With all the rain this week the garden is looking verdant. I cannot believe the colors on these hydrangeas. It is just jaw dropping -- so beautiful in their variation.
And the azaleas are happy too.
The old blueberry bushes that we transplanted from our friends' house more than a year ago are looking very full, though still not terribly tall. Lots of berries to look forward to on this one.
The josta berries that I divided and transplanted to the orchard are recovered and fruiting.
The second year branches of the fig tree that survived the cold are already fruiting!
My perennial herbs are a bit of a wild rumpus this year, but the maintenance has been easy relative to the beauty and herbal goodness so overall I am happy with it. I harvested and am drying a bunch of stinging nettle this week. We are also rooting several dozen mint plants (mint is supposed to deter rats) to be planted near the duck and rabbit houses.
The St John's Wort is just starting to bloom. Evening primrose has become like a weed between the pavers. Brother M just weeded them out for me 2 weeks ago and here they are again.
The kids an I worked on clearing brambles on the far side of the barn this week. It was much easier than the front yard - since it is all fairly new growth. We uncovered yummy wild raspberries as we went along, picked them, and then kept hacking away. The plan is to finish clearing it back to the big trees so that hubby can regrade the soil, dig out a big old stump, and mow it. Then I will plant elderberry bushes just in front of the tree line. Elderberry bushes can handle part shade and still flourish. Ideally, the elder will fill in and be more manageable than the wild brambles.
Strawberry the cat loves to hang out in this part of the farm. She looks like she might be high on catnip...
Despite my anxiety over pollination in the high tunnel, the tomatoes are fruiting well and getting so tall.
I can see why people prune them and string them up vertically. They seem to love the heat inside the tunnel.
Perennial geraniums were such a fabulous discovery to me last year. I am so glad to see them back this year.
The brussels sprouts were looking so good, but now something is eating the leaves.
The squash have taken over most of the rows of sweet corn. I am going to have to thin them out to give the corn a chance to catch up. If the first round of corn seeds had germinated I think it would have worked out perfectly. Now the corn is 2-3 weeks behind the squash.
Miss Sadie's diligence paid off and she hatched 7 ducklings. That makes 10 ducklings this spring.
Right after they hatched I thought she might not be caring for them well enough and almost put them in a brooder in the basement. I checked on them every hour until I was satisfied that she was not leading them into danger and was keeping them warm. The first picture is just after they hatched and this second picture is from today - they are one week old. They have mostly been staying near the nest in the barn.
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