Seedy Saturday - Things Are Slowly Moving Forward

Despite my yard looking like an long-abandon yard with weeds and grass higher than I would like to admit too, things are moving forward. Slowly. So very slowly it seems. But I did get out in the yard yesterday and make some progress. 

So here are some pictures of things happening in the yard...

The herb bed, which is in need some of day of weeding, looks great anyway. The golden oregano is such a bright spot among the green. Saliva is thriving. The sage is blooming too.

Lemon balm is large and I have a couple of clumps which I need to remove from the pathway. The parsley, oregano and thyme in one bed was heavily harvested for an Extension program. 

Some hyssop and valerian I received last year have survived and are coming up. The valerian is getting ready to bloom (no pictures of that yet).  But I'm really excited about my hollyhock I grew from seed. This is its second year in the grown and it's getting ready to bloom. 

Behind the herb garden, on the slope, the wildflowers are starting to bloom. Hopefully, by the end of the summer it will really be filled with flowers. I have discovered I have a healthy crop of wild violets all over the yard, which makes me happy. Between the violets and clover, I hope I eventually do not have grass in the yard. Dogs can poop on clover!

In the back yard, the Chinaberry tree is blooming.

It's a 'volunteer' tree from next door. She had the mother tree removed as it was diseased and needed to come down. The tree has been growing by my house for two years now and is up to the kitchen window.

I know it's not the best choice. But for type of tree and location. However, my kitchen window is southwest facing and gets a lot of sun. In the summer I could use a bit of shade to cut down on the heat.

The lacy leaves don't totally block the view, but give some relief from the sun. Regardless, the blooms are lovely. Of course, I will have to keep an eye out for volunteers in my yard from it in the future. 

Bulbs I planted in the fall are up and lovely. The tulips have come and gone. I never thought I would really like tulips, but they were really nice to see in early spring. Now its the Nectaroscordum and Aliums which are up and blooming.

One 'chore' I did manage to accomplish on Friday was to transplant the green beans and lima beans.

These are Fordhook Lima Beans. I love lima beans and the larger Fordhook beans are hard for me to find in the stores here. And I haven't had luck with planting them in the ground. So one of my experiments this year is to not only pre-start my seeds and then transplant them into the ground. Or in this case, into a container. 

I know the lima beans like warmer soil and by planting it in a long, black planter, I'm hoping they will be happy. Plus they are by my front walk, so I won't forget to check on them and water them. Fingers crossed. 

This is a new variety, to me, of green beans. Mascotte beans are actually a container green bean. So they are in a container. I also pre-sowed them and transplanted into a large pot. So I will see how well they do. 

Earlier this spring, I moved strawberries into pots. I have my first strawberries appearing. They are not the biggest strawberries, but they are mine. 

The front gate is shaping up. While I do wish the 'Don Juan' rose on the right was climbing more, it is covered in buds. 'America', on the left, is climbing slowly, but surely. However, they are doing what I really wanted them for - there is a scent of rose when I entered the yard. I can't wait for a couple more years and the arch be covered with roses. 

The ladybugs are happy on the apple tree. Their red on the green leaves made them very easy to see. However, the late freeze did kill off the few blooms I had. The same with my Toka plum. While I had a lot of blooms, the frost did the baby plums in. So fingers crossed for next year. 

But the biggest chore I got at least a third of the way through. Not exactly how I wanted to accomplish it, but I am not disappointed in the results so far.

The pavers I had been using on my path on the front of the house, I removed to put the bricks down. I decided I like them on the bare spot leading to the herb garden. Once the pathway is done, I'll set these pavers into the ground. 

There is a wedge between the two paths. I think I am going to plant at least one of the remaining fruit trees, probably the Moonglo Pear. The apple tree still in a pot I will plant on the slope between the two apple trees already in the ground. 

I brought some cardboard from work (and still need more) to cut down on weeds and grass and laid the bricks on top. It is bumpy and wavy - I'm calling it 'organic'. But I am liking it and how it looks. 

At first I was concerned it was not set into the ground. However, I will be adding compost to the area between the two paths, so in essence it will be set into the ground. I will also be spreading soil over the bricks, working it into the cracks and holes. The cardboard underneath will stop weeds from coming up (fingers crossed). I have some Corsican Mint and Creeping Thymes to plant along the walkway. In time, there should be mint and thyme on the path. It should smell really nice when walking along the path. 

Today, I hope to get at least an area cleared in the garden to plant some tomato plants which need to be in the ground. Things are getting done. Maybe not as fast as I would like, but it is getting done.