Things I Planted So Far In The Fence Border. 3.18.22

This area was a challenge. The neighbor used their entire 30 foot easement to put in ten foot wide drive, with the drive going all the way to the internal edge (my side) of the easement. With the fence, that leaves a hell-strip that is too difficult to mow, and which could potentially get overspray if they (illegally) spray chemicals. In the long run, I might add more plastic outside the fence to reach the edge of the gravel drive, so there is nothing left for them to spray. I need a border that won't be too much work in the long run, is deer resistant, doesn't need watering, hopefully ever, and doesn't need hand mowing. I propagated forsythia to grow a privacy hedge. That will need a few years to fill in and grow tall enough. Plus I need to propagate a dozen more for the rest of the hedge. Here are some of the first ones, that I planted last year. They are nice in bloom, and should fill in to give some privacy in a few years.

I moved tall herbs from an area that Ning is converting from a pollinator meadow to grow chicken food grains. I don't know if they'll survive but some look OK, such as this rosemary bush.

In addion to the rosemary bushes, I moved a half dozen lavender plants and a dozen sage plants. They were scraggly with a lot of dead wood, so I pruned them back, cleaned them up, and replanted them. The lavender alternates in the hedge with the rosemary. I planted the sage in a circle around this pre-existing fig tree, which I already had in this location.

Inside the circle of sage, I scattered poppy seeds. Most were Shirley poppy seeds I saved in 2020, but some were an old (2018) packet of oriental poppy seeds, and some were a new packet of red flowered California poppies. It will be interesting to see if they grow. I have also been moving Spring flowering bulbs and other perennials further into my yard away from the hell-strip - Hyacynthoides (Spanish Bluebells), An Itoh peony, multiple big clumps of Camassia, some Snowdrops, Rhubarb, Horse Radish, Lambs ears. Most of that work is done. Then what will remain is the wildflower perennials I've started, and annual flowers.

Above, are one of the rhubarb divisions, a horse radish division, and a snowdrop that I transplanted in bloom. I'm apprehensive about what the neighbor will do, spray or mow or whatever, on the drive side of the fence (which is still my property but they were mowing there last year). I am trying to avoid a dispute, so I'm doing the best I can to make the best of a bad situation. It should be a very fragrant border, with lots of very bee friendly flowers this summer and beyond.

Fig buds swelling. 3.28.22.

Fig buds are just beginning to swell. Most of the early Spring fig pruning is done now. I hope there are somecgoid figs this year, for fresh eating and sharing. Maybe even canning, now that I'm the canning demon LOL.

Puttering. 3.18.22

Today I just puttered. I moved several clumps of bulbs from the woods edge to the hellstrip. The woods edge is becoming too dense for those,and they are nice flowers. I moved several clumps of Camassia, some Hyacinthoides, snowdrops. an Itoh peony, and some lambs ears. They don't look like much now so I'll just post a bigger image from the blog title.

I'd rather move all of those when they are dormant. However, now is the time when I can, so I did.

More Spring Flowers. 3.18.22

Some of these might be updates. Most of the plums are in full bloom now. I didn't plant many daffodils last year so these are from several years ago.

Overwintered Garlic Update. Growing Like Crazy. 3.15.22

"Musik" Hardneck garlic has been my go-to variety for a number of years. It has adapted nicely to my growing conditions, producing strongly flavored, really jumbo size cloves, only a few per bulb, and no puny tiny cloves that are next to impossible to peel. As a hardneck garlic, it keeps about 8 months, and one full raised bed grows about an 8 month supply.

When the weather warms up, the plants will grow vertical, almost like corn stalks. Last fall I experimented and bought two bulbs of a softneck variety, to see if it will keep a bit longer. I chose an Italian variety, "Lorz" which was described as a good grower with strong flavor. Not all of the cloves grew, but most did. I've noticed that home saved starts sometimes give better growth. Lorz was also much slower to emerge. I thought they might all be dead, but during the winter, they grew and have about caught up with the other variety.

Garlic grows well in large containers or raised beds, with a compost-rich soil. Fall planted crops can be a challenge to keep weeded, because weeds can grow faster than the garlic plants, early on. When the garlic plants are larger, it becomes a lot easier.