If you garden in the Pacific Northwest, you know the feeling. After a long, gray winter, there’s a shift. The rain feels a little warmer, the days get a little longer, and a specific kind of excitement starts to bubble up. Spring is finally, truly here. For us, the sign is when the nights are consistently staying above 40°F. It’s the green light we’ve been waiting for! This is the crucial moment to start moving […]
There’s a popular saying that “April showers bring May flowers,” and here in the Pacific Northwest, that couldn’t be more true. After a long, damp spring, the garden suddenly explodes with color in May, making all the patience and hard work worth it. This year, the main event on our homestead is the triumphant first bloom of our bearded irises. I ordered them last year, and they arrived so late in the fall that I […]
Every summer, our Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii) explodes into a beautiful display of purple flowers, and just as its name promises, it becomes a magnet for butterflies. It’s an incredible sight to see them fluttering around, and it’s easy to understand why this plant is so popular. The pollinators certainly love it. However, as we’ve learned more about gardening responsibly here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve come to understand the complicated nature of this beautiful […]
A little break from the busy gardening season to enjoy this beauty that bloomed today. Never thought I could grow things I have only seen in floral arrangements. It makes it all worth it to have beautiful things to look at and delicious things to eat.
Look what I found in the garden today. These are so pretty I have to classify them as flowers AND vegetables. These are the Spring Blush Tendril Peas from Baker Creek. http://www.rareseeds.com Can’t wait to see if the pea is a different color, stay tuned for an update on that once they arrive.
I found these irises in the side yard of the house after we had lived here a year. They never bloomed because they were in the shade under a cherry tree. I dug up a bunch of the rhizomes last year and transplanted them to the front garden and they appear to be a LOT happier here. They started to bloom this week and aside from being beautiful they also smell awesome! Not sure what […]
Updated Garden Layout including the recent additions of Asparagus(which will take 3-4 years to actually product any that we can eat), and Nasturtiums. If the weather holds out this week we will be added the following to the mix. Radishes Beets Parsnips Carrots
It is the time of year that I see changes daily in the garden. The newest development is the Cucamelons, the tiny baby ones are on there although you almost need a magnifying glass to see them. I think they are going to be about the size of a grape when fully mature. It should be interesting to see how they turn out. I harvested 2.5 pounds of Sugar Snap Peas this morning and processed […]
The garden changes everyday and I really start to notice the subtle changes that will lead to amazing things in the coming weeks. The baby tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, peppers, etc will very soon be items for devouring and preserving for winter. I am excited every morning to see what has happened overnight and then to check again at the end of the day to see how much everything has grown in a few short […]
Rhododendrons grow extremely well here in the Pacific Northwest. They come in several different colors and also grow wild in the forest everywhere around here. This one was here when we bought the property and it is such a beauty every year. An added bonus is that the bees love it, we really try to plant things that not only nourish us but the wildlife as well. Lovely to sit out in the garden and […]
