At mid-May I would say that my garden this year is well beyond where it was last year at this time. Certainly, my perennial garden has progressed much differently. I think all of my tulips came in May last year, but this year they've been gone for a couple of weeks now! Sadly, that means I don't have much in bloom at the moment--but the plants are all growing! Here's a peek:
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| Here's what's growing! I think it will be a full garden this year! |
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| And here's a look at the tulips from April! |
One of the things I have growing in my perennial garden, and one of the few things with flowers right now is chives. I can't remember where I got my initial chive plants, but shortly after I planted them, I discovered a couple of patches of chives growing in our front yard, underneath a pine tree (not kidding - I find things growing in the weirdest places!). Naturally, I removed them from their spot in the front yard and moved them in with my perennials. They've grown quite a bit in the past few years, but I often forget that I have them. What I mean is, I forget that I can USE them. It's one of the few edible plants in my perennial garden, and I'm determined this year to take advantage and to start using fresh chives more in my cooking.
I think the only other thing in bloom right now are my strawberries. I transplanted them earlier this spring, and the transplant seems to have been a success! There are lots of flowers, so I'm hoping for a good berry crop this year!
There's lots going on in my vegetable garden already, though not much will be ready to harvest anytime soon. I do have some greens growing: spinach, lettuce and Swiss chard! There are a few spinach leaves that are ready, and the rest shouldn't be too much longer.
My peas have started to grow, but there are no flowers on them yet. Last year my pea plants were very productive, and I'm hoping for the same this year. Pea pods make an excellent stir fry! The first year I had my garden I did not have a fence around it, and the bunnies at through nearly all of my pea plants. It was very sad! The bunnies have not been around since we put the fence up. Guess they found another spot to eat besides our lawn and garden.
I found a few surprises in my garden recently. The other day I discovered that my asparagus is, in fact, growing. I had been watching for it, but apparently not closely enough. I found several rather tall spears poking through the ground!
I also discovered that I have a lot of what I think are pumpkin volunteers. After Halloween last year, I threw our old pumpkins and squash into my garden to let them decompose and to see if any of the seeds would sprout this year. Well, they're all over the place! I transplanted a few of them to one corner of the garden; others I may just let grow where they are and see what happens. Maybe I'll get some pumpkins or other squash this year!
ABOUTME
Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!