Yard Update

Of course we didn't get everything finished that we wanted to on Candleman's day off, but we did accomplish quite a bit. If only he didn't have that church calling that takes him away on Tues. evenings. Let me rephrase that before I get struck by lightning - I wish that calling didn't require his presence on Tues; Wed. would be fine.We planted almost all the vegetables starts I bought from the nursery: 7 Roma tomatoes, 2 cherry tomatoes, 3 Siberian tomatoes, 1 tomatitillo, 4 cucumbers, 1 yellow squash, 1 zucchini, 1 butternut, 1 acorn, 1 eggplant, 6 red potatoes (for new potatoes & peas), 4 cabbage, 3 broccoli, 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell, 1 yellow bell, 1 serano pepper, 1 Anaheim pepper, 1 banana wax pepper, several Walla-walla onions and lots of herbs (2 kinds of parsley, rosemary, sage, oregano, cilantro, basil, dill and 3 kinds of mint). And some marigolds. I hope our raised beds and square foot gardening will produce a good yeild.After the starts were all in place we planted seeds in the unused squares: radish, carrots, a different type of eggplant, peas, beets, 4 types of lettuce, swiss chard, spinach and green onions. We still have some garlic and leeks. Will probably plant those by the roses. Oh yea, I bought an unplanned for cantaloupe that we still need to decide where in the flower beds it will go.

Our little 4x4' gardens from previous years are still being put to use. This year they will have tomato and 1 tomatillo plant along the outside so they can be trellised to the wire. In the middle are the acorn and butternut squash.
In the top picture you will notice the lattice we attached to the existing fence. We attached 5 lattices for 5 different clematis plants. In front of each clematis will be a rose to provide the shade that the clematis roots like. So far we have just one rose and 1 clematis planted. In the picture you see the first bud of the Barbara Streisand rose - it's suppose to have light pink/lavender blooms, so I'll be watching to see if this red turns. That little blurry green behind the rose is an King Edward VII clematis. It may be years til it blossoms! When Candleman finished planting the rose he said, "I just burried Barbara Streisand and that felt pretty good!" I bought it for the color of the rose and the fact that it is suppose to be very fragrant, not particularly for the name; though I like Barbara. The reason we are doing the 5 clematis along that fence is to block the view into our neighbors yard. It's a mess - big time.

I asked Candleman to move the weeping cherry because it was right where the roses and clematis needed to be. He thought I was crazy. Not the first time he's thought that. I've learned to live with it and he's learned to satisfy my crazy requests. So the tiny weeping cherry (that's been in the backyard by the white fence for 6 years) was moved next to the front porch. I think it will show itself off better next to the brick than it did against the white fence, especially in the spring when it is covered in white blossoms. It's that tiny weeping 'tree' next to the porch. It doesn't even reach the window. This may be has tall as it will ever get, which makes it perfect for it's new home. You can see the tree in it's old place by looking at the 2nd picture in this post.I also wanted to show our gorgeous crabapple. It has a double pink blossom and is providing me with awesome glances as I walk through the house and catch a glimpse out the window. All the other crabapples in the area did not bloom worth a darn this year, including the one in our backyard. Interesting. The tree actually looks pinker than it shows in the picture.

Another project that Candleman has chosen to undertake - he wants to turn the side lawn(?) into a berry patch. He bought a boysenberry and 2 blackberry bushes to go here. I'll be found sitting in this patch reading and eating berries. Oh, yum! I hope they do well in our zone. They say they will. We'll see.

There was an extremely large amount of work to be done this year in the yard. Hopefully, next year we will just be able to sit back and enjoy it all. There will be the raking, weeding and watering (a sprinkling systems sounds good). And of course, we'll need to plant new veggies, but that sounds like a cinch after this year.

If you've inadvertently stumbled on this post, I hope you are enjoy your outdoors time and the lovely spring weather. And I hope the wind is blowing where you are. I am so-o-o tired of the wind this spring.