There's nothing like an impending garden club tour of your farm to inspire a flurry of weeding, mulching, staking, thinning, planting, mowing, chicken-coop-cleaning and patio-powerwashing. That's how we spent yesterday. This morning before 7 a.m. I weeded the new asparagus rows planted this year (celery growing between.) I didn't take a "before" photo, but trust me, you would have had a difficult time recognizing it as an asparagus bed. Tonight I will mulch.
Yesterday, I finally wove some supports through the sprawling tomatoes and created navigable paths. This should have been done long ago -I couldn't avoid breaking off a few heavy vines.
Although we planted them in the same deep-mulching method as last year's successful crop, for some reason our potatoes did not sprout, so a few weeks ago we gave up on them and transplanted winter squashes in that spot. Since then, potatoes have emerged! Unplanned companion planting.
We have a lot of companion planting going on this year. Cadence planted lettuce amongst the onions and zucchinis between the pea and bean trellises. The onion-lettuce bed has a nice texture.
Fennel is ready to start harvesting -but it's so pretty I hate to pick it.
Raspberries are almost done, but we are still getting a few of the precious morsels. The plants are from 75 canes we planted last fall into three rows. The bushes were kind of scrawny this first year, but bore a pretty good crop.
I planted a beautiful pink and yellow honeysuckle vine to climb up the windmill where a clematis refused to grow.
After I spoke at the garden club last year with Kari about the Farmers Market, they asked if they could tour the farm this year. I said sure, thinking I would have some of my flower gardening projects accomplished by now, such as the formal raised perennial beds where this scraggly birdbath flower patch is. Such good intentions! But life (and a milk cow) intervened.
Some of my plants seem to be cooperating, though. The little brugmansia plant (angel's trumpet) I purchased at the garden club plant sale last spring is loaded with huge, trumpet-shaped blossoms.
The pavement roses are also covered in blooms. That's the unlovely name on the tag; I got them because they reminded me of a rambly rosebush we had in our back yard growing up - my mom hated that prickly rose but the blossoms smelled wonderful.
The other cool thing about this rose is that it produces huge rosehips.
The yard, patio and garden are looking pretty presentable. Tonight I tackle the chicken coop and barn...
3 comments:
good luck with the tour!!!! we were on a 'pumpkin patch tour' last year and talk about stressful! you feel like every little thing needs done. but hey it is "motivation" and sometimes a little motivation is what is needed to get things done! everything you have pictured looks great!
The garden is looking good! I love that honeysuckle. We had one like that at our old house. I need to get a new one!
If you are a beginner when it comes to club gardening, don’t worry as you are about to read the basics of club garden. Anything that you plant will be on your side as it will want to grow, flower and deliver big beautiful fruits, or vegetables for your table. Choose the right plants for your garden and work to keep the weeds and nuisance wildlife away.
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