Ron and I had a wonderful week off. The weather was just about perfect. We traveled a little and saw some old friends. We were home in time for time for a visit from my brother, his wife and two kids. They were up from Texas for my nieces graduation from college. Mom was here and Apple and John came up. It was great to see everyone.
We were able to get a bit of gardening in between the coming and goings. This is the view from our front porch. There is a little piece of land across the road that the farmer that rents our land just doesn't use. Ron tilled it up and planted sunflower seeds everywhere you see the darker green. He did a mass planting by the road a few years ago and I loved it. He thought it would look great with the field behind it and the old purple martin house right in the middle. It will be fun to watch it develop. He had fun on the tractor with the plow even if nothing grows!
This is what the one from a few years ago looked like....
The vegetable garden is pretty much Ron's baby. He decided he was too busy and didn't do one last year. This year he went crazy! The garden grew and I mean grew! Our friend Dick has cancer and he is on a special diet that is primarily a vegetarian regime. His numbers have fallen drastically and he is able to put surgery and radiation off for now (hopefully permanently!) He credits God for the turn around but feels He used the diet to help in the healing. Ron figured he could cut his grocery bill this summer by growing a ton of stuff. I married a man with a kind heart. That is going to be a lot to weed!
We had sparkle strawberries in the vegetable garden the last couple years and we usually make sure we have some new plants going for the next year. Since we didn't have the regular garden last year, it slipped by both of us. We plowed the old ones under and planted new ones that will bear fruit next year. We (well Ron) planted 100 plants! I'm sure we won't have any trouble getting rid of berries. They are a little sweeter than the ones from most of the strawberry farms around here. We ended up making a new bed for all the berries and for the few grape vines that won't take off but won't give up either. If we get to it with our list of things to do, we would like to build a mesh fence around it to keep the birds out. Last year we had a ton of raspberries but the birds got most of them!
This is the last project we started but is still in progress. This is an old chicken coupe. The couple that lived here for 50 years before we bought the place turned it into a green house in their later years. It has it's issues but it has huge potential! We are trying to get the water fixed (there is water inside but when you turn it on it sprays everywhere!) It has gaps so big the birds have set up residence. Our goal is to have it as a functional green house for next spring! Although we need to address the issues inside, I decided to add a bed in front of it this year. I also added flower boxes to the windows in hopes of making it look like a country cottage. I'll show you more as it develops.
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I can't wait to see the sunflowers! And working on that little house sounds like fun too. What does it look like inside?
ReplyDeleteLucky you, I just have a small vegetable garden this year but I have already eaten tomatos and peppers from it. I have squash that will be ready in a day or two. Most of my effort is into flowers and ornimental plants this year but I plan on having a big garden next year. Thanks for the pictures,
ReplyDeleteGreg
Hi Martha, I added a photo of what the sunflowers looked like a few years ago. I am so excited I figured out scanning! I'm looking forward to seeing the new patch grow! The greenhouse is split in two sections inside with a door in between. The left side is basically storage and the other side by the windows is where they potted plants and grew things. There are double decker wooden tables on three walls for planting. There is an old heater in there to warm the plants but we don't think it's safe. Maybe I will get photos up when we clean it up a bit.
ReplyDeleteHi Greg, You are way ahead of us on the vegetables! Everything tasts better right out of the garden. I am more into the flowers as well.
I have always thought it would be fun to have a guest house but I don't think it's going to happen here. Our barns are taken up by my husband's cabinetry business. My daughter has a little house that will likely one day become a garden shed. Too small for much else.
ReplyDeleteThe sunflowers look great!
Wow, CountryGirl - you have a lot of space for planting and an ex-henhouse for a fun project.
ReplyDeleteI love my small garden now, but when I was younger, it could have been fun to tackle something with more 'scope' like yours. Oh yeah, 100 berry plants is also an idea with some scope!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
That is a huge vegetable garden! I think your husband is making up for lost time last year and I bet he gets plenty of exercise weeding it! I love the old chicken coop/greenhouse, that will be fun to see it come to fruition.
ReplyDeleteHi Martha - Some of those little houses are so cute. It's a great idea to make it into a garden shed someday!
ReplyDeleteHi Annie - I love the variety in your garden and how the plants compliment each other. You motivate me to try new plants and combinations. I'm sure I will wonder what I was thinking someday as it is already a lot to weed but for now I am loving it!
Hi LostRoses - I visted you today and saw all your roses. You and Annie defiantely have the touch for roses! You mentioned Ron getting to do a lot of weeding...you have no idea. I'll be posting a photo soon.