God's Palette Easter Plum Tree Front

Front yard plum tree on this sunny Easter afternoon!

Plum Blossoming

What a gorgeous day, almost 70°F! The warm weather made the tight buds on the rhodies POP! We have a pretty plum in the front, pretty because it has been pruned into a lovely vase shape recently. What fun I'll have seeing what exactly is planted in the front yard. The bed under the plum is begging for something terrific...like a hundred daffodil bulbs or three hydrangeas!

God's Palette North Pasture Horse

My daughter in the back north pasture with the neighbor's horse.

God's Palette Water Spigot

My sweet little nephew visited and totally enjoyed watching the water run out of the faucet at the well house.

Family Worm Bin

We used the plans for a worm bin here:
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

This video was very inspiring as I was planning our worm bin:
http://youtu.be/2SuBT7SukdI

If you don't know anything about vermicomposting, you might be surprised to know that worms will eat your kitchen scraps and turn them into beautiful fertile soil and liquid fertilizer! It doesn't make sense to have a garden but no worm bin...the worms absolutely provide a wonderful benefit...you toss your kitchen scraps into the bin and get out compost tea and compost! For under $45, we got one pound of worms and a couple Rubbermaid bins for the project.

God's Palette Future Lavender Beds

My son helped me stake out the future lavender beds.

New Garden Layout

Upon entering the gate, there's about a 30'x30' square which can hold up to 18 3'x8' raised beds. I'm going to start with TWO. Then the area slopes down and I staked out a path between two triangular beds with path around the entire perimeter inside the fence. I moved the bench and potting table, I'm liking this a lot! It really helps me plan to have the stakes and string so I can visualize the space better.

When outside the garden standing at the gate, to the right is the corner, I want to plant a Lavatera 'Barnsley' there and put a cherry timber to define the bed area. And I want to plant Sedum 'Autumn Joy' on either side of the potting table.

Looking at how to plant raspberry and how to support the canes for easy picking!

Things I'm working on:
-raspberry support
-which lavenders to plant on the slope
-which blueberries to plant
-considering russian sage and crocosmia 'lucifer' together, love the purple and red!

Second Day of Spring SNOW

Um...it is the 2nd Day of Spring and we have...SNOW?!

Staking Raised Beds

I like this! A little string and a few stakes and I feel like I can SEE it! I like the idea of sitting on the bench and watching my garden grow, so I put the bench near the raised beds. I like the 3'x8' size and the ends will face north/south.

Past the bench is "the bump" which is the high ground and contains a couple stumps. Then the right slopes down (good drainage).

Reality

I'm REALLY wanting to get some raised beds going...but the reality is I need to unpack! I'm on a 15 day unpacking plan so by April 1st I'm hoping to be 100% moved in. Then I'll need a period of time to work on word studies and finish a handful of projects...THEN I'll be more free to have some garden time.

Last week, I moved the bench and milk can and potting table into the garden area. I know gardeners don't sit often, because there's always so much to do, but I want to be able to have a place to rest and enjoy watching the plants grow.

The first day of spring is next week!

This weekend we're going to start a worm bin...we'll put our kitchen scraps in the bin, which I like much better than tossing in a compost pile outside where the critters can get at them. The landlord wants to re-seed the pastures and he'll be doing that this weekend.

First Garden Purchase-Seeds

Beautiful morning the other day...today a blanket of gray...again.

Though the soil is cold and sopping wet, I ordered some seeds this afternoon instead of going out to weed. Here's what is in store for this year so far: zinnias, larkspur, echinacea, coreopsis, cosmos, hollyhock, nemesia, cilantro, lemon balm, parsley, baby carrots, swiss chard, poppies, sweet peas

I've had a Lavatera 'Barnsley' at each house and this one should be no exception. I have a spot for it and want it yesterday!

In my online travels, I found this jaw-dropping flower farm about 90 minutes north of me:
http://www.floretflowers.com/spring-gallery/

Total spent today: $55
Running total: $55

This Spurge is a Noxious Weed in Washington State

WHAT?! Sarah Raven raves about this plant, but guess what I found!? This very plant, Euphorbia oblongata is classified as a noxious weed in Washington state!

 Here's what the Noxious Weed Control Board website states:
"Class A noxious weeds are non-native species whose distribution in Washington State is still limited. Eradicating existing infestations and preventing new infestations are the highest priorities.
Eradication of all Class A plants is required by law."

Uhhhh, I guess I won't be finding any seed packs around town!

photo credit

My Shy Acre

We've been here about a week and I can hardly wait to get unpacked so I can start gardening! Well, that's not entirely true, I need to finish a handful of projects before I can start gardening, but I am beginning the garden planning stage.

The area behind the gate will be my garden (closest to the back door and just up and west from the well). In this picture, you are looking to the east where the morning sun peeks up over the Cascades in the distance. FULL sun exposure!

The initial plan is to make a pattern of raised beds for veggies and flowers with a lavender patch planted east of the main garden on top of "the bump". I would post a photo of "the bump" except I can't find my camera battery charger and my camera battery is nearly dead.

This morning I took Sweet Boy out to help me measure the garden patch. The pasture is about 61' x 83' with a bump at the lower part and three gates. Fully fenced. The section for the future raised beds is 35' x 30', but I could easily do 30' x 30' making it a square. Why only 30'? The approximate 30'x30' is actually level.

The lavender patch can also be 30'x30' and if I plant 5' on center, that's 7 rows of lavender 30' long over "the bump"! Whoohooo! I've grown lavender in the past, but I'd like to do some research on growing rows of lavender. I do know this:
-likes poor soil once established
-needs well drained soil
-requires full sun
-my favorite is 'Provence'
The fun part will be to decide what to plant and where to put them!

Best Cut Flower Book

I've been reading gardening books! This is the BEST of all my cut flower books from the library! I love that she is so "how-to" oriented. This is going to be a constant reference for my cut flower garden! Can't wait to plant some Euphorbia oblongata!

Beautiful Sunset

The sun sets on the front side of the house, so this is looking out the big front window. The sky was beautiful on this winter evening!

Peony Transplant

I dug up my peony and brought it with me. Notoriously, peonies reject transplanting, so I'm hoping for the best. I put it in a large black plastic tub at the edge of the patio. I'll be very sad if it doesn't make it.

Moving to My New Garden!

We're almost there! Friday the movers took the big stuff, today many friends and family helped us with the rest! Sunday will be the final trip! Hooray! Bye bye suburban neighborhood, hello rural road!