The Lamium, Penstemon, and foxglove is blooming and looks good.  This is a limited time look.  After the blooms fade, the Lamium gets patchy, the Penstemon and Digitalis brown and die – big YUCK!  The newer Lamium still looks good into September but I’m sure that won’t last.

The daffodils and tulips are dying back and look ugly.  The Peony, Echinachea (not blooming yet), and the Rose start picking up color and bloom but the rest of the bed is a mess.

Cleaned up under the magnolia.  Need to get newspaper and mulch down before next spring.

Working on cleaning out under the Japanese Maple, but I’m waiting for some rain to soften the ground.  Hopefully, now that its September and we are getting some rain I can get to it before the ground gets too muddy.

The magnolia in the corner looks pretty good after its severe hair cut.  I’ll probably actually take off more next spring.

Side Rose Bed – lovely right now

I might add some Alliums sp. I’ve heard they may help fend off aphids (curses, curses, curses) and they look great together.

Not Photoshopped.  It really is THAT bright.

Veggie Bed

The garden on the left, hastily created dirt mound for the gifts of garlic and Walla Walla onions on the right.

From the other side.

The potato condo.  Unfortunately about two weeks after this photo was taken the potato plant croaked for totally unknown reasons.

Baby 8-ball zuke front left.  It produced a perfect amount for me.

The peas…

…are sooo yummy!  I could have used more of those.  A lot more.  I may have eaten them all standing in the garden, by the handfuls.

Tomato buds!  These have lost some excitement now that I’m actually harvesting those buds.  BLT anyone?

Pepper plant.  Chewed up, but they recovered nicely and produced.

The lemon cuke turned out great.  Loved the flavor, it was prolific, and easy to grow.  The straight 8 I tore out.  It tasted bitter even with young, peeled cukes.  It may have been random chance but I did not like it. I may give it another chance but I doubt it.

The turnips were ready to harvest.

Baby melon – it didn’t end up growing though.  Bummer.

Beets.

Lettuce, just got my winter crop started about I week ago (in September).

Spinach.

I harvested one Kincho melon (in August) but it wasn’t ripe, but I have at least one more on the vine.  I am cautiously hopeful about these.  They are a Japanese melon that are eaten out of hand.

Basil.

Swiss chard.  I grew way to much.

Parsley – I couldn’t believe how well it did.

Butterfly Garden

Side Yards

This is a beautiful single bloom climbing rose that I love.

Snowball bush in process of a haircut.

Strawberry bed that is sooo overgrown, its scary.

But still producing strawberries.

Heavy shade + under the eave drought conditions, what do you plant?  Calla lilies, they do better and better each year with total neglect.  You have to love that.

The Jungle

It’s pretty but completely overgrown.  The honeysuckle has a divine smell but is almost a nuisance because of how well it grows.

Roses

Backyard

The butterfly garden.

Notice the goldfinch in the feeder.

Yep, that’s the sweetie-pie’s hand right next to it.  There was something wrong with it and it died shortly after.

The cherries were just beginning to show.

Voodoo lilies.  They smell like death (rotting flesh) but they are striking.

The basil came back.  Yay!

Shade Garden

I need to get mulch down, the weeds are starting to get thick back there.

Plums starting.  I didn’t pick early enough so I didn’t get much of a harvest.

The front bed is overgrown with the dying tulip and daffodil greens.  I am looking for ideas to hide it.  I’d like to cover it with something big, leafy, and with purple foliage.

The Japanese maple finally got its first haircut of the year.

Columbine Aquilegia sp., – note the bee on the right?

Edible Garden

The potato condo.  Supposedly I’ll be able to harvest many, many pounds of potatoes this way.

An overview of the edible garden.  We will be putting in another raised bed or two within the next year.  In the meantime I (as of 6/1/09) have just dug a trench and made a dirt mound row for the walla walla onions and elephant garlic I was given.  First off, how can I say no to either plant?  Second, they were both given by neighbors, and it would be sooo rude to say no to them – right?  So, here’s to growing more than I have room for – for the nth time.

The peas are very nicely climbing the trellis my dear hubby made me.  Some days I swear they grow a foot!

The melon trellis still looks bare, but I’m hopeful it will be covered in green by the end of June (which may be a bit ambitious).

The snowball bush is also due for a cut.  I’m hoping to take off about the top third and get it a little more bushy.  Right now it is really shading my strawberry bed (on the left).  We can’t have that.

This is a basil that I’m hoping will come back.  I think it got sunburnt.

Butterfly Garden

The catmint is blooming and the bees are swarming.  This is the beginning of one of my favorite seasons for this garden.

The yarrow Achillea millefolium and Nicotiana sp. look stunning together.

On the Side

Red rhodie.

The roses are beginning to bloom.  All of these roses are part of the jungle (several rose bushes, a rhododendron, ivy, a GIANT honeysuckle smothering everything, and a few blackberries for good measure, all grow and bloom wildly on the north side of the house).  I’ll post pictures soon, but they won’t do it justice.

Calla lilies, which despite being run over by bikes every year, eaten by slugs, and completely starved of water come back beautifully and faithfully.  How could I not love such a carefree plant?

And they are starting to bud!

Backyard

The apple and plum trees have been pruned up to mow under them, but still need help in the heights.

The pink rhodie you can see in the picture above, underneath the apple tree.

The sour cherry tree – we have no idea what kind of cherries they are, but it looks like the tree is loaded again this year.

This was a volunteer cherry, again no idea what kind.  It’s later bearing and less prolific.

The other apple.  This apple tree is desperately in need of the tender touch of pruners.

Shade Garden (this is under the apple tree, next to the pink azalea)

Lamium and Penstemon mostly

Totally overgrown Japanese maple, hopefully it will be cleaned up by next week

Potato that is to be put into a potato condo

Peony

Penstemon sp. “Husker Red”

The deciduous azaleas are blooming

Lilac (Syringa sp.) – my favorite are these dark purple kind

VEGGIE GARDEN

You can see the leeks in front

Chives (garlic and regular) in front, tomatoes (“Oregon Star”, “Oregon Spring”, “Willamette”, “Yellow Pear”, “Celebrity”, “San Marzano”) in middle, peas in the back

Peas (“Oregon Sugar Snap”, “Oregon Sugar Pod”, “Early Frosty Bush”)

Carrots – “Thumbelina”, my “Purple Haze” haven’t sprouted

Turnips “Oasis” almost ready to be harvested

Lettuce (Anuenue – hasn’t sprouted, Black Seeded Simpson – doing well, Buttercrunch – doing well, Parris Island Romaine – following tradition this one isn’t performing well, Red Flamingo – not so good, Red Sails – very good – seen on the left, Royal Oak Leaf – excellent! – these are the patch of dark green on the right of the photo, Salad Bowl – good, in the center)

Arugula left, spinach center, basil right.  I’ve been harvesting leaves from the lettuce, spinach, and basil already.

Swiss Chard “Neon Lights”

ON THE SIDE

Snowball bush (Viburnum opulus) - way overgrown tree

Close up

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

Left to Right: Daylily (Hemerocallis sp.), catmint (Nepeta), Sedum sp. “Autumn Joy”, Coreopsis sp. “Moonlight”

Left to Right: Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii), Spirea sp., Lavendar, Nicotiana sp., Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

I think this is a black-eyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta) coming up.  I put some seeds in last year but thought they were duds, but hopefully the were just late!

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) coming up

Catmint (Nepeta sp.) starting to bloom

Volunteer Chocolate Mint growing in hens and chick (this is why you contain mints)

The tomato bucket, azalea, and poppies

Close up of the tomato, this is a san marzano.  They are indeterminate, so I’m not sure how it will do in this bucket.  It was an extra seedling, so I thought I’d test it and see if will trail over the edge…or, you know, fail to thrive (die).

Row of poppies (Papaver sp.)

Close up

Deciduous azalea

Azalea bud

BACK YARD

Row of Flag Irises

Close up

True Iris

Beginning of cherries

SHADE GARDEN

Yellow columbine and brunnera

White bleeding hearts (Dicentra formosa) “Luxuriant”

So pretty

False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina racemosa)

Jacob’s Ladder  (Polemonium caeruleum) “Snow and Sapphires”

Hosta sp.- “Patriot”

Hosta – “Wide Brim”

Hosta – “Sum and Substance”

Hosta – “Francis Williams”

Hosta not pictured: “Albomarginta“

Fern

Columbine

Close-up

Astillbe “Diamant”

Lamium sp. in the middle, Penstemon sp. in the back, English bluebells in the front

Foxglove, Digitalis sp.

Peony and tulips

Under the magnolia tree

Peony

The purple magnolia, which as of 5/2/09 is almost completely green and the white magnolia is fully green

FRONT YARD

FRONT SIDE

The forsythia is changing from yellow to green

Some daffodils still blooming, grape hyacinths, and tulips are up

Sweet girl

VEGGIE GARDEN

STRAWBERRY BED

1st strawberry flowers

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

BACK YARD

Rhododendron sp. first buds

Poppy (Papaver sp.) buds coming up

SHADE GARDEN

Finally, the first hostas have appeared

She is looking at birds and doing the bird sign with her fingers

Solomon’s seal is growing up

SEEDLINGS: basil, peppers, and tomatoes.

My tomatoes have (as of 5/2/09) have actually been planted into the vegetable garden.  The tallest probably had reached three feet.  I have around 10 pepper seedlings.  3 will go into my garden, the rest will go to the community garden.  All the basil are also planted outside as of 5/2/09.  I will still need to direct sow a few more.

FRONT BEDS

I gave this Magnolia sp. (I think it’s a saucer magnolia) a pretty severe hair cut and almost took out the power line.

Up close.

A purple Magnolia that blooms later.

Tulips

Grape hyacinths (Muscari sp.) and Fritillaria meleagris (Snake’s Head Fritillary, Checkered Daffodil, Frog-cup, Guinea-hen Flower, Leper Lily, Snake’s Head) grow under the Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum).

Closer…

Closer still.

EDIBLE GARDEN

Peas!

Spinach!

Walking onions!

ON THE SIDE

Camellia sp.

Camellia sp.

Lilac (Syringa sp.)

Calla lilies (Zantedeschia sp.) I forget to move the bikes off and forget to protect from the slugs EVERY year and yet they still come back and flower.  Now that’s a plant I love.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

BACK BEDS

Hyacinth, that despite major slug damage came up very well

Plum tree – I’m unsure of the variety

Voodoo lilies

Brunnera

False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina racemosa)

Overviews: you can see peonies, daffodils, violets, summer snowflake, and tulips (not in bloom).

Pink Viola.

A different type of Narcissus.

Yellow and orange daffodils are a rare treat in my garden. As can be seen, there are large clumps of white and lots of all yellow.

My hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) flowers are always underachievers.  The flowering stalks are sparse and spindly.  I don’t think I’d grow them at all, except I love the way the smell.

My first camellia flower.  I’ve seen lots of camellias in full bloom already.  Probably due to the extreme storm damage they received this winter, our blooms are tardy and may not be as numerous as in recent years.

Foxglove (Digitalis sp.)

Lamium and purple Viola, this is an incredibly easy combo to grow here.

Supposedly, the lilacs should bloom profusely with the heavy snow and frost we had. I’m hopeful, as these are one of my favorite flowers.  It has a lot of buds for foliage at least.

EDIBLE GARDEN

The leeks in the front are growing very well, as are the onions.  The compost is on, the early seeds are planted and if all goes well I should see some seedlings (arugula, lettuce, peas, spinach, along with a few others) popping up any day now.

BUTTERFLY GARDEN – an overview

PATIO CONTAINERS

The herbs that overwintered nicely.  Creeping rosemary and thyme (with a bulb of some sort coming up within them).

BACK BEDS

The plum tree has started to flower. I love it in full bloom.  And if you have any ideas about what to do with plums please let me know!  I have an abundance (think laundry baskets full) of tart skinned, yellow-fleshed plums.

I know I’ve already shown the gnome, but the whole clump of white violas are new.

INSIDE

My tomato, pepper, and basil seedlings are getting tall!  Soon it will be time to transplant them.  And so far only one was eaten by our cats, which I consider hugely successful.

Rose hips are a reminder of winter, but more importantly, a vase full of sunny daffodils are a reminder of SPRING!!

Forsynthia sp.

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis) – starting to decline now

Summer Snowflake (Leucojum vernum)

Beard Tongue (Penstemon sp.)

Peony (Paeonia sp.)

Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

Hyacinth (Hyacinthus sp.) in Dead Nettle (Lamium sp.)

Short daffodils

White daffodils

Some daffodils (Narcissus sp.) are blooming, some are not quite, and the tulips (Tulipa sp.) are poking up

Bunch of crocus (Crocus sp.)

White crocus

Wood Violets (Viola sp.)

Magnolia sp.

VEGETABLE GARDEN

The cold frame. I’m hoping this will work, but I think I’ll need something for the sides.  Any suggestions would be helpful.

Columbine (Aquilegia sp.)

SIDE BED

Daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.)

BUTTERFLY BED

Catmint (Nepeta sp.)

Autumn Joy Sedum (Sedum sp.)

BACK BED

Flag Iris (Iris prismatica)

Rose (Rosa sp.) – I’ve just started pruning my roses this week and finally hacked my butterfly bush

Vodoo Lillies (Dracunculus vulgaris)

SHADE GARDEN

Happy Gnome

Welcome Gnome

Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum)

Hosta sp. – first I’ve seen

Brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla) – already blooming

Yellow crocus

TO DO:

I need to buy more slug repellent and get it spread so I don’t lose more tender flower bulbs to the slugs. (See the damage?)

And to do:

I have my garden plans done – I’m trying the square foot this year to see if I can increase yield – if you’d like to see my plans, here’s the link: garden10. Sorry, I don’t know how to have it open in a web window.

And I’ve also FINALLY got (half) the grape cuttings in the ground that I got from a friend

I still need to prune my fruit trees

I have yet to plant peas or spinach, or get the soil ready in my vegetable garden

I need to plant my summer bulbs (and those that are just sitting in a pot outside that I was supposed to deal with last fall

I should fertilize my rhodies and azaleas

And of course, I definetely need to do some seed swapping!  So I had a look-see around the web, because I have been wanting to make my own seed packets – and violá!

Daffodils poking up and I few tulips too.

Spring crocus.

Bees already – in February?!?  In my snowdrops.

A photo of my shade garden, it looks pretty bare, albeit sunny.  In the forefront (right) you can see a rhody branch that broke off and I tossed.  Other than that not a lot of green in the photo.  But if you look closer…

…bulbs are coming up

…the columbine has started to grow

(a close up)

…a rogue leek (already tall) sits among the violets back in this shady flowerbed

… and a tiny patch of lamium (center) that I transplanted last summer from our front to here survived the snows.  It should grow very rapidly now!

In my kitchen garden things also are progressing toward spring.

Yes, I did neglect to bring the hose in this year.  Yes, that does mean it won’t work as well for as long.  Whoops.  You can see the camellia trees that came down as a result of the snow and ice on the right.  I trimmed them back so I could take a good look at the garden.  You can also see the leeks lining the front.  I have so many of them and don’t know what to do with them.  I’ve tried a few recipes but haven’t found a way to use the abundance that I end up with every year.  Any ideas?  Husband doesn’t like them in replacement of onions (I’ve tried).  I was worried the two types of chives I transplanted this fall wouldn’t make it through the snow seeing as I only got them in the wet muddy ground about 4 weeks before the really cold weather.

So I was really excited when I saw the very ragged leaves (behind the leek but in front of the walking onion) of one set of chives!

And really, really excited to see my garlic chives!  Yum!  This can be thrown into almost anything.  I love their flavor, a combination of garlic (yummy) and onion (yummy).  In omelets, tomato sauce, any time meat needs kick these are a super easy addition!

Another plant I mentioned above, the walking onion, is also a favorite.  You can use the tops as green onions, the root forms a more traditional onion, and the little onions you see in the picture grew on stalks above ground last fall and will increase this patch of onions (or they could be eaten as is).

Some other shots around the yard.

These are summer snowflake bulbs.  They will bloom around March just as their smaller cousins the snowdrops are dying away.

Some bulbs I dug up last fall and left out.  I think I should probably get them in the ground now.  I don’t know what they are but I love surprises!

Some daylilies I transplanted last fall.  I really thought I got them in the ground better, but if you look you will see their roots just sticking out.  Hopefully with a layer of mulch it won’t matter.

And finally, the sedums.  I cut off the dead stalks about this time every year, and my reward for laziness?  The joy of seeing the little tiny green shoots.  I love that!