Ten Days

Again I need to find time to make updates on the blog (my written journal is a little more updated). What a difference 10 days can make...here are a few pictures of the garden ten days apart from May 5 and May 16. I know, today is the 21 - so I'm still behind!

[Below] The daffodils have bloomed and now there are seed pods standing in the place of flowers. I never knew how interesting these pods looked.


[Below] You can click to get a little bit larger images...most tulips have been bright and are now fading. Other plants are getting larger to take their place later in the summer.


[Below] On the 5th, peas were just poking up above the soil...not much to see.


[Below] Just over a week later they are very visible. It won't be long before they start putting on a lot more height.


[Below] New raspberry plants are sending up some shoots and starting to fill out some canes from last year...


[Below] A few days of sun and the leaves are really filling out the plants. I am looking forward to harvesting some berries this year.


[Below] Two varieties of rhubarb were just filling out on the 5th...


[Below] Now they are starting to bulk up some stems...won't be long for a harvest.


[Below] Okay this pair is a bit different. These are lettuce seedlings that were direct sown.

[Above: A spinach seedling in the lower left, pea shoots, mixed leaf lettuces, and a few scattered radishes.]

[Below] Here are plants that have been transplanted rather than direct seeded. The lettuce can be harvested now.

[Above: There is butterhead and green ice lettuce, curled kale, kohlrabi, and clover in this picture.]

Ten days can hold quite a bit of growth and activity in a garden!

Crocus and Bee

(bee and crocus)

I am so happy! We have crocuses blooming and the first bee of the season....Time to get the bee house out/made. I decided to take a tour of the yard now that all the snow is gone and found this surprise. The first crocus bloom was actually on April 9th, which seems fairly average here. But the pictures with the bee are so much better!


(bee and crocus)

Finally we have a few days in the 60s F. Many shoots can be spotted like this hyacinth.

(hyacinth)

Chives are starting to shoot up as well.

(chives)

We added rhubarb to our garden last year...here is a shoot just starting to rise above the leaves.

(rhubarb sprouting)

Our only flowers right now are the crocuses. This is a new addition last fall. I like the effect of the purple striping.

(purple painted crocus)

Here are more purple with some pure white as well...

(purple and white crocus)

Here's the first group that started to bloom - on the west side of the house. I think next year the new additions (above) on the south side might take over the honor.

(light yellow crocus)

I have been reading up on that resources we might have right in our yard. I already knew a few things like dandelions are available, but here is the first prize for a "wild edible" this year: day-lily shoots.

(garden bed with common day-lily shoots)

[Please note aka disclaimer, eating things - especially wild plants is at your own risk. Be sure to correctly identify the plants. Also, individuals can have reactions to plants others can safely eat, so go easy at first.]

I have read in many sources that day-lilies are edible. After checking the blooms from last year (4th of July) it looks like ours are the common day-lily Hemerocallis fulva. I guess a typical urban yard fits the profile of a waste ground or disturbed land. According to my Peterson Field Guild there are many stages at which this plant can be used:

Early Spring: Small, tender shoots in salads
Early Spring: Small shoots cooked like asparagus
Early Spring: Young tubers in salad or cooked like corn
Summer: Buds as green beans or fritters
Summer: Flowers as fritters and seasoning
Fall: Older tubers can be cooked like corn


(harvested day-lily shoot and tuber part)

I have to say, the raw tubers and shoots were not bad at all and quite mild. I prefer the salad option to the cooked. I can't wait to try out the flowers...for now the next edible may be dandelion greens...

Grapes (Blooms for GBBD May)

Okay, I'm sure you know that those are not grapes. It's one of my blooms for Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for May 2008. The weather is starting to warm-up, trees are starting to leaf out, and I mowed the grass for the first time this year. Have a look at what's blooming in North Dakota

Grape hyacinths look nice, but they really are small. I didn't take a photo of the "normal" hyacinths for today, but you can see one in my Mother's Day post.


More Spring bulbs, I haven't identified them yet, but these little white and purple flowers are a nice greeting walking around the garden.



Most of our tulips have not bloomed yet, but this pairing of red and white is going strong -despite the rabbits' efforts. I have noticed some bright displays of tulips in the neighborhood. I might have to replant some bulbs later in the season.



The strawberries are starting to flower. I can't wait until June. These June-bearing plants usually sets fruit near the end of May. I'm not sure if they are later this year or not.


The violas have very pretty faces. These were purchased as already blooming plants a few weeks ago (maybe that's cheating?). I have transplanted some "Johnny Jump-Ups" that I started from seed, but they are still fairly small seedlings.


The first Dandelion of the year (in my yard). I have been spotting dandelion blooms during walks all these last couple of weeks. Just today is the first I have spotted them in my yard. I am happy to report that I also noticed some bees buzzing as well.


Early in the week some of our flowering bushes began to break bud.


We still have ladybugs. I was having a hard time finding them until I went to the grass. That's why I don't always like mowing the grass - even if it's "too" long. Today during my first mow of the year there where many beetles taking flight (at least those will live).


I love the purple chive flowers, but they are not blooming yet. I see some scapes? forming though.


Here's an artificial bloom we found at the store. It "glows" at night. Maybe I will attract some lighting bugs (fireflies).


Oh, and I can't leave out the compulsory first Spring salad made from lettuce that was thinned.

Green Grass and Indoor Pea

We've recovered from our last Spring snow. I guess this was our second snowiest April in weather history. Well, the grass is really greening up now and it won't be long before the first mow.


Our seedlings faired the snow and 20F nights just fine, so they lived up to their cool season reputations.


I have started to notice a lot more birds in our yard this Spring. This sparrow was building a nest (they live in our clothes line tubes). Robins are visiting the yard and drinking at the bird bath. I have been waiting for them to visit since we moved in a couple of years ago. And I spotted a finch of some sort picking at some dried vines- I thought it was nesting or something. It turns out he was eating bugs, let me know what they are if you can.


We planted some violas and pansy in what will be an herb bed.


Some of the tulips have formed buds, maybe they will bloom by the 15th. Other tulips are recovering from having their leaves crushed by snow.


These hyacinths made it through the snow with their flowers intact. There is also growing rudbeckia, daisy, and grape hyacinth.

And then there are the other kids...See all the things emerging from the winter sleep now. A coneflower or aster, purple aster, hosta, something volunteering by a half barrel, and a few treasures in the "south" bed.



My last photo of the day, I got a surprise this week. Pea pods indoors. I tried an experiment in February and planted a couple of sugar snap peas in a container inside. They are now flowering and producing pods! They are not profuse and I'm not sure what the quality will be, but they did grow.