garden time

It was a beautiful sunny balmy day today. I managed to get out in the garden for a little while. Not as long I would have liked because there were household chores calling my name but enough to enjoy the breeze and the birdsong.

While weeding the top bed I managed to get the whole "carrot" of a Queen Anne's Lace plant. Apparently it is edible, not sure I'm adventurous to try and I know the kids won't touch it. While I like having them in the bed around the mailbox I try to contain them to that area otherwise they would probably spread rampant through the rest of the front gardens.

The Weigelia bush by the front of the walkway has started to bloom. The blooms smell so pretty, it's really intoxicating to breathe deep.

I really need to finish cleaning out around the currant bushes. They are looking very full so hopefully it will be a good year for berries.

We have one lonely little asparagi at the moment. Since I planted 25 of the things last year I'm hoping the rest show up otherwise I'm going to be upset. I know we can't eat them this year but they need to at least grow.

I managed to get over to the raspberries on the other side of the house today. I must have missed some of the old canes last year so I trimmed them off. What is there looks like it's growing well. Some babies escaped the bed, I'll have to move them back into it when they are big enough to transplant. Some are growing in the thick of the two Rose of Sharon bushes I have in there. I'm going to have to leave them as I don't think I can get them out. I'll have to keep an eye on them though to make sure they don't overwhelm the Rose of Sharon.

My elderberries that I planted last year have little leaves on them so I guess they took. The thornless blackberries are starting to grow. I'm going to have to trim them a bit and seriously get to work on the trellis so I can train them.

In other notes the bedstraw is trying to make inroads on the garden. So far, of the front and side gardens I'm on top of it, probably not for long. The ground ivy is trying to set up a command post in the rock garden but I'm managing to stay on top of that too.

The local herb garden up the street opens on May 1st. I can't wait to go see what lovelies she has. I'm thinking of putting in tarragon this year to make some vinegar with. I think the thyme is not going to make it so I'll need another one. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to put in oregano or if I'll just get it from the farm. The cilantro will probably start to appear sooner or later, goodness only knows where in the garden it will show up. Not sure what other herbs I'll put in but I'm sure I'll find stuff when I visit her. My goal at this point it to not buy basil or dill, since I get lots of that from the farm (I dried a bunch and am still using it), but to put in things I will use. Oh, and a friend has offered me Korean Sesame which she grew last year with great success, I'm looking forward to trying it.

Looking forward to many more enjoyable days in the garden.