Gardening: Beginning of July

Boxes are filling in. These are taken from my porch because it's wet. Lots of rain and cool days lately.

The tayberry row looks so spindly, but it is loaded with berries. Can't wait!

Garlic scopes need to be harvested. Beans are starting to sprout around the bean poles, and the lettuce is beautiful, and delicious!

Harvesting: Lemon Balm

This year I am trying to dry the ingredients I use in my favourite tea blend, since many of them grow in my backyard. Buying raspberry leaves in the winter was driving me crazy, knowing I had an abundance all spring and summer and didn't do anything about it!

This morning I harvested the first basket full of lemon balm. It takes no time to dry in my second-hand dehydrator. I've already done a batch of raspberry leaves when I pulled out all the new shoots that appear in the spring, and mint. The mint in my pot is growing great this year, and I'm keeping it there for many a fresh mint cocktail (mojitos, anyone?). But the farm market I regularly visit has big bunches for a low price so I'm trying to bring one or two home each time and dry them so we have lots for winter tea.

Gardening: May Long Weekend

 Raspberry canes, fully loaded.

Freshly painted "lounge" area. The white tub in the table was Isla's little water play area, but now we've discovered it's true calling : ice cold beer chiller.

 New garden boxes filled and mostly planted.

(This is the view from my back deck.)

 Strawberries.

So much brown. Soon enough it will be filled with green!

Gardening: Mid-April

I love how quickly everything changes in the garden at this time of year...

New Raised Beds! This year, one is for herbs, one is for roots, and one is an assortment of flowers (for the girls, who wanted their own garden patch), strawberries and random herbs and greens.

 Pear tree in bloom. We haven't had any pears in two years. I hope the tree performs this year!

Raspberry canes coming to life, and the bamboo is shooting up to soon block the view of the lane.

The new berry patch. Golden raspberries, tayberries, and thornless blackberries. We need to mulch the paths and maybe put some gigantic sunflower seeds along the fence line.

Gardening: Beginning of March

First Garden Clean Up of 2012. 

A Nice, Clean Slate. 

Oh, the possibilities in March!

Good morning Garden!

Oh, hello Garlic!

Nice to see you, Tayberries! I hope you like your new bed between Golden Raspberries and Thornless Blackberries. They've promised to be nice.

Rise and shine, Roses!

Oh, hello chives! I see you and your brothers and sisters are all coming out to play!

Nearly time to wake up, Patch-Of-Soil-That-Will-Soon-Be-Asparagus! (oh please, Asparagus, don't play hard to get this year!)

I'm down to my last 4 heads of garlic so this is a wonderful sight to see.

Seeing all this green returning has inspired me to start digging out the hoarded food frozen last Fall. We've been enjoying Garlic Scape Pesto, Spinach Pesto, and some Basil Pesto this week! So Green! So Good!