Thriving garden!

 

In addition to quilting, I love to garden. Mostly I plant flowers. We live on a 1/2 acre and I spend a lot of time planting flowers or moving them around to display the best advantage. Last year I started a vegetable garden. We removed all the grass from this area next to the play set and I set a bunch of flat stones down in the shape of a sun. It worked out pretty well, but the clay soil turns to concrete in the hot sun. I had read that raised plant beds were the way to go. I decided to paint concrete blocks and use them for the raised beds. In addition, I could plant my strawberry plants in the holes. I bought a bunch of strawberry plants a few years ago, but the whole thing they've done is spread all over and produce zilch!

So this is what it looks like now. All squared off with raised plant beds on the right side. I'll probably get the rest raised eventually, but you'd be surprised how long it takes to paint a bunch of concrete blocks!

The strawberries were a success! They were very happy there and I got at least a gallon of strawberries. I even froze two quarts. Not bad for a small patch I think:)

The roses and clematis were also the happiest they've ever been.

Same with my climbing rose.

And I have apples! Woo hoo! Apparently you have to plant these things in pairs. Pollination or some silly thing:) Well, I bought another one, but it was still bare as a newborn when the first tree was spouting out flowers. Somehow, a few got pollinated. Looking forward to apples for the first time.

I'm trying out carrots in a pot this year. They always end up stunted in the ground. My friend Carrie said they need some sand, so I snuck some out of the sandbox and threw it in the mix. Fingers crossed!

The zucchini is thriving though. Always reliable:) Picked the first one yesterday. Sliced it and baked it with Parmesan last night. Yum! The kids have all given it the thumbs down. Worst vegetable ever apparently:(

Looking forward to tomatoes soon too. They really can't compare to store bought ones. So much more flavorful. I spent last summer eating tomatoes and cucumber from the garden. Lovely!

 

The only casualty so far is the giant cabbage my daughter brought home from school. It has been in the ground since March and was really starting to look nice. Then, overnight, a nasty group of caterpillars attacked it and turned it into Swiss cheese. My daughter is unimpressed. She was looking forward to showing her teacher pictures of a cabbage the size of a baby (this is how they advertise these things) and winning a prize. Oh well...

 

 

Now if we could just keep these little furry terrors out, then all will be well. I apologize for the fuzzy pic. I caught this sneaky chippie trying to get to the bird seed. No one told him these wooden sticks are supposed to be a support for the rose bush, not an express elevator to the chow. The squirrels have also missed that memo. Not bad for a zoom in through the screened window though. I was in the house at the time.