have the growing season for them here in Massachusetts. I’ve never had a successful planting of any kind of melon – I’ve tried both watermelon and cantaloupe. Despite my successes and failures, it wouldn’t be summer for me without getting out there and getting my hands in the dirt.
Typically, on the day that I set out to plant my garden, this is how the space looks that I need to tackle:
Leaves to clear, weeds to pull, debris to move. This year, however, hubby gave my garden and me a treat after the garden of the past few years hasn’t been as successful as I’d like it to be: 4 yards of fresh top soil!
The photo above is how my garden looked at 9:00 am on Saturday morning.
And this is how it looked at about 6:00 pm Saturday evening. I only took a break for lunch, and I planted 68 fresh young vegetable plants, most of which were purchased from my local garden center, Sixteen Acres Gardens:
Yeah, all those seeds I started this year? The only ones that actually made it into my garden were, you guessed it, the watermelon seedlings (and I’m still not convinced they will grow even with the new top soil and the patches of composted manure that I planted them in! They are “icebox” sized seedless melons, but in the past the largest melon I ever got from these vines was the size of a baseball!) Here are the best looking of those seedlings, not that much bigger than the last time I showed them to you.
In addition to the watermelon, this year’s garden contains:
Tomatoes (6 Big Beef and 6 Better Boys)
Hot Peppers (12 Thai Dragons, 6 Jalepenos, 6 Long Red Cayennes)
Sweet Bell Peppers (6)
Cucumbers (12)
And zucchini (6)
And this is what I looked like at the close of this gardener’s day:
(I think I’ve mentioned before its hard to do much around here without involvement from 4-legged residents! )
Right now, I’m still in the early glory days of the garden season. The plants are fresh and new and healthy. I have hopes for my new top soil. I’m hoping for some cooperation from Mother Nature, with just the right amount of sun and rain (which has NOT been the case the past few summers). The dirt is weed free. But, like the road to Hell, the paths of my garden are paved with good intentions. Check back with me in August! Hopefully, the garden won’t look like this:
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