Wow, it's been a while. So much to do while we have these warmer weeks. I'm trying to get outside work done, but it's been hard with my daughter unable to help because of back problems, plus an extremely active puppy, and just the ordinary day to day stuff.
Spray paint projects have been in full swing. My daughter commented that the colors and designs looked like the toppings for a cheeseburger (ketchup, mustard, and pickles).
I made a little more progress on the pollination garden. This project is going to take most of the summer. I haven't figured out how to explain to a puppy that the plant markers I am putting next to my plants are NOT for him to take out and run away with, so I used a bucket to mark where I put some canna lilies. Yes, he managed to dig two of them out. Today it was my marigolds. Oh well.
My garlic is coming along nicely. I'm hoping next month to have a good harvest. For me that would be three dozen strong heads of garlic. Some to plant in the fall and most to use for fermenting in honey and a good amount for cooking.
I harvested a great amount of lavender yesterday. My daughter has had to sit, so she cleaned it up and made bundles for drying. Glad to help her so we didn't lose the first harvest. Looks like it's going to be a bountiful summer. I also harvested an over flowing cup of chives, and chive flowers for salads and vinegar.
This is a calendula blossom. The more you pick them the more they grow and they are starting to have many blooms. This one is so pretty. So nice to see those seedlings grow into pretty flowers.
The Bee Balm and St. Johns Wort are thriving nicely. They were just single stems when I put them in last summer. I had more than enough to split and add to the back yard garden. The pots contain shallots that I started from seed and I can't wait to harvest them later this summer.
The bees are doing well. Lots of orientation flights, so we know the colony is growing. We got a taste of their honey from a tool being used for inspection and we are hoping to get a little in the fall. One day at a time.
We have been in our, new to us, home for fourteen months and what a difference a year makes. This is one after picture of what the front garden is today.
This was one year ago this month and the work was well worth it. Just have to keep working in the back yard so that we'll see the same result next June.
In the next week or so all of these plants will be in bloom. My zinnia seedlings are in the ground now and I can't wait to see it all colorful in the next few weeks. This is another one year later picture.
I've done some more unpacking and sorting for a garage sale and along with the sorting I've been putting things in place on the breezeway. It needs a lot of construction fix up, but for now I have a place to chill while Hunter plays out back. I love the fact that we have a vintage home with vintage Pyrex collections. So nice that they can be out where I can see them and not shoved away in boxes or cupboards.
Last, but not least there's Hunter. He's four months old now and I'll still confess, I am not a pet person. Here he is in his pen that he reconfigured to suit himself, but he didn't plan on a place to play. Needless to say he wasn't happy, but we couldn't stop laughing. Most of the time he is lose outside with us in the fenced in yard, or tethered in the gazebo out front, but he can find mischief wherever he goes. Maybe some day I'll share the nightmare story of his first obedience class, or maybe not. So, that's what's been keeping me busy at the new townhouse homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.
