Zing!

Finally! Finally, the sun is out! The days are nice more often than they're nasty. Finally! Every evening I get home and go straight to the garden and stay outside until the motion sensor light starts to come on. The garden has reached the point where the plants are growing faster than I can post pictures! Most of the free space has been planted and I'm starting to empty out the greenhouse. I thought it might be a good time for some reflection.
Here is what the backyard looked like when I moved in:

And here is what it looks like now!

It takes a comparison like this to really hammer home just how much this space has changed. I've gotten so much done in only a year and a half and I'm not done yet!


I'm beginning to harvest early season crops like radishes and salad. I pulled my first batch of radishes before I left for Beloit last week.

The second batch of radishes I pulled after I got back:

And here's my very first home-grown salad! I mean I've had salad out of someones garden before, but the garden has never been my own. It was delicious!

Here's what the salad bed looks like now. Radishes are crowding out the onions, so it looks like I'll have to harvest them all soon and plant more Bumper Crop radish seeds- they're ready after only 28 days!


The carrots have finally started to come up; they sure took their time!

My potatoes are going gangbusters too! I had so many seed potatoes after chitting, that I gave some to Emma and Linda and planted more in some empty pots I had. Yesterday, I sprinkled them with diatomaceous earth as proactive pest control.

The shallots are really starting to thicken and some are setting bulbs already. The celery grows taller everyday...

My Blackberry and Loganberry are sending out new canes; I'll have to get the wire supports up soon!

I planted some poppies and pansies I got at the Iris Garden in with the clematis and the partly shaded bed seems to be the perfect spot for them. The clematis is really liking this spot and has two spectacular flowers already.

My blueberries have fruit, which is incredible since I didn't see any bees around. I plan to put out my Mason Bee house soon.

And here is a new addition to the ornamental bed- Calla Lily. Isn't it beautiful?

The shade garden is really starting to perk up after the three hailstorms we had this spring. The hostas are sending out flower stalks and the ferns and heuchera are all putting out new leaves.



Now, even thought the plants outside have been making amazing progress, they look like they're growing in slow-motion compared to the plants in the greenhouse! These strawberries were just potted up this year from a bundle I bought at Gardenpalooza. Because they've been in the greenhouse, they're a full two weeks ahead of the mature strawberries planted outside. I've already harvested ripe strawberries from these plants!
*Side note: the strawberry pyramid is done!!! I've just recently hired some new handymen and they took the tower and finished it in their shop. I'll be sure to post pictures when it comes home*

Here are the Brussels Sprouts I potted up before I left for Beloit; they had just starting peeking out of the soil.

And here they are, six days later- what a difference!

Here are the cucumbers after I got back, a full four inches taller!

Here are the tomatoes before I left...

And this is what they looked like when I got back! They were actually pushing the lights up!

As time goes by, I get closer and closer to cracking out the hammock. Maybe this weekend....
Until then, I'm enjoying the sunshine and the last of the bleeding hearts.