in the garden

For the past couple of summers, I haven't felt well enough to do too much in the way of a garden at our new place. But this year, since I'm feeling literally 100% better than I was last year at this time (thanks to Susan Blum and her amazing book, "The Immune System Recovery Plan"), I am planting as many vegetables, herbs, flowers, shrubs, and trees as possible. Below is a little look at what I've been up to, if you'd like to see.

It's kind of hard to see in this photo, but I dug an asparagus patch in our yard this year and there are seven little spears coming up! I figured we'd better get a jump on this since you're supposed to wait three whole years before harvesting. I'm already excited!

 

This little baby is rhubarb, one of my favorite early spring vegetables (for the record, I thought it was a fruit but if Wikipedia can be trusted, it's a vegetable) and I can't wait to harvest it right out of my back yard. We have to wait two years for this one so I'm glad we started this year. (Stay tuned for my favorite new dessert: strawberry rhubarb crisp. I'll be posting the recipe later this week.)

 

We have two (so far) raised beds in our yard. This one has onions, a few potatoes, rosemary, and three tomato plants interspersed with a few marigolds. We didn't have enough fencing for this bed on the first try, but so far the deer and other critters have stayed out.

 

This bed has kale, lettuce, spinach and two varieties of potatoes. The pots are planted with herbs and flowers. I was hoping to have greens by now but my baby seedlings got chilled under their protective sheet one cold night several weeks ago and are just now starting to bounce back. The week and a half of rain we just had has helped them along.

 

This is a perennial bed that I'll be cutting flowers from all summer long. I don't even know what all is in there besides some lavender - I just picked up whatever looked pretty at the garden center and added it to my collection!

 

I added a few perennials to the bed at the end of our driveway and am so happy with how everything is coming along. I'll be able to cut flowers from these this summer, too.

 

A few months ago I decided that I needed more lavender in my life. So I decided to plant a lot of it in our yard this year. I took these photos in between downpours last week so most of these lavender babies have been planted in the last two days. I dug up a section of grass at the top of our ditch up by the street and am going to plant one long line of them across our property. They'll be pretty to look at, good for bouquets and drying, and will also smell nice for all of our walking neighbors.

I bought these rose bushes a few weeks ago and Will helped me dig the holes for them yesterday. One of my neighbors is going to bring his tiller down here one night soon and dig up a big section of grass by our fence that will include this little section with the roses. Annabel and I bought LOTS of seed packets today so our yard will soon be covered in flowers. I can't wait! 

That's what we've been working on so far, but I have BIG plans for the rest of our yard to make the back a cozy spot for spending time with friends and hanging out as a family. I've missed my vegetable gardens and flower gardens since we moved from our old house and am so glad to be getting things put in here at our new home. Getting my hands in the dirt is one of my favorite calming activities. It's been really good for me to get out and plant in the midst of this busy time of year. 

What are you planting this year? I'd love to hear!