Surrounded by Chaos: Things are Growing..

As we hurtle towards May, the sky is still opening up and drenching us with steady rainfall. I'm getting antsy to be outside and sit in my beautiful new garden, but the weather just isn't cooperating!! I know, I know, I'm far from the only person who feels this way and I know the rain won't last forever, but jeez! A spanking-new garden and all I can do is hide in the greenhouse or stare wistfully outside from the office window.
With that being said, my plants haven't minded the weather at all. In fact, they've enjoyed the fickle Spring weather immensely. The brief, glorious bits of sunshine when mixed with intermittent showers are the perfect conditions for my blueberry bushes and raspberry canes. My new shade garden is reaching out and up everyday and it seems that new life appears overnight in the greenhouse!
Now, an update!
Seabright Hosta Nursery's greenhouse. Matt and I went a couple of weeks ago and I picked up most of the shade plants for the garden under the bay tree. I've never seen so many different kinds of hosta all in the same place! I marveled at the different sizes, colors, and shapes.

They also have some wonderful display gardens that were just starting to come awake when we visited. The gazebo...

Hostas just starting to emerge...

Matt was very impressed with this "dinosaur plant". Very primordial looking...

And here's my loot! We had lots of fun reading all the fabulous hosta names and choosing the different colors. I won't list them all, but the highlights were: King Tut, Moonstruck, Green Eyes, Captain Kirk, and X-Rated!

Here's the finished effect. The hostas, ferns, and heuchera combine to make a very pretty, whimsical garden under the shade tree. The stones were on the property already; we just had to strategically place them.

Another project that was completed recently: electricity in the chicken coop and greenhouse! During Dad's stay in Silverton, he was nice enough to wire both with plugs. No more extension cords from the garage, YAY!
Two plugs in the chicken coop...

...and four plugs in the greenhouse!

Oh, the possibilities are now endless! I've already saved tons of money growing my own seeds instead of buying plant flats. And, it's been awesome seeing the progression. I mean, you buy potting soil, spend hours filling trays with seeds, then you wait. And wait. And wait. You agonize whether you potted them too deep or too shallow. Are you watering too much or not enough?? Then...finally...you see bulges and cracks in the soil where it used to be smooth. Then, the smallest bit of green shows through and tiny shoots struggle towards the sun. You go from fretting to relief to being overwhelmed. Suddenly, you realize that you have twenty pots of snap pea shoots with two seeds each pot and they've ALL sprouted! What the heck are you going to do with forty snap pea vines?!? And the bush beans and the cucumbers and the salad and the tomatoes- all going crazy!
The answer to this dilemma?? Trade, baby! So far, Neighbor Bob is going to rototill my front dirt patch for a few snap peas and Alexandra is going to help me build a strawberry pyramid for some greenhouse space and some cucumbers. Also, they make a great substitute for cut flowers as a hostess gift (which is what I did for Matt's mother when invited over for Easter dinner).
Anyway, here's what I'm talking about:
Tomato shoots...