They haven't done this anywhere else I've put them, so this location must be particularly appealing. They are so pretty and their sweet floral scent hits you like a wave when you walk by. Plus, there are so many that the girls can pick 'em at will and I don't have to get feisty about it.
Mira and I went to the farmers' market today. It was mobbed but still fun. There was a 4-man band playing CCR songs and we picked up a huge bouquet of lilacs. We also managed to find some excellent looking rhubarb (since our rhubarb has a whole year to grow before we can harvest it). We turned the rhubarb into this:
We like our rhubarb with strawberries in pie form. A custard base for the filling provides a creamy/sweet complement to the tart rhubarb. I had to make my own crust this time because my last pie was nearly rendered inedible by those ready-made store-bought atrocities.
A brushing of cream followed by a sprinkling of raw sugar finishes it before baking.
So while the pie was baking the girls and I went outside and ran into this guy:
Yikes! I'll now be paranoid to weed or work in my garden beds lest he decides to make another appearance. Snakes terrify me but the girls were fascinated by him for at least a half hour.
This weekend we spent a lot of time working in the yard and planting. Abby had fun using her new purple plastic shovel to remove soil from my gardens and make dirt piles outside of the beds. Meanwhile, Mira and I went on a shopping spree at Agway and brought home a load of new plants. Tim had the tough job of edging and weeding the beds. Poor Tim.
Here's a shot of one of our beds after we put in a couple new perennials (red double dianthus and 'snow in summer'). A covering of new mulch always makes everything look so neat and finished.
We also got our potted herb gardens going. This year I added some dill to the mix.
Mira has been faithfully watering the strawberries, blueberries, and rhubarb we planted a few weeks ago and it has paid off-- they are showing signs of life!
The blueberries I planted four years ago didn't make it this far. Look at those pretty little leaves! (And yes, these are the things I find exciting.)
The blueberry bush that Mickey decided was his chew toy and repeatedly ripped from the ground and sprinted around the yard carrying (that is, until we barricaded them with tomato cages) is not quite doing as well, but is still kicking in spite of a rough start. Hopefully we'll even get a couple berries from these little guys this year.
This week we'll plant our snap peas, beets, and radishes. My tomato plants are also coming next week so we'll be busy this weekend (or I guess I should say Tim will be busy) building the new raised beds for them.
Every year around this time, when the snow finally melts and we get a couple teaser days of tolerable temperatures and sun, I start to construct this magnificent fantasy garden in my head. This year is no different. After some serious on-line shopping, this fantasy garden moved from my head to my bank card.
This imaginary Eden is the source of my love/hate relationship with gardening. In early spring I always forget how much work it is and how my garden never seems to achieve the pinnacle of production I had envisioned. Well, I suppose the optimist in me has won out again, because this year I've really gone and done it. I ordered 50 strawberry plants, 4 blueberry bushes, 3 rhubarb plants, 25 asparagus plants, and 8 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes.
Ah, tomatoes. My garden nemesis. Last year had to be the absolute worst year ever because of all the wet weather. Fungus took over and I had virtually nothing to show for all 12 plants. Last year I tried a couple heirloom varieties in addition to my old favorite, Brandywine. These oldies but goodies can be tricky and I never seem to have the stamina to keep them healthy and fight off the blight.
A notable heirloom variety I tried was the Cherokee Purple. One of these fruits will sell for $6 at my farmers' market, so naturally I wanted to grow them myself. The plant started out great, setting the first fruits of all other plants in my garden. One tomato got huge and was almost ready to pick when... we left for a week of vacation! After vacation, disease set in and it all went downhill fast. So what ended up being the ONLY Cherokee Purple to appear in my garden last year was snagged by my mother in law who was graciously tending our garden while we were out of town. Sigh...
Well I'm determined that this year will be different and I'll have a stunning crop of tomatoes. I couldn't resist ordering the "Mortgage Lifter" (the creator of the variety apparently paid off his mortgage by selling the popular seeds). Mmm... I can almost taste the tomato sandwiches, caprese salads, and bruschetta already.
