BLD in MT : Living a Simple Life in This Interconnected World: From the Garden: A, B, Cs

B: Basil, Field Elder Bugs, Bok Choy, Basket of Gold, Birdsong

There’s something so magical about dewy grass, morning daylight, and birdsong.  Our Basket of Gold flowers have come and gone for the yr already.  The bok choy have lastly began to go to flower. 

C: Clematis, Currants, Chives, Corn, Crows, Clothesline, Cosmos, Carrots, Compost

Matt purchased me a brand new clematis for my birthday.  I like them a lot.  Now we’ve three, all barely completely different in shade.  The currants have not began to show but, however the bushes are loaded.  One of many traces broke so Matt restrung the clothesline.  A pair of crows seem to have arrange home within the neighbors’ tree.  They’re within the yard on day by day foundation.  Ginger is not certain what to make of them.  Matt and I watched one of many crows choose up a leaf with its beak and intentionally dunk it in Ginger’s water bowl.  It was like dunking a doughnut in a cup of espresso.  We weren’t certain what that was about, but it surely was fascinating to observe.  We planted corn for the second time and it got here up with virtually 100% success.  The rows are lovely.  We’re virtually out of corn within the freezer, too.  I must trim the chive blossoms this week.

D: Drip hoses The ditch is working, however we solely have one hose arrange so far.  It has been raining so persistently that we’ve not actually wanted the irrigation.  Matt has a plan for a barely completely different configuration of the hoses this yr.  We’re nonetheless perfecting the system.  It certain does make backyard life simpler although, not having to water by hand.

E: Eggplant, Enjoyment, Consuming Exterior The yard is our oasis.  Because the timber and vines leaf out it turns into an exceedingly personal retreat for bocce, studying, lounging, dinner, and extra.  The eggplant are wanting good, however I think as soon as the nice and cozy days arrive they’re going to actually take off.  They’re coming quickly!  It’s forecasted to be virtually 100 right here on Friday.

F: Fruit Timber The apple tree is doing nice.  Matt pruned it fantastically this yr.  It’s actually rising into a beautiful (and pickable!) form. It was a blessing in disguise that the second apple tree died.  We wanted some open grass to play kubb and bocce.  The peach, apricot, and plum tree within the entrance yard are nonetheless query marks.  The deer did a lot injury when the timber had been younger that I am undecided they’re going to ever actually get well.

G: Greenhouse, Garlic, Grapes, Geraniums, Inexperienced Beans The garlic is coming alongside nice.  It is likely to be time to trim the scapes this weekend.  Each vines of the Grandma Grapes have leafed out.  We’re all the way down to the final bag of 2021 inexperienced beans within the freezer.  Matt planted the greenhouse with peppers, eggplants, and basil.

H: Hammock, Harvests, Hollyhocks, Hen and Chick My hollyhock alongside the driveway died.  I do not know what occurred.  I believed they had been a kind of flowers that was arduous to kill.  We bought some seeds from Brittany although so we’ll simply strive once more.  We predict there are two arising in certainly one of our wildflower patches, however I will not make certain till it blooms.  Matt has been harvesting/thinning the spinach from the low tunnel.  We’ll use it in smoothies primarily.  Matt hung his hammock within the pine timber out entrance for the primary time this yr.

I: Iris We have now three forms of iris–two are purples after which there are these white ones.  Matt and I needed to seek the advice of images from earlier years to see once we’d planted so many alongside the driveway.  Neither of us remembered there being so many!

J: Jenga with Keleigh, June berry Bush, Johnny The June Berry Bush continues to leaf out, albeit in a fairly spotty trend.  I believed the drought had killed it although so I’m heartened.  I feel it would simply make it now.  My sister, niece, dad, and stepmom visited the primary weekend of June.  Keleigh simply purchased her first automobile and I can not imagine how fantastically she’s maturing.  And how briskly!

Okay: Kubb We realized learn how to play kubb at household reunion final yr and Matt rapidly grew to become obsessed.  It’s a actually enjoyable recreation and one that’s open to a variety of gamers.  Our kubb course pictured right here is true the place the opposite apple tree was, circling again to the F is for Fruit Timber entry.

L: Lilies, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Lobelia Matt purchased me this beautiful new lily plant for my birthday.  We additionally picked out a lilac bush and planted it alongside the entrance fence.  The lobelia are blooming on the greenhouse shelf.  We must always actually plant them out someplace.  The Cosmos, too.

M: Mushrooms, mowing, mint, mud The mint patch we put in final yr got here again swell!  All three varieties!  We have now loads of mud within the backyard and mushrooms popping up within the garden on account of all of the cool and wet climate currently.  The rain additionally means I really feel like we simply bought performed mowing and the grass is prepared for it once more.

N: Neighbors, Neighborhood I actually take pleasure in our neighborhood.  It’s a good mix/steadiness of individuals.  The town put in a sidewalk again in October final yr and it makes me blissful watching all the youngsters on scooters, canine walkers, and {couples} passing by.  I like with the ability to hear the baseball video games being performed on the park a number of homes over.  The ping of the ball of the bat, all of the mother and father and followers cheering delight me from my yard.  It’s so healthful and blissful sounding.  It makes me consider my very own childhood taking part in ball.  We’re additionally blessed to have good relations with our direct neighbors, particularly Pam and Jack.

O: Onions, Oregano The onions had been a failure.  All of the seedlings fell over and died as soon as transplanted to the backyard.  We simply cannot appears develop onions value a hoot.  Matt in the reduction of the sage and oregano.  They’d gotten overgrown and woody.  They each look a lot happier and brighter now.

P: Pine cone pollen showers, potatoes, peonies, peppers, peas, paths
I used to be in the lounge gazing out the window once I noticed little puffs of….one thing…coming off the pine timber out entrance.  My first ideas had been smoke or steam.   It was a misty swirling like that.  Upon nearer inspection I spotted it was pollen being launched because the pine tree was sprinkled with rain.  The raindrops would knock the pollen unfastened in little swirls.  They had been arduous to seize in video, however definitely cool to observe with the bare eye.  The peonies are blowing up proper now, on the heels of the irises.  Matt used some free landscaping rocks we acquired to complete off one of many backyard paths.  Just one extra to go!  The pepper vegetation are filling out with lovely inexperienced fruits.

Q: Queen of the Backyard Ginger stays the undisputed Queen of the Backyard.  She’s so blissful it’s summertime.

R: Rabbits, Rain, Rose, Raspberries, Rain Barrel It looks as if we have been out of city for peak Austrian Copper Rose bloom the previous few years, however not this yr!  I like that bush.  It’s a beautiful curtain of orange and yellow blooms.  Our neighbor, Mark, is having an particularly fabulous yellow rose bloom on the nook, too.  His aren’t Austrian Coppers although.  I purchased a rain barrel with my birthday cash.  We plan to make use of it within the shoulder seasons earlier than/after our ditch water is available in.  Black Bunny and his accomplice, Patches, can nonetheless be discovered within the entrance yard each day.  They actually ripped it up this yr, too, digging troughs/trenches for causes which might be unclear to me.

S: Strawberries, Squirrels, Spinach, Sitting, Sunflowers, Sunchokes, Sage. We noticed the bob-tailed squirrel yesterday.  I am at all times so glad to see she’s nonetheless round.  We ate our first-of-year strawberries final night time on a stroll via the backyard.  They’re SO good.  Nothing from the shop comes shut.  We had been sitting and gazing as we frequently do within the night.  We seen the brand new clematis was blooming and wandered over to have a look…and earlier than we knew it we had been stuffing strawberries into our maws.  We dug a number of the remaining sunchokes and despatched them residence with Hannah.  We initially bought the sunchoke vegetation from Hannah’s place in Missoula.  She’s since moved off-grid close to Three Forks and so now she will be able to transplant the sunchokes there!

T: Tomatoes, tomatillo, thyme We planted approach fewer tomatoes this yr.  We nonetheless have a lot sauce and diced tomatoes in cans that Matt determined to commit the backyard area to one thing new.  Like corn and artichokes.

U: Underground Roots Matt was bemoaning what number of roots there are beneath the backyard.  We’re ringed by timber and Matt often has to hack via roots whereas prepping the soil for planting.  It by no means appears to finish.

V: Volunteer Violets The violets are performed blooming.  I will dig up those which have weaseled their approach into the precise backyard beds and see if I can get a patch going elsewhere.  We’re high quality with them on the paths, however the plots are for veggies.

W: Wildflowers, woodpeckers, weeds We have now a number of wildflower patches as of late.  We simply added a brand new one alongside the brand new sidewalk out entrance.  They seem to be a messy tangle of gorgeous.

X: eXcitment Alright.  This one is a stretch, however I could not provide you with anything.  That is such an thrilling time within the backyard although.  Issues are beginning to actually take form and are available to life.

Y: Yard work As I discussed, we bought some free landscaping rocks.  Matt used them to create edging round a number of shrubs and flowers in each the back and front gardens.  Pictured is the ring round our new lilac bush.

Z: Zzzzzzzzs Ginger spends 1/3 of her time within the yard stalking bugs and smelling stuff, 1/3 rolling within the dust, and 1/3 snoozing within the solar.  She actually resides the dream again there.