April Garden

 The garden is really coming to life.  Most of the perennials have broken their winter dormancy and the few laggards will follow soon.  The grass is green, the trees are leafing out, and the birds are busy building nests in the eaves on the porch, in the horse trailer hitch, in the barn rafters and the trees.  

Yellow iris are in full bloom.  I don’t know this variety’s name but it blooms twice, is healthy, and prolific.  The dwarf lilac in front is relatively new.  I planted three of them two years ago.  The dogs have kept two of them “well trimmed” by chewing on them and crashing through the planter.  But this one is doing very well.

Speaking of lilacs, I have more.  I just love these two varieties.  The first is called ‘Katherine Hanemeyer’ and is incredibly fragrant, in addition to being gorgeous.  The second is called ‘Sensation’ and has very unique and striking coloring with the burgundy petals outlined in white.  I only get a few blooms on this lilac but they make ‘em count.

I love violas.  I have different varieties, including Johnny Jump Ups and ‘Etain.’  They are very happy under the lilacs.

Earlier this month, my newest peony rewarded me with beautiful yellow fragrant blooms.  I found this plant when Brett and I were in Sonoma for my birthday, poking around a Ace Hardware nursery in Healdsburg.  The plant was pricey but, hey, it was my birthday.

Strawberries are starting to ripen.

Two of my new water trough planters have been planted.  This first one has chard, lettuce, beets, shallots and parsley.

The second one has sugar snap peas, more lettuce and chard.  There are also a couple zinnia plants at the front to encourage pollinators.  I tuck zinnias in all over the place: in my vegetable beds, in the flower beds and in the perennial planter.

My rhubarb from Skoog Farm is going crazy.  I’ve already made two cobblers with it — strawberry rhubarb and cherry rhubarb.  When I have more strawberries, I’ll make strawberry rhubarb jam.

In another week or so, I will plant my tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.  The nights are still too cold in April for them — they go out around Mothers Day.  The tomato bed is currently planted with a cover crop of fava beans and red clover.  ...and volunteer poppies which I just can’t bear to pull out.

The March Garden

 The best part of March is daffodils.  For each of the first seven years that we lived here, I planted a big box of 500 daffodils on the ranch.  So, now there are thousands of them.  There are daffodils in the garden beds, in the front planter, flanking the bridge and zig-zagging along the stream.  I suppose I have an obsession with daffodils.  They are just so dang easy — plant them and forget about them.  They come back — and multiply — every year.  They are the first flower to emerge in early spring, they are beyond cheerful and smell great.  The perfect flower.

The fruit trees are starting to blossom with the promise of summer fruit.  There were a couple of bees busy in the pear flowers a few days ago.  

The green house is overflowing with plant starts.  There are plants for my garden, of course, but the vast majority are for the Master Gardener Plant Sale in a few weeks.

I have eight varieties of tomato. 

There are three varieties of eggplant and four varieties of peppers.  

And zinnias.  Two varieties of zinnias.  They will not go to the plant sale as it is just veggies and perennials.  These zinnias will be planted in the raised beds with the vegetables.  

Out in the garden, I have a few vegetables just starting or recently transplanted.  There are sugar snap peas because they are so good for snacking when I’m working in the garden.  I also have carrots, beets, chard, and lettuce just poking out of the soil.  

Flash thinks all this working in the garden is crazy.  His idea of spring is napping in the sun.