Dear Garden Diary,

Rows are being planted... The photo above was taken a few days ago. The first row is peas - since then I've added bird netting to the poles for the pea tendrils to climb. The next row will be leeks, which I will bring home from the greenhouse soon. Next to that I've planted beets, then a double row of carrots. Beans run along the curve of the fence.

Peas and beans are in easy reach for dog treats. :)

The west side garden is coming up nicely. Geraniums are full, hostas are peeking through, irises are sturdy. This year I'm dotting pots of butter yellow petunias around to compliment the blues and pinks that are planted in abundance.

I've also added a "swan yellow & pink" Aquilegia to the west side beside the house. I'll never get enough of these dainty flowers.

In other garden news, Claire has found her way under the back steps (by stomping across newly planted lavender and osteospermum. It's hard to get mad at someone so cute.

R might be closing the steps sooner than expected. ;)

ready, set...

Clifford wonders
why are there so many fences around me?

our vegetable garden
24 May 2013

Rows are ready, peas are in, next to be planted in the large bed: carrots, beets, leeks, kale, cucumbers, zucchini, beans; already up: asparagus. In the small bed: tomatoes & hot peppers. Herbs throughout. Perennials rising, containers sorting themselves out...

Middle "yard" still a mess, waiting for paving stones.

The Pregnant Gardener

my pregnant belly
considers
where do I begin?

I've had plenty of time to doodle and make garden plans for 2013; April snow storms and May flurries have bought some much needed time to make my move. Now I'm caught between continuing the clean up and getting down to planting. Pacing myself and my growing belly is going to be this year's greatest challenge. 

greenhousing

how I started my day
under cloudy Thunder Bay skies

I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet, that I’m back in a greenhouse planting things in pots. It’s hard to explain how ridiculously happy I am about this. There is no better air to breathe, oh and to have my hands dirty all day, do things - watching things grow. Yeah, this is my gig.

There is a pair of rain boots in the gift shop that I covet. Matching gloves. Susan always understood my fashion sense - er, greenhouse fashion sense (except the orange pants!)..., and soon my new greenhouse will too. I've had to order my sizes in each - now I can't wait for real water days instead of rain days.

Yesterday I was asked if I thought planting was boring; 

the asker thinking it was quite so. 

He went on to say there was too much time to think –

 which is, I think, why I like it so much. 

I like the time it gives me, 

...though I couldn’t tell you what I thought about today, 

other than lines and the order of things.

I thought about Caroline

I thought about lemons

lines

calibrachoa, million bells

waiting

calibrachoa
on the planting table

at Bill Martin's Nurseryland

planting season has begun

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning swooped into the front garden late Monday afternoon while R was at a meeting. It brought cold beer and a rake, and took about half and hour to make a disaster of it all, and another hour to clean it (ish) before R returned and we went on with our never ending list of things to do.

I feel a huge relief for doing it, but also slight unable to move comfortably - in a good way, bad but good - not sick bad in any way, which if fine by me. My body just wasn't prepared for the sudden session of garden yoga. I cleaned back to the mass of ferns, and broke them down as mulch - that seems to have kept the ferns going thus far, so we shall just continue. Everybody else seems to be returning with enthusiasm.

Lady's Mantle
from Heather's garden

Pulmonaria, Lungwort & Heuchera 'Lime Marmalade

Columbine, 'Songbird Goldfinch'

I planted peas on the weekend: mammoth sugar heirloom, two rows of early snap, one sugar pod, and one sugar daddy. Short rows, but enough to enjoy an early harvest, then move on with the space. They're planted in our micro-climate nook, which has been ready for seeds for weeks. I'm brave enough, are you?
Peas like cool soil, cold even - and can tolerate light frost and snow. Pansies too, and radishes, lettuce too.

We have peas and lettuce coming, radishes soon, just had to find the seeds...

I can not wait to start digging in the new bed.., just a matter of time.

I've decided that the greenhouse is going to thoroughly consume me this year with dirty green wonderfulness, and I'm just going to let it have its way with me. I'm going to try to photo document as much as I can without being a pain, and getting the job done, and not killing my iPhone ...what a blessed thing the iPhone is.

greenhouse season

It's easy to let life's hand get the better of me, to get me down, to stop taking care..but, I have plans, and no cloudy day is going to get in my way now. I'll thank what ever Flying Spaghetti Monster I have to for greenhouse season. Thank you. Hello spring-ish. I can't wait. I'm determined to absorb every healthy, beautiful benefit I can this year - to let it heal me, take away all the pains, physically, emotionally. Bring on the smells of soil and seedlings. Bring. it. on.

*stretches*