June Update - Part 2

This is the Part two of my June update....here is part one. This is kind of like one of those vacation slide shows... Well if you are here, maybe there is something interesting you will find in our June garden.

I love these flowers (above and below). The barrel on the right has what I have thought are "purple tansy"...they look nice as seedlings, in bud, and purple blooms later.


We started a rain barrel in the ferns by the garage. I wonder if they will fill in and hide the whole garbage can. At least it has been full so I know it won't tip over with the weight of water.


This year we are growing parsnips...the ones in the back are a couple weeks ahead of those in the front. This brick really has no purpose.


I never knew parsnips look like cilantro...I will have to check the spacing and maybe thin these.


It is a time of alliums here...chives are blooming. Given a warm, sunny morning I should find some bees in them.


Another allium, love the tall blooms of these.


We are starting some ever-bearing strawberries to supplement our June-bearing harvest. There are also some pole beans and cucumbers in this barrel...we will see if they grow over the fence.


Jerusalem artichokes / sunchokes are another new plant this year....here I have some in a container...


We also have a bed of sunchokes started. It will be fun to see how they look in the fall.


These are some very nice hostas we inherited with the house. I really like how large these get -- they fill in most of this North side of the house.


A volunteer viola -- I hope to get more growing. These are another of those edible flowers.


Parsley from last year is starting to build a seed stalk. It will be the first time I see parsley flowers.


June raspberries are almost here...


Finally, I was impressed to see an herb return from last year. This lemon balm returned where parsley failed to survive the winter. This made a great addition to my wood sorrel cold tea.


Thanks for visiting our garden!

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!

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.