Status Report

This is a beautiful old lilac in our backyard. Anybody know the variety?

Here's the garden, in disarray, today, May 13th.

This doesn't look like much, but it will hopefully be a cut flower strip planted from Victory Seeds cut flower mix.
"Our mix includes the following 23 annual and perennial varieties: Calendula (Fancy Mix), Aster (Single Rainbow), Batchelor Button (Polka Dot Mix), Ox-eye Daisy, Godetia (Semi Dwarf Mix), Lance-leafed Coreopsis, Plains Coreopsis, Cosmos(Sensation Mix), Chinese Forget-Me-Nots, Larkspur (Giant Imperial Mix), Purple Coneflower, Perennial Gaillardia, Baby's Breath, Strawflower, Spurred Snapdragon,Scarlet Flax, Blue Flax, Poppy (Shirley Double Mix), Black-eyed Susan, Sweet William Catchfly, Crackerjack, Crimson Clover, and Pumila (Semi Dwarf Mix)."

Here's the "fortified" greens garden. I think the rabbits got in behind the garlic. I tried to stop them with rocks, but I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning. There better still be lettuce and peas in there. So far the carrots, which are outside the fence have gone unnoticed.

The strawberry bed is flowering, but no signs of fruit yet.

Weeds are still the greenest thing in the garden.

But these tomatoes have finally set their first new leaves. It's been too cold for them, but they weren't doing well inside in the flats so I jumped the gun and moved them out. They are surviving and hopefully the warm weather will kick them into gear. They are planted from seed saved from my husband's grandmother's tomatoes, so they are worth growing out even if they never become very strong. Our other plants will be purchased from a nursery.

The Chinese greens are finally looking good.

The garlic is still the most successful crop in the garden.

Here's the High Mowing Mesclun mix. I need to put another planting in of this.

And these starts are much further along, purchased for $0.25/each at Sammis greenhouse. Next year I am going to get serious about a cold frame or a greenhouse.

Beets. I cultivated and mulched them with grass clippings today.

Yea! The first potatoes. Red Norland.

Yesterday I cut all the flower stalks off the rhubarb plant, hoping for stronger leaves.

For some reason the raspberries are only sprouting leaves on the lower 1/3 of the stems. I don't remember this happening last year. There are buds higher, just not sprouting leaves. Maybe they'll come as the weather gets warmer.

Earlier this spring I contemplated asparagus, and decided I had already taken on too much and it would have to wait until next year. Then I was standing at the checkout at Sammis Greenhouse and they had crowns for $1 each. And I know it takes 4 years before you can really harvest, and waiting until next year makes that 5 years, so we went for it. We dug a trench and put the first load of compost in the bottom and then the crowns and 4 inches of soil. The shoots will come up and then we'll add more soil. Hopefully the asparagus will like this spot - for the next 15 years. Ames will be in high school when this crop stops producing.

Chive flowers are about to pop.

This is the meager state of last years' oregano start.

Spearmint and apple mint from Sammis.