another day, another project

January 21, 2016

We're in the midst of another backyard project- adding a patio cover to the north side of our house. We haven't been totally satisfied with either pop-up gazebos or the semi-permanent one we got from Lowes, so decided to go ahead and have one professionally installed. This has meant reworking the patio pavers and raised beds so they will be able to pour footings for the support posts, So things are looking even messier than usual for this time of year.

The weather has been pleasantly warm in the afternoons, so I've been more motivated to work in the yard. My February gardening resolution is to spend at least 15 minutes a day weeding and getting the beds ready for spring planting, and I also need to rework the drip irrigation going to the two raised beds that were resized for our patio project. I planted zucchini, squash, Armenian cucumber, and melon seeds indoors in peat pots in the hopes that they will be ready for transplant in mid-February.I don't think we will get another frost this year, but it still gets too cool at night for the warmer-season crops to germinate.

I found this artichoke growing several feet away from the large artichoke plant in front of the gazebo, and moved it to what I hope will be a more hospitable and attractive location next to the stream bed. It must have sprouted from seed, as it was too far away to have spread from the mother plant underground. We are enjoying mixed green salads from an assortment of lettuces and spinach, and I think I will pick one of the broccoli heads in the next few days.

Anticipation of things to come

January 14, 2016

Things are still pretty boring and messy looking around here.We got a fair amount of rain over the past week, which is always welcome here, but also means many cleaning up and getting ready projects were put in a holding pattern. We did trim back the roses, sprayed the weeds in the gravel pathways, and removed some plants that are subject to invasive behavior. Elm trees and pink lantana seem to sprout up everywhere, and can be quite a pain to remove if they're overlooked long enough.

Broccoli is beginning to head, and snap peas to bloom.

New year, new resolutions

January 7, 2016

Although it's a necessary part of gardening, I tend not to post when things get messy or boring. I resolve to overcome that habit and endeavor to post a photo once a week from the same vantage point so that changes in the garden will be better documented.

I didn't do as much as usual in terms of fall planting, partially because my freezer is full and partially because of laziness. Only one of these raised beds is currently deliberately planted, the one directly in front of the upper pond waterfall. It contains broccoli, which is coming along nicely, and spinach, which is rather sparse.We are also growing snap peas and lettuce in another part of the yard, but they aren't visible from this angle.

Artichokes have made an appearance in the largest raised bed in front of the gazebo. The large one you can see in the picture above is several years old, and there's also a smaller one planted last year. They die back to the ground in the heat of the summer, but are resurrected when temperatures begin to fade and are absolutely gorgeous in the spring when they bloom. Although I haven't eaten any of them yet, I plan to add a couple more plants so that that the area along the streambed is lined with them. I allowed the frost-ravaged eggplant and tomato fruits to lie where they fell while removing their bushes, which should result in some interesting volunteer vegetable plants later this year. Already I can see a number of larkspur seedlings, and I haven't planted larkspur for several years.

There are some pretty pathetic-looking poinsettias in the bed nearest the patio, which had the misfortune of being planted shortly before a cold snap. This bed, too, is dormant. We are planning to build a pergola over the patio, which will probably mean reshaping the bed, so I haven't planted anything here either.

The first week in January has been unusually rainy, so I haven't yet cut back the roses, which are still blooming. We're always appreciative of any amount of rain we get. And of course, there are lots of weeds in gravel, further proof of my gardening inactivity...along with a nice head of romaine lettuce and more than a few hollyhock, larkspur, and nasturtium seedlings.