full swing in the garden

Although our house is under major construction right now and i may have to hop over a ladder or straddle a pile of lumber to weed and plant, it is not keeping me from being out in the garden. after visiting chanticleer last week, i came home inspired to try new things, one of which was to play around with willow. willow branches are very pliable and root very easily making beautiful living structures. you can watch a little video by martha here to see how to make a living fence. i just dug up a boxwood hedge which was not doing so well and plan to make this type of fence to replace the hedge. for now my mother had a few bunches of willow that she rooted in a bucket of water which i used to make a simple little fence to weave around a bed of newly planted herbs by the bunny hutch to keep little feet from trampling them.
the dinosaur kale is growing well among the perennial flowers. i can't wait for fresh raw kale salad! last summer a friend gave me a peach tree which he had potted up a few years back. it had sprouted up in his compost pile from a peach pit and now it lives in the front of our house along the strip between the sidewalk and the street where it can soak up full sun. it is dripping with fruit! i still need to read a little more about growing and pruning peach trees. oh i am dreaming of peach cobbler! this week i bought a few asparagus plants and referred back to abby's post since i have never grown asparagus before. one obstacle i have with growing asparagus is that i do not have a place for it to grow all by itself in it's own bed. but i am going to be daring like i have with all of my edibles and try to grow it amongst some other things and see how it does. it can't hurt to try right? i also bought a beautiful healthy rhubarb plant to plop right in the middle of my front garden which gets loads of sun. i am going to keep this off the beaten path of people passing by on the sidewalk since the leaves are toxic. the rainbow swiss chard i planted in pots is growing strong and looks beautiful among the pansies and succulents.

the alliums are in full bloom.
and the strawberries are flowering making our mouths water for smoothies and crumbles.

what's growing in your garden these days?

early summer happenings in the garden

Abby is a regular guest writer of tend & we are so happy to have her here once more! Thanks again, Abby. Psst- take a look at her hoop house!  

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Since summer just officially arrived, I thought I'd share a few of the things happening in our early summer garden.

In our 3rd year at our place, I am starting to feel like we have a solid foundation to build on, allowing for a greater momentum all the time.

Our little upper garden is more productive each year, and the soil is looking healthier than ever.

The "industrial worm bin" (seen in the distance), is slowly turning into rich compost. The wildflowers and perennial herbs maintain themselves, and are a treat for the eyes every spring and summer. They are also a great attraction for pollinators and other beneficial insects.

It's mild enough here in the winters, that we are able to grow greens (particularly kale), carrots and beets all year long. This is my first year focusing more heavily on lettuces.

The summers here are also quite mild, so peas will continue to produce through much of the season.

We recently built a hoop house to make it easier to grow heat loving plants like tomatoes, peppers and melons. This year we decided to go hog wild with tomatoes! The hoop house will serve as the epicenter for a lower garden, which we hope to start creating very soon.

I harvested our first artichokes today. Seems early, but I sure don't mind.

And the first sunflowers have already bloomed. This one was planted by a squirrel, and should produce a head full of black sunflower seeds for the birds.

June is always such an exciting time in the garden, where everything is getting well established and it still feels like it's only just begun. What gets you excited in your garden this time of year?

happenings

hello!
it's so nice to be back.
what a great week of posts last week!
a big hug and a thanks to all of our guests.

we have had loads of rain here and more to come
so the garden is large and lush these days.
the hens are happy in their new home
and our banty has begun to lay sweet tiny eggs.
we have harvested our first pear of the season.
and watermelons are growing on our front stoop.
i have plans to start a new rock wall this weekend, if i don't get washed away.
i love this time of year.
fall is in the air
but there is still so much to come.