In the Garden

Once upon a time when spring rolled around, I would post as soon as possible on this blog about our efforts in the backyard garden. Two winters ago, the extreme cold, which seemed to linger well past its usual , killed off such a large number of our perennials such that we had to start from new in many of the plots, though the sage, the rose bushes, the rhododendron, the lilac tree, and the honeysuckle all survived, as did the river magnolia, which we had cut back because it was creating a canopy not only over our yard, but over our neighbors' too.

This winter was not as harsh, but it was still cold and snowy enough that it devastated several of the plants, including a jasmine tree whose roots froze, and a thriving lavender bush that had flourished for several years when almost every other lavender planting we previously tried struggled. We decided we would replace some of these plants when the weather sufficiently warmed--and I would do my part once my knees were up to the kneeling gardening requires. The spring temperatures, without previous years' rains, finally did arrive and I have felt much better, so we got to work.

So far we have replaced the rosemary and lavender bushes, and C bought a new jasmine bush to implant. (We will probably have to wrap it more carefully this upcoming winter.) C additionally planted a new hydrangea in the back and a new rose bush in the front, both of which are growing, as are the hosta and elephant ears that initially appeared to have been frozen out. He also planted a blueberry plant amidst the strawberries; whether it grows only time will tell, since we've never had much luck with blueberries, except one year when one planting actually grew, only to die off after producing fruit. The blackberry bush once again is thriving, after several years of no fruit and semi-dormancy, and the strawberry patch also is vibrant, spreading its area into our neighbor's yard.

In the little vegetable plot, I have planted plum, cherry, and beefsteak tomatoes, a yearly staple; yellow squash; and pickling tomatoes. At the periphery of the plot, I added several sweet basil plantings, which seem to keep the bugs away. If there are more herbs and vegetables available this Monday at the farmer's market, I plant to get a few more squash, red peppers, cucumbers, and perhaps a few more herbs, like chives and sweet marjoram. Behind the stonecrop in the far back of the yard, lemon balm, and there and under the lilac bush, mint, have reappeared, so we should have enough for tea--and mojitos--by the middle of the summer. Below are a few photos of the garden over the last week.

Roses, in bloom

Roses

The new lavender plant

The hardy sage and rosemary

Clematis, flowering

A blood-red rose, and
a clematis flower

A new jasmine bush
(the winter slew the
previous one, behind it) 

L-r: tomatoes of differing kinds,
sweet basil at right

Yellow squash in back,
pickling cucumbers in front

Limelight hydrangea,
with honeysuckle in rear

The back of the yard, which C
transformed into something much
more presentable (climbing 
hydrangeas, elephant ears, hosta)

Strawberries 

Rhodendrons, in bloom

Rhododendron buds 

A flame of color 

Blackberry blossoms  

Honeysuckle 

More blackberry blossoms

In the Garden

For some reason I seem to recall hitting the garden much earlier in prior springs, but between work and the weather, it was not until this weekend that we were able to put plants into the ground.

As in previous years, we planted herbs and vegetables in the back, but no flowers this time. (C found places for new rose bushes in the front.) Between natural die-offs, the hurricane last fall, the long chilly (but not freezing) winter, and the slow-arriving spring, some of the backyard's longstanding perennial herbs didn't make it, but the African sage, the lavender (which for years we could not induce to grow, until we added lime to the soil), and the rosemary are thriving. We never planted comfrey, but its purple spears have formed a little forest beneath the lilac bush, which is now in bloom. The blackberry bush, severely cut back, also looks set both to flower and bear fruit. Among the flowers, the rose bushes, a single hyacinth, and the rhododendron bush, and the honeysuckle are also doing well.

Towering over everything is the river magnolia, with its full, healthy glossy, white-pink leaves, which are shedding, forming a carpet over everything, which I hope will have been completely laid by the end of the week so that we can rake it up and attend to the rest of the backyard. That should also give both us time to recover from the workout the gardening bestowed upon us. I am praying I'll be able to move my arms and legs tomorrow.

A few photos of the new plantings, which are mostly fruits vegetables we've had success growing in the past (broccoli, eggplant, basil) and some we've never been able to grow before (sweet peas, jalapeño peppers). We tried a new method our neighbor recommended to prevent weeds. Alongside the transfers we placed a lining of newspaper, which we covered with topsoil. Supposedly the paper admits the plant's roots but does not allow weeds (evening nightshade behind a perennial visitor along the fences) to bore through. I will try to add updates throughout the rest of the spring and summer.

The ever-hardy African sage, which I had to cut back.

Sweet peas, onions (there were wild onions
dotting the soil), broccoli, eggplant, cucumbers,
and hot peppers

A bigger patch: tomatoes (6 different types), basil and
lemon basil, jalapeño peppers, cilantro

The same patch from a different perspective

The strawberry patch, which was full of new shoots,
with oregano, cilantro to the left, and cucumbers
(rosemary is the far right)

The river magnolia, in bloom
(the butterfly bush is on the left,
a fir tree stands in the right distance)

Another patch where we used to have lemon balm
and lots of other herbs, but nothing survived, so we
went with 3 types of stone crop (on the right)
and sweet marjoram on the left. We later added
a row of spearmint and peppermint behind these.