Ahhh...the sun is out, the ground is warming up, and I can finally start putting in this years vegetable garden.
As much as I'd rather sit back and enjoy the sunshine, there are a lot of garden chores to do.
The foxglove are starting to bloom. I got several seedlings from my friend Chuck last fall, these are all from a package of seeds from
Botanical Interests.
This
Centaurea gymnocarpa "Velvet Centaurea" is just starting to bloom. This plant started as a 4 inch pot about a year and a half ago, and is easily 4 feet wide right now. It's a great low water plant, and is doing fantastic on my dry slope.
I have a few random gaillardia blooms that are appearing a bit early. These will continue to bloom into fall, and are another low water plant perfect for slopes.
The Centranthus ruber "Jupiter's Beard" is a nice plant for filling in a difficult area. Low water, not picky about its soil, and boy do the butterflies love it!
And the last picture I'll leave you with today is of the artichokes! We're having another successful year for artichokes, and of course have already had some stolen. I hate it when people steal them because they are brutal to my plants when they do it. I would happily share with people who ask, so it really bugs me when people steal them. Grrrrr.....
Ahhh...the sun is out, the ground is warming up, and I can finally start putting in this years vegetable garden. 
As much as I'd rather sit back and enjoy the sunshine, there are a lot of garden chores to do. 
The foxglove are starting to bloom. I got several seedlings from my friend Chuck last fall, these are all from a package of seeds from Botanical Interests.
This Centaurea gymnocarpa "Velvet Centaurea" is just starting to bloom. This plant started as a 4 inch pot about a year and a half ago, and is easily 4 feet wide right now. It's a great low water plant, and is doing fantastic on my dry slope. 
I have a few random gaillardia blooms that are appearing a bit early. These will continue to bloom into fall, and are another low water plant perfect for slopes. 
The Centranthus ruber "Jupiter's Beard" is a nice plant for filling in a difficult area. Low water, not picky about its soil, and boy do the butterflies love it! 
And the last picture I'll leave you with today is of the artichokes! We're having another successful year for artichokes, and of course have already had some stolen. I hate it when people steal them because they are brutal to my plants when they do it. I would happily share with people who ask, so it really bugs me when people steal them. Grrrrr..... 
Wish we could grow artichokes, shame people steal them. We have the same pink chairs too!
ReplyDeleteIt such a bummer about the artichokes. But your floxgloves are lovely.
ReplyDeleteWould love to grow some artichokes but they take up so much space and my vegetable garden is mainly containers with a couple of small raised beds. Just discovered your blog and will continue to check it out since it is one of few in a similar climate to mine (Redding). Saw in some earlier posts that you did Tigger melons. Grew some last year up a trellis and they were a great producer of cool looking fruit but a very subtly flavored melon. Will be trying some others this year to find one that my kids will eat more of. Your ladybug girl reminds me of my 5yo daughter who's nickname has been Bug since she's been a baby. She loves to plant with me but her favorite thing in the garden is the sugar snap peas. Can't step out into the back yard without requests for me to pick her and her little brother some peas. They get eaten right off the plant so much that they never make it inside to the table.
ReplyDeleteHi Chad! Welcome! Snd yes- artichokes can take up a lot of room, and need to continuously be split up. I keep sticking them here and there in the yard to fill in space! And yes, Tigger melons are great for kids! I think all melons in general did poorly for me last year because of our lack of heat. That heat is what makes them sweet- and we were getting rain well into June last summer. I'm hoping this year is better for tomatoes AND melons! As much as I may complain about the heat when it hits 100 degree's here in Sacramento- I complain even more when I get a bad garden year! Fyi- Moon & Stars was another fun melon that my daughter (who we nicknamed Boo) enjoyed last year.
ReplyDeleteAloha again, Carri,
ReplyDeleteI just lost my comment somehow....I was praising your beautiful yard. I tried Part I of your limoncello recipe, using Meyer lemons, avoiding any pith, too...but it was pale pale yellow after two months in Everclear and Grey Goose 100 Pr. I plan to try again, but with my Red River grapefruits, since the crop is starting to really bend the branches now.
Maybe you could put up a little post on Part II of your luscious lemon libation recipe?
Mahalo nui loa!
Have heard good things about moon and stars but chose sugar baby watermelons last year since I was growing them up a trellis and didn't want to have to do too much extra work supporting them. This year I have crane melons and charantais melons and will see how those do. Didn't have too much problems with tomatoes other than some blossom end rot on my Purple Russians but the melons did struggle a bit (other than the tiggers, which did well). I have my melons starting to come up but I have no idea which ones they are since I somehow spaced and forgot to label them. Will be a mystery until I have fruit I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe paintbrushes are my favorite!!
ReplyDelete