Spring is here and the garden is booming. OK, well not booming yet, but it feels like it after so many months of dormancy. We are making plans for even more beds, and the layout of the garden changes almost weekly right now. Always giving up a bit more grassy space to more food making space. Adding some touches here and there to make the garden functional but also beautiful. We feel incredibly lucky that we have the space and now time to make more of an effort in the garden.
Tom has always like to go out in the back yard, but he likes it now that the weather is warmer. He even went after a squirrel or two in April. Quite the feat for an old man of 16 years. We watch him closely, and he never put the animal at risk.
For most of April just about all the blueberry bushes had not only leaves but many bell shaped flowers on them as well. The are still filling out, but bees and bugs have started visiting regularly.
We’ve seen a lot of early azaleas in the neighborhood, but ours have only shown the slightest movement all through the beginning of April.
Our raspberry bushes are taking off this year! We didn’t cut them back, but we have seen a lot of growth and new plants shooting up. We have cauliflower, radishes, carrots and one potato in this bed by the raspberries.
Our lettuce bed took a bit of a beating from squirrels who were having a grand salad, but by the end of April, everything was back on track. We planted peas in beds and in pots, and by the end of the month we had some tomatoes in these beds as well. A lot of what we plant is still trial and error. We gathered buckets and have been trying to start things from seeds in some.
This shelf came with the house and was downstairs unused for years, so my husband modified it this month to be a new bed. We will purchase a few yards of dirt from a local landscaper to fill it and all the others we have planned.
Our friend gifted us a rain barrel she wasn’t using at the end of last year and we finally got it up and working. It collects water from the gutters and we repurpose our Dr Bronners and vinegar jugs to carry water. When the barrel is full or when we know it will rain, we fill all the jugs to make room for more rain.
Not too much happened in the front beds. The mint and catnip are starting to really take off. Other than that, they are waiting to get tomatoes and more veg.
Seeds are still growing up in our guest room. My husband is diligently taking them outside to harden off on nice days.
So many things changed in April from the beginning and the end, perhaps the most of any garden report. Is it the same for you?