Shopping While Hungry

From this ...

Spring came in like a Lion, that's for sure, with a strange weather pattern we couldn't count on or predict. So we got busy.

An old eyesore part of the yard was repurposed into an herb garden.  I always like it when things just lying around can become something useful again. 

There's still a drip system to install for the rosemary, thyme, chocolate mint, basil, sage, cilantro, oregano and a raised bed full of garlic and onion which we're hoping will peek through the soil any day.


To this ...

The green and red harvest boxes came from a freestyle pick. We pass this place on the way to sushi that always has interesting things for sale, and a couple of weeks ago we stopped in to take a look. The caretaker was great and so was the boss and we picked up some really nice things. More to come on that.

We've been reclaiming other planting areas, and getting the garden drip back online after the freeze in January blew it out.  It's astonishing how big an acre of land seems when it's covered in weeds.

The Iris garden came back fuller and with showy blooms even with their confusion of spring weather in February. Sadly, one of our queen palms didn't make it.

We have had some help from four legged critters. Two feral cats are new to the neighborhood and live next door. We feed and water them when they need it, and they in turn keep the population of ground squirrels at bay, which is more than a fair trade. They are doing a dynamite job.

Just made up the first batch of lavender lemonade so summer must be near. Everything is in bloom including the pomegranates and we are more attentive now that we know what they are.  All the mandarin trees were lost in the freeze, but the nectarine and apricot have flourished and have little fuzzy fruit.

Thing One and Thing Two love being outside fenceless and leashless. Lily no longer chases the farm equipment and minds pretty well. Sam sleeps near Lil and we take that as a sign that they have truly bonded. 

There are alfalfa crops all around, a more durable crop choice with water in short supply, but I long for the sunflowers looking cheerfully my way as I stretch awake.

We discovered a local nursery called Green Acres that sells no GMO - and that evidently made us hungry:


Lilliput

We bought and planted 7 varieties of tomato, tomatillos, spicy and hot peppers, pickling cukes, our favorite Armenian cukes, zucchini, Japanese eggplant, pole beans, and pepperoncini. I think there's more. Corn goes in tomorrow, just 8 stalks to start, and we'll stagger planting there through summer. 

Sammy Girl

The nursery was a big help with a problem we are having with our happy, prolific artichokes. They are producing an astonishing amount of artichokes, healthy and large thistles, but they are tough.

Green Acres recommended we try to duplicate more of the optimal coastal environment. So we'll be devising some afternoon shade and misters in the near future. The plants are huge - can't move them now - but it's definitely worth a shot since they already love it here. 

I'm excited that tomorrow the thornless boysenberry bushes finally go in.

I am dreaming of boysenberry jam from bushes growing wild out by the garden along the Fence of Life.  Bee-utiful!