Gardens, start your engines!

I like to write about my garden each year,  mainly to serve as a photo journal for future reference. I took these with my phone during a drizzly walk around the yard,  but I think they capture the baby plants well enough. My garden changes each year and the trees get bigger,  changing areas that were sunny into more shaded spots,  etc...  So,  this is what has been going on so far during this wet and cooler Spring.

A few herbs tucked away: thyme,  lavender cotton, lavender, marjoram and lemon thyme. 

I found this old wooden mail box left for me on my doorstep. So,  I gave it and a wooden planter I thrifted a shot of paint and filled them with sweet alyssum, celosia,  ganzania, portulaca and a bit of ivy. Now I have a cheery sight greeting me at my gate. Better than the sight of a giant pile of mulch my neighbor gave me which I still need to move. 

Our grass patio

Rose campion and weigela in bloom with hydrangeas trying to grow some poof balls. 

A difficult little corner changes direction with some herbs, hopefully perennial. Bronze fennel,  lovage and sorrel. There is a little growth of some kale and chard that I planted from seed. 

Wolfie’s solar fountain nestled in lavender,  rhododendron,  portulaca,  marigolds, my rosemary topiary (from Christmas,  lol), oregano,  basil and cucumbers. 

My neighbors gave us this statue,  which the children call "pretty lady". She is living under a dwarf willow (variegated) with a perennial edible,  red-veined dock. This was planted last year and came back beautifully. It loves the shade. I want a few more,  but can't seem to find them this year. 

Mulberries,  mulberries, mulberries! Purple fingers,  cheeks and feet abound! 

Ollie's peach tree (dwarf) is chugging along. Out of the 25 Russian mammoth sunflowers I started inside,  the chipmunks have eaten all but one! I put a couple of kale in since all the sunflowers are gone. There are a few zucchini too. 

A butterfly feeder on the ground (a little sand in a dish. We occasionally put out fruit slices ) under the kousa dogwood. Such an underrated tree! Tons of creamy blossoms that last and last. The hoffman cheddar pinks keep flowering year after year too. 

I planted my seedlings here with mixed expectations. There are purple carrots,  radishes, beets, turnips . I added some rainbow chard,  parsley and a rosemary. The tiny,  pathetic japanese maple that I bought for $5 at Aldi's last year is shaping up beautifully! 

A crummy picture of the enormous oregano that I separated last year. I have already harvested a whole bottle of it!  There are also a bunches of lettuce,  arugala,  thyme and more carrots. 

Strawberries that my neighbor gave me during a heat wave last year. They are thriving and we have had a few berries to eat. I planted lettuce and arugala in my tomato pot and a few tomato plants started up on their own. 

Mint! Already harvesting this glorious crop. 

An experiment this year,  pallet gardens. We have multiple kinds of tomatoes,  sweet peppers,  cucumbers and mesculin mix. 

Hopefully,  I will remember to grab a few pics as things start to grow in more. This will be an exciting gardening year with lots if new things to look forward to! What are you growing?