Not Much, but I've got BEANs!

Plenty more to come, but this will be sufficient for a snack tomorrow!  I ordered Provider and Royalty Purple Pod from Seed Savers this year.

Overrun with Cherries

My husband found a 12' ladder on craigslist, so he manned that ladder and I the 6' ladder, harvesting 84 pounds of pitted cherries in the end (stored safely in the upright freezer).  I finally had to ask him to stop picking cherries and just leave the rest on the trees.  Looking forward to a winter filled with cherry goodies of every variety, not to mention the cooking possibilities.

TGIF Bouquet

I'm working a 2nd job this summer, but managed to cut a deal to get off at noon on Fridays to work in the gardens, weather permitting.  Luckily the weather permitted this week!, and I got outside to weed my front yard garden, planted some annuals in a few bald spots, and collected some flowers from the yard to bring inside.  I'm going to like Fridays.

Marmalade Skies

Everything's Rosy

Hot Cocoa, Marmalade Skies & Carefree Beauty

My Hosta Farm

Why do I have a bunch of hosta in my vegetable garden?  Shade, I have lots of shade on my property.  So, I planted a little hosta farm here years ago, and have been dividing and filling in shade areas throughout my yard for free ever since.  Every time I see someone buying a $10 gallon pot of hosta, I cringe.  But I suppose that's how I got started.

Shade

One of the best assets of our property is our shade.  It keeps the house and deck cool, with the drawback of constantly pulling out tree seedlings.  But it's worth the trade-off.

Up Close

Avalon (above) and Before the Storm (below)

Reds

Red Poppy Wallpaper

There's several sizes available!  Find them here.

Stormy Weather

Straight line winds came through causing local tree damage, power outages, and flattening some plants.  Picked up the branches, tied up the plants to supports, and all is well...just not quite as pretty as yesterday.

Planting Day

We finally got most of the vegetable garden planted today.  Craig made more cages to keep the deer out and helped install the rabbit fence,  while I planted.  Also weeded some flower gardens & planted some annuals.  This year we're growing several varieties of tomatoes and peppers, heirloom green beans and carrots, onions, snap peas, peas, watermelon, and potatoes.

Front Yard, cont.

Let's remove the bushes along the house....

These are the first words I've always said after buying a house.  Three houses, and three sets of bushes removed the first week we lived there!

Our current home before we moved in:

Now we've lived here long enough that several transformations have occurred.  I went through the vine phase where I threw a vine up every railing, but those days are also over.  Nothing gets attached to the house these days.

May 20

Gotta Love Macro

Batik

Sweet Woodruff

One of my favorite ground covers...

Quince

The Last of the Dwarf Iris

Tall bearded iris coming soon, but the dwarf are fast fading.  Until next year....

Tuesday Tulips

Anticipation

Signs of Spring

 

Spring feels so late this year, as we have had snow in May!  But the pixie bearded iris and daffodils have bloomed, and tulips are joining in soon.  I'm particularly smitten by the miniature iris, it is such a cheerful plant and one of the first blooms each spring, even earlier than the tulips.