06.17.09

Over the weekend, a friend came over to help weed the garden. While working, we met a man who has a plot down at the end of the garden. His plot is HEAVILY secured, with safety-orange construction netting stretched around it to prevent anyone accessing it with ease. He had some sort of refreshing beverage in a paper bag, and loudly went on and on about how someone had stolen seven brand new tomato cages from his plot. He proceeded to stand over us making inane chitchat while we worked, which I found rather irritating but eventually he moved on.



I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what the back story is, but the woman who's across the way from me later told us that she thinks that HE is the resident garden thief and his behavior, especially going on about his stolen tomato cages, is an attempt to divert attention from him. She told us about how one year she had a huge row of beautiful collard greens. One day she came in and realized that someone had taken care to cut off the growth from the back side of the row so that it looked great when you walked by on the sidwalk, but was completely shorn when you saw the row from the side and back. I am hoping that what's in the past is past, but we'll see.



Thanks to all of the weeding over the weekend, the plot is looking good. I think I can start harvesting my mesculin and I need to thin out the tomatoes and cucumbers soon. The sugar snap peas are growing well, as are the broccoli and the swiss chard. Jasper and I went over to water this afternoon and sampled som of the sugar snap pea shoots that broke off when I was arranging them - delicious! I can't wait to taste everything!





The backyard is also looking great - very green and lush. We are down to two decently-sized peaches, but that's okay. The tree has grown at least two feet from when we planted it, which is exciting. One of the lupines is blooming, as are the foxgloves. The hydrangea is looking great, as are the morning glories and one of the rose bushes. Once we get the back fence panel replaced (a goal for the summer, I hope!), I plan to take out the existing hosta and replace it with a lilac bush.

06.10.09

Back from a weekend out of town, where we stayed at a B&B that had magnificent grounds. Woods Hole Passage - I think they had about two or three acres of land that included lawn, flower beds, a vegetable garden, multiple bird feeders, along with a frog pond that had at least eight big ol' bullfrogs - wowza! I was envious of all of the space, but also got a few ideas about what I can bring back to our backyard as well as the community plot.

I figured out that I am shooting for a sort of cottage garden feel with the backyard. I love the dense, overgrown, cozy look of them, and while I'm not sure exactly how it will play out in our teeny, 13-foot wide rowhouse backyard, that's the direction I'm heading in. To that end, I would really like to replace the big barn doors at the back with a solid wall that has a lockable gate and trellis so we can more easily get in and out. Sigh..one day.

The backyard beds are looking nice and we're getting a few baby raspberries in addition to the two remaining peaches on the tree (I have no idea what happened to the other two). We set up a low-flow soaker hose system on a timer for when we aren't around. It worked great while we were out of town, so now I just need to figure something out for the plants in pots. The community plot is in need of some serious weeding and I think I will get my chance if the weather clears up this weekend, while the boys are a the TMBG kids show - can't wait!

05.25.09

Spent the day at the Arnold Arboretum with my boys (including Bodhi) - I can never get over what a wonderful place it is!  Some of the lilacs were still in bloom and it makes me want to put a lilac bush where the Hosta currently is in the backyard.  Not sure if that will happen this year, but man, it would be awesome!  Lilac bushes always remind me of the book Socks by Beverly Cleary.  I love that book and am pretty sure I remember Socks' passion for lounging under the lilac bush by the front door of their house, among other things.

The backyard garden is looking great, if I do say so myself.  I am loving the addition of the raspberries, foxgloves, lupines, and peonies (last weekend.)  As mentioned earlier, I am a little obsessed with putting in a lilac bush, but will hold off for now.  I did go ahead and mulch everything today, along with throwing down some wildflower seeds just to see what happens.  My dream is to have a beautiful, overgrown garden, inspired by the ones I love in England - maybe we can figure out a small water feature at some point even!  But...I'm trying not to get ahead of myself.  

How cool is this?  One of the other gardeners at Bessie Barnes, Leon (I think), gave me a couple of broccoli and Swiss chard transplants today - he was thinning his rows!  So now, in addition to the cucumbers, tomatoes, mesculin, sugar snap peas, and scallions, we have some chard and broccoli.  I also went ahead and planted some cantaloupe and a watermelon!  I am psyched for the melons, but since we do not have very sandy soil, I'm not sure how well they will fair.  I still have some acorn squash seeds to try, along with green beans, but I worry that my eyes are bigger than my plot, so I'm not sure how everything will come together.  We shall see - I figure in the worst case scenario, all of the overflow will just have to go into pots and then our friends will be given green "gifts."  Or something.

Earlier tonight, my darling husband picked up some bamboo sticks so I can "build" a cage for the sugar snap peas, and I think it will also help with the tomatoes when they grow a bit bigger.  He also picked up some more basil and parsley along with some lavender to grow in pots because our first attempt at herbs in the quarter barrel has only resulted in cilantro and clover/weeds.  The plan for this week is to get the cage for the sugar snap peas built, and then fill out the rest of the plot with my remaining seeds.  After that, I'm sure it'll be time to thin the existing plants, and hopefully things will continue to flourish.  I look forward to getting all of my pots filled and thriving too.  I'm really digging the gardening...pun intended.  :-)

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!

05.12.09

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.

05.07.09

We already have some sprouts in the mini-greenhouse! The mesculin is really taking off, and the cucumbers aren't doing too badly either. The tomatoes and peppers are not doing as well, but I went ahead and tented the lid and moved the greenhouse onto the porch so it will get more sunlight in hopes it will help. Life has been busy, so I have not yet gotten around to taking photos, but will do my best tonight. It's been raining, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to connect with our neighbor but I'm not too worried.

In our backyard garden, things are looking pretty good. The hydrangea is filling out nicely, as are the two rose bushes. The new peach tree seems to be thriving, and while I don't expect any fruit this year, perhaps we'll see something in a years time. The newly transplanted morning glories (ground) and nasturtium (hanging baskets) that we sprouted from seed are looking good, but have not yet begun to climb the trellis or flower - I'm sure it won't be long.

The plants that don't seem to be doing much of anything are the two peony plants on the right as well as the pink variegated non-hostas (I've forgotten the name but have been combing the internet feverishly in hopes of somthing twigging) in the left hand bed. I'm afraid that the pink non-hostas won't do anything until next year, if at all, since they were bulbs, and heaven knows what's going on with the peonies. I don't want to give up on them, but I also don't want a big hole one one side and a completely empty bed on the other. Tick tock, tick tock.

In addition to everything we've planted, we have some wildflowers popping up here and there, near the back of the fence. I'm quite certain they're wild pansies, given the lovely shades of pale violet. I especially love wild flowers in the city. Their presence really enhances the urban landscapes that I love.

05.05.09

Finally got around to getting a plot in our community garden. Of course, the getting was not as easy as seemed in previous years, but a lovely neighbor offered to split her plot with me so I am finally getting a crack at developing my green thumb.

Sunday night, we began to get some seeds started in the mini-greenhouse. So far just tomatoes, cucumber, sweet peppers, and a mesculin blend, but I have hopes for snap peas, and some acorn squash too. Jasper chose a packet of English peas too - just like Jack in the Beanstalk, he said.

I hope to meet with lovely neighbor this Thursday to take a look at our plot, which needs a little loving (or so I'm told), and will try to take photos then. I'm excited to start gardening!