Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Weedy Wednesday: In the Garden

As requested, here is my first "Weedy Wednesday" post about the goings on in my yard and garden. It has been raining all week, and is likely to rain tomorrow and Friday, so it might more accurately be called "Wet Wednesday," but hey, at least I don't have to haul out the hose and water.

When I was house hunting 11 1/2 years ago, on of the "required" items on my list was space for a garden. I was fortunate enough to find one (finally) where the women who had lived here before me gardened extensively, and added compost yearly to the otherwise clay-heavy (and rock infested) soil. The fall I moved in, one of the first things I did was have someone come and rototill the space, and then I built the first of many raised beds so I could get the garlic in right away. (For those of you who don't garden, garlic is planted in the fall, grows all winter, spring, and summer, and is harvested around August.)

Since then, my garden has expanded to encompass a large section to the right (blueberry bushes, elderberry and cranberry shrubs, and some apple and cherry trees...none of which have ever given me fruit, dammit) and one to the left for herbs. More on them some other day.

This is the entrance to my garden--doesn't it look welcoming and magical? (That's a golden delicious apple tree hovering to the right. It does give apples.) To the left is a giant lilac. If you want, I can post a picture of it in bloom, which it is right now.
Here are some of the beds, planted with this year's veggies.
That's lettuce, spinach and dill in the front left, peas behind them, and the aforementioned garlic to the right. You can see how large it is, because it gets such an early start.

In the middle of the garden, there is a fish pond. Yes, I carried every one of those rocks from someplace on my property. (New York State grows rocks almost as well as it grows weeds.)
 
Behind it, you can see the beds which are planted with soy beans (too tiny to see from here), onions, and broccoli/cauliflower/cucumbers. And here is one of the guys who hangs out and keeps me company out there. Yes, I talk to them--and your point?
Speaking of gardens, since this is the only day this week when it isn't supposed to rain, I'd better get out there and do some weeding. We don't call this "Weedy Wednesday" for nothing, you know. Any questions? Requests for future WW?

Do you have a garden? Big, small, windowsill? If so, what do you grow there?



5 comments:

  1. I used to live in a house with a leftover garden. Raspberries 30' x 4'. Too much residual lovage: not sure what it's used for and it gets very tall. Rosemary, thyme, chives. apple trees that gave apples and a very productive pear tree. I miss it. I'd like to spend time out weeding and watering and planting. Oh! And I planted strawberries is a smallish brick planter. Had to share with the ants, but still got a lot.

    Thanks for the pics of your garden. And yes please to pics of the lilac in bloom!

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    1. I have no idea what lovage is good for either :-) I have masses of comfrey plants (here when I got here, as so much was). It's a nice plant, has medicinal uses and helps the compost pile work, but it gets huge, grows like crazy, and can't be completely removed because even a fraction of a root piece will send up more plants. Sigh.

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  2. Ditto on the lilac pics - it's my very favorite flower! Also, I envy that gorgeous garden. I love gardening, as did my ex, which made it fun to do together, when he'd let me lol. One of the things I'm putting on the list for the universe to lead us to our next house is a garden that's separate from dog spaces.

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    1. I love lilacs and peonies, and both were already here when I moved in :-)

      Maybe next time, flower pics...

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  3. I love the garden pics. I grew up with a father who did not know the meaning of small garden. He grew most of the veggies that my mother canned or froze for us to eat over the winter. He was a farmer at heart.

    I would love to see pictures of your lilacs and peonies. I can't grow them where I live now, but on the other hand I have a wonderful twenty six year old gardenia that has wonderful blooms as well as jasmine that have marvelous fragrance.

    Happy weed annihilation.

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