Harvesting and Coco

We are now harvesting some strawberries from our own yard!

We also bought 5 buckets which is about 20 pounds because our yard does not produce enough to freeze for the winter.  Sue helped us get them done up.  Here are a few of the containers ready to go into the freezer!  Yum this winter!

I am trying to like and use kale as I know it is so good for you.  So far I have not succeeded in loving it but use a little.  I planted four different kinds.  Froze this up for greens to steam or to put in smoothies in the winter.

I cut some chive blossoms and made up a lot of chive blossom vinegar.

This is my clematis.  I have a lot of blooms towards the bottom but just buds yet towards the top.  Is that the way it is suppose to be?  I have quite a few toads in the yard this year.  I guess that is a good thing.  Do toads pee???  I was out in the flowers and one stopped near me and peed or at least a lot of water came out of him/her!

Sue brought Marley over one day.  She is Travis dog but Sue loves her.  She is looking in the french door.  Look at the next picture and see Coco's reaction!

 This is our brave Coco.  She is peeking under the kitchen chair out the door at Marley.  She is afraid of big dogs!!!!

Garden Progress May/June

I cut some parsley to dry.  Have been eating lettuce and radishes from the garden.  Cut some kale to eat and to freeze and froze up some spinach.  Enjoyed the asparagus but that is about done now. The season has begun!  

It all started a few months ago when I tried to grow some things from seed.  Hauled them out here for a few days to harden them off.

The Brunnera and Daffodils are among my first things to bloom and always brightens the day.

The money plant and these Iris were so pretty a bit ago.

A prettier picture of the Iris.

We redid our fountain area and made it smaller.  I think I chose the wrong flowers as it doesn't look so pretty now!  You win some and you lose some!

This is the pot of flowers I made up for the deck.

Carrots growing in one of the carrot boxes on the deck.  I have thinned them some but may have to do a little more.

Bee Balm growing by one deck steps to attract the hummingbirds to watch while I eat in the pergola.

Color is coming in the flower bed!

My cabbages and Kale growing under this cover.

Beets and tomato plants.  Three of the tomato plants I started from seed and none of them look too great yet but still green so there is hope!

Sugar peas growing up the trellis.  Can't wait!

My bed of potato plants look great!  Sure hope they are developing potatoes underneath those plants!!!

Some lettuces but wanting it to get larger although am using some of it now!

My first strawberry almost ripe enough to pick!  Sure hope Coco doesn't snitch it on me!!

Growing dill and cleome in the holes in the cement blocks in the back of the compost pile!

Zucchini growing here.  Should I pull one or two of the plants out or leave them????

Planted Provider Beans in this barrel.

On the left is a Sungold cherry tomato that I bought and on the right is a red cherry tomato that I started from seed.

My poor little lone green pepper plant!

The entrance to my veggie garden!  Come and visit!

Most of the lavender bed made it through the winter.  Will see how well they bloom this year!  This is what all I have been busy doing among other things!  Hope all you gardeners out there are enjoying this garden season!!!

Greens, Onions, Coco, Rose, Tree & Raspberry Starts

Spinach, Kale and Parsley!  Not a whole lot growing in the garden yet.

I have three of these pots of onions growing in the side yard outside the fence.  Happy to see they are doing well.  Growing them here so Coco can't eat them.  Dogs are not suppose to eat onions.

We are digging raspberry starts for Mike to plant in his garden.  It was raining out!

Pretty Chandelier Pear tree blooming by the deck.  One of the dwarf Asian pear trees is in bloom too.  Sure hope the frost doesn't get my fruit trees this year.  Buds on the rest of them.

Beautiful rose!  Lucky me!!!!

Coco with the ribbon from the rose tied around her neck.  Doesn't this color look good on her!  Is she a summer or a winter?  LOL

Spinach & Kale, Eggs, Me & Coco

Spinach was harvested again and a little Kale but there are a lot of things growing now.  Asparagus is starting and it won't be long and there will be other things hopefully!

Organic eggs across the street and down about a block!!  A couple of them are light green.  If "wonderful gardener" won't let me have chickens this is the next best thing!!!!!!

I did not improve my appearance by falling on my bike for the second time.  The first time on the gravel and this time on the cement.  I may be a slow learner but I don't care to try for three times so the bikes are for sale!!!!!!  "Wonderful Gardener" also is a "wonderful nurse".  Got his hankie out and wiped up the blood and after we got home he put some antibiotic salve on my injuries.  Thankful for "wonderful gardener, wonderful nurse and wonderful historian".  Notice what I listed last!  LOL  What can I say!!!

This is my strawberry bed!  I put some liquid fish emulsion on and Coco must like it!  The cover is now on!  I guess the cover keeps the bees from pollinating the flowers.  I think the wind did it last year but wonder if I would harvest more berries if the bees could get to them.  I will be bugging "wonderful gardener" to build me a raised bed on legs.  That way my little critter won't be able to get in and the bees can do their thing!

Cold Frame, Dills, Plants, Fountain & Award

These are the things growing in my cold frame now.  The larger ones overwintered and the smaller ones are newly planted.  We have had a few lovely days lately!!

These are Freezer Dills that I froze up last year.  Very good.  Nice and green and really quite crisp yet.  Kind of a sweet dill!

Here are some tomato plants that I started under the grow lights in the basement.  Perhaps I started them a week or two early.  I have just put them in front of a window now.  I am not very experienced at growing things from seed in the house yet.

We are redoing the fountain area this year.  Making it smaller so that Coco's elderly parents can do a better job of keeping it weeded!!

"Wonderful Gardener" is also "Wonderful Historian".  Here he is receiving a certificate of award from the city of Pt. Huron, Michigan for his work on the U-Tube videos of the history of that city.  He was born and raised there.  If you are interested in looking at the U-Tube videos here is the link to click on.  

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS-4J61f5LQAtepRilQX07afRWPMlP5CB

  

Spinach, Pies, Carrot Box, Coco & Bench

Soon and very soon I will be harvesting from my garden!  (I hope!)  This spinach overwintered from the cold frame.

I made two pies for Easter Sunday.  A raspberry pie from the raspberries in the freezer and an apple pie that I had made up and froze the filling when we bought apples last fall.

What monster was in my new carrot box!!!  Three guesses and the first two don't count.  I will give you a hint!  Her name starts with a C!

My little bench I found in the trash use to be blue.  It was looking pretty bad so was painted a barn red since we had that color and none of the blue left!  Mr. Squirrel doesn't seem to mind what color it is and is guarding it well!

Coco thinks it is hard work watching over her elderly parents!!  No one knows how she suffers!!!

A picture of  "Wonderful Gardener" and myself taken Easter Sunday.  We had a wonderful day.  After going to church and celebrating our risen Saviour we went to our daughter's house for dinner!  This was taken in her yard.