Snake!

Yesterday we found a small snake in the pile of large rocks under the barberry bush. Karen is going to use the rocks at her house for a pathway, so she and Sabrina were loading them into Karen's car. The pile had remained relatively undisturbed since last fall until yesterday. All the dogs we've had in the yard, including Lucy, have been curiously sniffing about the pile since the beginning of Spring. Now that we have removed the rocks there is a kinda stinky smell there. I think I'll have Paul rake that area up today. He'll enjoy that.

Recent work in the garden

In the past few weeks we've been busy preparing the beds by weeding and mulching. I've been planting in containers. Last week I planted pansies in two long containers and two smaller plastic containers. They seem to be ok. I purchased them at Allandale. On Saturday (4/30) Guen and Anya helped me plant some flowers on the north side of the garden next to the fence. We planted Lemon Queen, Velvet Queen and Moulin Rouge sunflowers to the right of Paul's hops and in the bed to the left we planted flax and nigella. On May Day (Sunday) I planted thumbelina zinnia's in a long container. Today, I planted two varieties of morning glories in the coir basket in the metal plant stand. I also started some catnip in a container instead of planting it, meaning it will be easier to control.

In the vegetable beds I sewed more spinach, lettuce and radish seeds where some areas seemed a bit bare. The seedlings have been a bit slow to start, but I hope that will change with more rain and warmer weather. Next week I'm planning to plant beans and buy tomato plants.

Pictured above are some of the beautiful tulips that we planted last fall. I'm happy with how those beds turned out. I'm looking forward to seeing the bluebells and allium.

Welcome Spring!

Here's what we've been up to in the past week or so. Paul and I made a variation on seed tapes by using a flour paste to attach spinach (space and green 7), radish (purple plum) and kohlrabi (white and purple vienna) seeds to half sheets of paper towel. On Friday, March 18 I placed them in the garden and covered them with compost. I also planted arugula, mesclun mix and dill in bed 1.




Also, I've been spending time making garden decorations. I can't wait until the wildflowers spring up around my welding class project. I planted purple coneflowers, California poppies and forget-me-nots around it. The red-twig dogwoods behind it survived the winter.

What's been goin' on

Bloody Mary Mix (aka V-8)

A mix of tomatoes, onion, zucchini, beets, carrot, garlic, and roasted jalapenos.

Fruits of the garden

Compost bin fixed and brussel sprouts

Today Sabrina and I fixed the compost bin. About a month ago we noticed that the side of it had been chewed, creating a hole large enough for a small rodent to enter the bin. Sabrina worked hard at mixing and moving the compost and then we attached the metal plate with screws. Let's hope it holds.

In other garden news, the brussel sprouts are growing slowly, but still growing. The fresh planting of greens seems to be doing well so far.