Early Spring

Temperatures this winter have been very mild. The last freezing day was back in early December. Anyway, most of my hellebore are in full bloom, and the 'Ivory Prince' is waiting for a few more weeks. All of the spring bulbs (tulips and hyacinth) have poked up and, fortunately, nothing has snacked on them yet. Rodents ate all of my tulip bulbs last spring.

Putting the Garden to Bed

I put down leaves and coffee grounds, covered with burlap, recently. I also trimmed back the fuchsia two days ago (pic was taken last week). All of the bulbs that are going in the ground for next year have been planted. I might check out clearance bulbs at the local nurseries, but will have to hurry. Freezing temperatures are just around the corner. The nights have become chilly this last week.

Cyclamen Cyprium

After nearly six years, I finally got one of two Cyclamen Cyprium tubers to produce a flowering bloom. Btw, this particular species of plant is only native to the Island of Cyprus. Patience pays off.

More Beans

I'm still picking green beans. This year's crop has produced a record harvest.

Repairs

I noticed that one of the plot boards had nearly rotted away. A trip to Lowe's let me find a replacement board. Not being a carpenter it took me nearly an hour to remove the old board and attach the new one. Also, I finally was able to remove all of the quack grass that was growing in between the boards for the last few years. Weeds were removed and new chips were also laid down.

On another note, the beans are growing like crazy. I have tried to add some twine for additional support since the beans will soon add more weight to the whole fixture.

July Update

So July is here and, after a very warm Spring, somewhat anticlimactic. Temperatures are anywhere from consistently warm to downright hot. As you can see in the pic below my beans are loving it and just now sending up runner vines. Also, the fuchsia and campanula (blue bells) is providing some much needed color since all of the Spring plants are now dormant. Also, I've pretty much finished harvesting broccoli and peas. The Alderman starts I purchased from Sky Nursery were a big success and my only regret is that I didn't buy more. Next year I plan to only grow peas from starts since the efforts from seed were a dismal failure.

Beginning of Summer

The Summer Solstice was on Saturday and so far this year it has been warmer than usual. My Alderman peas (from starts) are nearly ready to harvest. This year's broccoli has been a huge success, with only a single plant going to seed early, and no clubroot in sight. Also, I planted Kentucky Blue pole beans and they all sprouted. Finally, the onions are nearly ready to begin harvesting.

As for the flowering plants...the fuschia is huge and beginning to bloom; the aphids on the hellebore have either all died or moved on; the lupine continues to bloom; and the foxtail lily is just about at the end of it's blooming cycle.