June 22 Garden Update

On Friday, I showed you some garden inspiration and promised to give you an update on mine. Things are slowly starting to fill out.

Everything is still small, but to date we have eaten herbs, swiss chard, assorted lettuce and arugula from our garden. We were particularly happy with the swiss chard, as we had never tried to grow it before. Not only is it pretty, but it tastes wonderful. Douglas grilled it leaves and all.

Our herbs are growing well in their pots. The ones in the wagon finally sprouted.

The sweet potatoes are also growing strong. I am already salivating at the thought of eating those sweet potatoes, so I hope they turn out well!

My sour cherries are just beginning to turn red. I need to start picking them soon before the birds take off with all of them.

While I was in Maryland, Douglas received some plants from someone on our town’s garden page. One is a Purple Cleome and the other is a Black Eyed Susan. He planted them beside the goji berry bush in the newly expanded garden bed.

Right before I left for Maryland, I took a picture of the house.

That is when I noticed that there was a bare spot in the front garden. I am not sure why things have such a hard time growing here, but I decided to try again.

After a visit to the local nursery, I had a Tuscan Sun, Cat Mint and Lavender plant to add fill in the blank spot.

It started to rain as I finished planting, so I did not get a picture until I returned from my trip. Here are the plants a week later. They are doing well so far!

This bee was happy with my new plantings. I sat there for a good five minutes trying to get a good picture of her, and she was not phased in the least. She knows she has a good thing going in our yard. Someday I would love to have a hive for her friends.

Two of my bushes that I had left for dead have decided to give life another chance. This rhododendron was looking pretty bad after all of the snow melted. You can see how dead half of the branches are. However, she rallied and is now blooming. I hope that she will survive.

The blueberry bush is also making a comeback. We will most likely not have any blueberries this summer, but hopefully we will in the future. I am considering wrapping these two bushes in burlap next winter to see if that will help them get through the brutal cold. Has anyone ever done that?

As for the flowers, the lilies are starting to bloom. The yellow lilies, day lilies and tiger lilies all look great. The red lilies are on the verge of blooming.

The hydrangea is on the verge of blooming. For me, the best part of the garden is how everything has its season and shines in turn. It would be overwhelming if all of the colors were to explode at once. Everything in its time.

Happy Homemaking!