Friday, May 23, 2008

Guarding the peas and potatoes

Today we decided that one hour of gardening in light misting rain was better than no gardening at all. I swear the weather people said we'd see the sun all weekend long. We did some cleaning in preparation for planting the tomatoes. Just in case Mr. Raccoon decides to drop by, Diva Dog is on the job, guarding over the peas and potatoes.

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At the other end of the potager our salad greens--which are mostly not green--have been producing quite nicely this Spring. There are also beets and radishes growing in the front section. In the back section there are chard, garlic, shallots, purple cauliflower and purple kale--a reject that was headed for the compost pile until Wing Nut rescued it and brought it home.

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This month we missed GBBD but here are a few of our blooms from May. First up are the trilliums. We finally got trilliums to bloom in our shade garden. Not all the plants bloomed this year. A little research learned me that this is not uncommon with young plants. They can take up to 5 or more years to bloom. Last year none of our plants bloomed. This year half bloomed--all white. Hopefully next year the red ones will bloom.

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Wood Anemone

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Lily-of-the-valley.

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Freesia.

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9 comments:

gintoino said...

Diva Dog sure is doing a nice job keeping that raccoon away, those peas look gorgeous. And your salad greens look yummy.
Aren't lily of the valley suposed to be white?

Anonymous said...

Diva Dog is great! So beautiful, yet I wouldn't want to be a raccoon who crossed her path! And oh, your salad garden is so luscious. Thank heavens my salad stuff's doing well this year or I'd be dying of envy!!!

Anonymous said...

Ooh! The lily of the valley is just precious! But I'm thinking it's poisonous to dogs? I'll have to look that one up. Mine eat everything, silly things.
Brenda

Anonymous said...

What a very tidy salad bed. I like the lilly of the valley - I havent seen one so pink before

Curmudgeon said...

Greetings gintoino. Not only does Diva Dog keep raccoons away but she also keeps all the squirrels away. Our yard has been declared a "No Squirrel Zone". The pink lily-of-the-valley was a chance find at a plant sale last year. It is even more fragrant than the white. Yes, the peas are finally starting to shoot up. With our cool spring they've been very slow.

Hello OFB. It's our first year growing salad greens from seed so we're pretty excited that we actaully have salad to eat!

Hello Brenda. Yes, I think you're right about the lov--it is poisonous to dogs.

Greetings Helen. Oh, our salad bed is not so tidy--it's been very weedy this year. But luckily the soil has stayed loose and weeding has actually been very enjoyable--the weeds just pull up with the slightest tug.

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

Diva is a beautiful GSD. Sounds like she works as hard for you as Abby works for me.

Love the pictures.

Debbi

Matron said...

There are so many of us dog-loving, veggie growing, blogging gardeners out here! My Buddy is more interested in sniffing the garden rather than chasing furry animals! Love to Diva xx

Terra said...

What a nice looking Diva Dog; she looks very calm. Does she really guard the veggies, or does she prefer relaxing in the sun?
I admire your plant photos.

Anonymous said...

Those salad greens look yummy. And how lucky you are to have your own racoon and squirrel patrol. We very much appreciate our daily patrol! lol