Summer Garden 2009

Last fall, I covered the middle garden terrace in the front yard with homemade compost, newspaper, and straw. Starting in March, I turned over the lovely, no longer clay-y soil with a pitchfork. Then, about a month ago, Reed hauled in two yards of ceder mulch. Finally I could plant my flowers! I took some pictures of a few of the plants and labeled them. Some plants I no longer remember the names of. I will have to wait until these flower so I can look them up in a book. I have sweet peas and climbing roses planted next to the driftwood fence, but when I take pictures, they don't look like much so I also left those out.

North was a big help in spreading the mulch. I had to convince him not to cover my perennials.

However once the mulch was in, I worried that the dogs would run over the little plants. So I talked Reed into gathering driftwood from the beach to build a fence with.

The unknown variable with gardening so close to the coast is having consistent sun. I feel like in some years the summers don't really get started until early August. I hope my plants grow regardless! They are all so little right now.

Yarrow.
I had to dig this one out of the mulch. The chickens had covered it up when they were looking for bugs.

Front to back: pink poppy, purple iris, unknown plant, catnip, and a big old artichoke plant!

I have had this tea tree plant for three years and I always forget to water it over the winter. It has survived in the past, but I am wondering about it this year. When I peel back a branch, I can see green deep inside and the plant has sent out a few new growths, but I still wonder. It looks pretty dead. I will keep it around for a while longer to see what happens.

Licorice Hyssop

Something else that I can't remember the name of (it doesn't help that North likes to pull the plant tags out of the soil) and peppermint.

Borage.

This plant is a bi-annual and will reseed itself. The one pictured is an offspring from the original that I planted two years ago.

Dahilas.

Only four have sprouted so far.

Poached egg plant.
This plant was a gift from my neighbor. I had gone over to his house to dig up raspberry canes and he gave me some of the poached eggs. I think they are so cute! They should spread into a nice ground cover.

Separating the driveway from the lawn is a small kitchen herb garden with cilantro, oregano, sage, and chives. I have more oregano and thyme growing in a pot on the back deck. The blue circle is a snail made of a rock and some wire. North is into snails.

Black cherry nasturtium.

My hope is that nasturtiums will grow down the side of the terrace and cover the hill between the flowering plants and the lower lawn.

I added three strawberry plants to fill a hole in the grouping that had developed after last year's season. We have a problem with mold (don't laugh, Leslie!) so I also put mulch in this bed. I think I am going to thin the leaves of the strawberries to allow for more sunlight penetration. It will help with the mold and will help them darken their color faster.

North loves strawberries. He reaches through the netting to grab the green strawberries if I don't stop him. We talk about his brother growing inside my belly while we wait; I am trying to use the same concept with the strawberries. That boy is a fruit monster!

I still need to plant the raspberry patch. I want to set out two poles with wire supports to help the berries grow upwards. My neighbor says we will get fruit in the first year; I think they have a lot of growing to do yet. Certainly we will get some raspberries next year.