Thursday Rain

We got 1.4 inches of rain in a storm Thursday evening and Friday night. It came down pretty good for a few minutes but was otherwise kind of nice - especially for the garden. During a break I took some wet photos of the garden and also a few this morning.

The strawberry plants where a bit of a muse for a while...


In the morning the circle-like patterns of the rain caught my attention.


The whole world in a rain drop.


Blooms from the chives and the allium bulb in the front of the house are just popping out. The nasturtium leaves gather the water right on the lobe tips. I like the flat leaf profile and the contrast of the red edge. I had the chance to do the classic water dropped tulip picture. Also, the hosta funnels are coming unfurled.


Lots of these guy-gals getting some air.


The garden spot by our strawberry patch.


A "bird bath" and view of the back corner. The rain seems to saturate a lot of the colors in the clouded light.


Closer view of the back corner next to the fence. A couple of butterfly stepping stones and some other pairings of plants.


The raspberry canes busy stretching their roots - I hope.


I had some tomato seedlings left that I decided to plant with the cauliflower and onion barrel. We put some flowers in the top of one of the hanging tomato buckets.


Here's the southern foundation bed and a plant from the east side. I like the leaves on this one (will have to check my records for the name), but they tend to droop down. (Update: Those are Ligularia leaves.)


The vegetable beds (click for details). Earlier I said we had "wild progress" in growth, and I guess that is only going to keep accelerating for the next few weeks. The short peas are starting to twine together and the climbers are - well - climbing.


It's that time we now can get some regular harvests of swiss chard and spinach.


Also some radishes and lettuce. Look at the sparkly salad in the water.

Exploring the Garden

I've taken some time to explore the garden this weekend. The result is a number of close-ups and other images. Also, we put up our upside-down hanging tomato rig.

We got rain last night. Not a lot, but enough to overflow a small rain barrel we have. If you look close, you can see reflection of clouds in the lower right.


Those dandelions look like a wonderful planned flower this time of the year in the backyard. It actually helps that in the back we don't have many in the grass, so these stand out. The front yard is a different matter.


Pleasant enough for sky gazing this weekend. These are two views laying down in the back.


I had time to notice the variety of leaf shapes and textures we have. The geranium is being acclimated to the outdoors and has already taken color on in the leaves. The clover variety has interesting bands on the leaves. I like the shape and reddish outline of the nasturtium leaves. (click on any to see the full-size image)


The chives are really getting ready to bloom.


Finally our lettuce is taking off. We should be getting some regular cuttings shortly.


We're still in tulip season here. Red ones on the north side and some white and yellow ones on the east.


Spring flowering bushes are in bloom. I hope this one gets some new growth this year. It seems to have died back some this last winter. This one is close to Dakota's dog path, so she come in the house with flower petals in her fur.


It's now the season for insects and other garden critters. I haven't been able to snap a shot, but we have a few bees around and one that always ends up in the house. I carefully transport her outside every time.

Here's a small "Daddy Long Legs" spider on the side of a half barrel.


A very small red mite or spider of some sort.


The strawberries are blooming strong. I had to take a shot of some of the flowers that look "perfect".


That's it for now. Here are two photos from our Memorial Day planting project. Two buckets with tomato seedlings in the bottom. Never tried this, so it is an experiment this year. The bucket on the left has a gallon pail inside with a wick to use as a reservoir. The one on the right it topless, but we are planting flowers and herbs in it. We might have to cover the tomatoes tomorrow night though ... ugh!

Wild Progress

Some warmer May days and we have "wild" progress in the garden. Above is a violet from the yard - one of those "weeds". The garden has been taking off with our warm May days although there are still some threats of frost in the future. Maybe Memorial Day I will put out tomatoes.

Here are a couple of shots of plants returning to my wildflower garden.


In the farthest corner of the yard the ferns are just starting to unfurl. Spring flowering shrubs are beginning to bud and will bloom soon.


In the shadier area the sedum and asiatic lilies are returning.


Here is the cool season vegetables (lettuce and snap peas) on the 18th. I think the cool nights are actually helping...they have grown bounds in the last two days.


More peas and lettuce. I put a flag here to ward off birds. The other pea beds have netting over them because I'm pretty sure the birds were picking on the pea seedlings and cutting leaves off. Whatever the cause, the netting solved the problem.


Kohlrabi and radishes are now getting true leaves and will be ready soon.


More buds on the chives. I enjoyed a baked potato the other day with some chives...didn't realize how good that was.


Thanks for saying "hi" and stopping by. I think the last two weeks of May should be quite exciting. Crops shooting up, planting and transplanting tender plants, getting ready for air conditioning season.