Garden Friday

 

 

Welcome back to Garden Friday!

With the weather showing its "spring-i-ness",

we've been working diligently at getting projects done.

 

 

Melons were started from seed 

and added to our cardboard tube pots.

Some of these are first time crops for me,

and I'm hoping we have enough room for them to sprawl.

What's better than ice cold melon on a hot, sticky summer day?

 

A quick check on the garden found the onions still doing fine.

This bed is shared with parsley and newly planted

broccoli and beets.

 

Some of the lettuce is finally starting to pop up.

For some reason, this has been a slow starting season

and the germination rate hasn't been great.

Many crops will need to be reseeded before the planting window closes.

 

Good news on the berry front though!

Many of the blueberry plants have berries on them.

 

 

 

They are all in place and tucked in

under a thick layer of homemade leaf mulch.

The irrigation has been hooked up

so they are getting plenty of hydration.

 

The strawberries are flowering and bearing fruit as well.

We have strawberries planted in three different places,

and hopefully, they will help us get our fill.

 

On the ornamental side,

the clematis that was transplanted to a sunnier spot

seems to be quite content.

This plant will cover the archway in the chicken yard.

 

 

Our neighbor had some trees trimmed and 

didn't want the wood chips.

I was happy to give them a home.

I've been registered with "ChipDrop" for a couple of years,

and never once received a load of chips.

This was such a gift.

 

They were put to good use.

I had enough to remulch the entire garden area

and enough left over to do most of the chicken run.

 

 

When Big K was mowing,

he discovered this surprise asparagus from last year.

If you've been reading the blog for a while,

you know that the entire veg garden had to be moved last year.

The asparagus was dug up and removed,

but I guess it's there for the duration.

 

 Earlier in the week, loofah seeds were planted 

around the gazebo structure to shade the chooks,

especially in the heat of summer.

These take a while to get started,

but once they get going, there is no stopping them.

They absolutely love the humidity!

We have been blessed with new life all around the homestead.

Just look at these bluebird tweeters.

 

And on the front porch birdhouse,

these wren tweeters are busy eating 24 hours a day.

The parents must be exhausted!

 We made room for more by fixing a couple of bird houses

that were going to be thrown out by a friend.

 

 

On my daily walk,

there were such lovely sights to see throughout the neighborhood.

I texted this neighbor and told him I think we need to do a swap.

He is totally on board.

 

This sweet planting surprised me

with all of the vibrant colors.

It just screams spring, don't you think?

 

The blackberries are in bloom!

Another neighbor pointed these out to me a few years ago,

and he's been having to share them ever since.

We both walk each morning and snack along the way.

 

Is this fringe tree amazing?

This belongs to a friend and I am always so glad when it comes into bloom.

What a showpiece!

It's one of the most unique trees I've ever seen.

Our Fabulous Flock

It feels great getting all of these little projects caught up.

With all of the irrigation in for now,

that's a big load off of my to-do list.

Now we will make a few more trips to the local IGA

and pick up some bargain ornamentals

so that we can work on the flowerbeds.

I hope to see a big difference by the end of summer.

What are you working on in your garden?