05.18.09

This weekend was great for the gardens! Got up early on Saturday in order to work in the plot and managed to transplant the mesculin, cucumbers, and tomatoes as well as plant seeds for the scallions and sugar snap peas. I have more room and more seeds, so the project is ongoing. I have to say I am really enjoying this whole process. Having never had more than a few potted plants and maybe an herb garden on the fire escape, having an actual bit of land is quite fun.

In addition to getting the veggies in the ground, on Sunday we filled in the "holes" in the backyard beds with some foxgloves and raspberry bushes. The raspberries and foxgloves, along with an existing hosta, are in the left hand bed (looking out from the house). I confess I got tired waiting for the original peonies I planted (from a root ball), so I picked up a couple that are older and have leaves and a few small bulbs to put on the right hand side, along with a couple of lupines to fill in the space on either side of the peach tree. Fret not though - I did not disgard the non-productive peony root ball, I just transferred it into a large pot in hopes it will start sending up shoots soon. Once that happens, I think I can get it back into the ground. In any case, the backyard is finally beginning to look more finished - YAY!

W sent me this article warning of a frost tonight, which is a bit of a bummer. I guess Jasper and I are going to have fun trying to wrap our babies up when we get home this evening!

05.13.09

As promised, below is a shot of the baby peaches (not taken with the iPhone):

It's very exciting to think that our little Esther (Elberta Dwarf) is bearing fruit already!  I think this means she's a bit older than I originally thought - maybe four years instead of two.  The fruit is supposed to be ripe by late July, so we'll just keep doing what we're doing and hope for an abundant crop. I'm eager to try my hand at peach preserves, and of course cobbler and pie, so fingers crossed!

05.12.09

I'm not sure I believe it, but tonight I noticed a few small, fuzzy buds on the peach tree!  I honestly thought it would take a year or two before we saw any fruit, but I have a sneaking suspicion that we might actually have a small harvest this summer - how crazy!  I will take photos tomorrow morning.

This past Sunday (Mother's Day), a friend who just moved to town joined us for lunch and graciously helped me clean up the plot that I'm sharing with lovely neighbor.  It went surprisingly fast; the amount of weeds and debris we pulled out barely filled a single trash bag.  I have not taken any after photos, but following are a few befores of the weeds, old pumpkin(?) vines, and rogue onions at the back.

05.10.09

Delicious side dish from our Mother's Day luncheon:  Sugar Snap Peas Sauteed with Grape Tomatoes.  Just thought I'd share.