Friday, April 22, 2022

More spring...

The backside of April is upon us, and I'm feeling behinder and behinder.  Or maybe I'm just being impatient. I've been wanting to plant some seeds in the garden for weeks now.  

While the cool weather and spring rains are welcome, they have made it difficult to get outside much and take care of things.  The weeds are flourishing!  Maybe I'll make some serious progress on them this weekend as it's supposed to be sunny and in the 80's.  A little hot for my liking in April, but there's a promise of more cool weather next week, so I'm not going to complain.  Much.  

I've been busy and distracted the last couple of weeks, but most of it isn't really blog fodder. We did celebrate four birthdays earlier this month (for which I have no pictures - I get so little cooperation when I try, I've all but given up).  Our birthday celebrations anymore generally include eating out at a restaurant of the birthday kid's choice, followed by games at someone's home.  It was a couple of weeks ago already that we went to a Sushi Club for all-you-can-eat sushi, and then back to two sons' apartment to play the new-to-us game WAVELENGTH.  A fun game that gives lots of opportunity for making conversation.  

While it's more interesting than it may appear, here's a demo of WAVELENGTH in case anyone is curious:


And now I hope I don't bore you with more pictures of spring. Though I must warn you, this surely won't be the last such post.  This week we turned a corner into it being downright beautiful here.  While there are spots on this property that need some serious attention to landscaping, I'll share the areas that I'm taking special pleasure in right now.  

It was in the 60's and gorgeous on Wednesday.  Between doing some weeding and cleaning up most of the straw mulch from the strawberry bed above, and rain storms later in the evening, I visited my friends Jack and Ruth (Ruth, some will recall, is a woman I provided companion care for for several years.  She is in a nursing home now).  I don't think Ruth knows who I am anymore, but she is just as sweet and welcoming as ever.  Visits these days give me opportunity to get to know Jack more.  These two are a treasure.

But back to the strawberries.  Caring for a strawberry bed is a totally new experience for me.   So far, it's not been hard, and best of all -  they're surviving!  Looking forward to having some to share.


Our Asparagus patch is in the foreground above.   Notice some spears tall enough to harvest?  They'll show up again later.   The larger garden area is in the background.  I plan to remove those onions by sometime next week, and plant some vining things that (hopefully) will make use of the trellis.  I have plans to try pickling some cucumbers this summer.


My plant ID app tells me that irises are growing in this mess of weeds beside the detached garage above.  I started weeding this area late Wednesday afternoon, and now I have visions of some additional flowers planted in this bed.  Maybe some old fashioned zinnias or sunflowers.  Or both!


These rose bushes are in serious need of some trimming, I think.  They were beautiful when we moved in last November.  Figuring these out will be a new experience, too.   YouTube is getting me brave enough to start making some cuts soon.   





It's impossible for me to tire of watching the birds play in the Redbud tree in bloom just outside our den window. 


They all take turns flitting from the Redbud tree to the birdfeeders.



And this Japanese Quince Shrub came into glorious full bloom this week:
I don't know why my cell phone wants to turn it into something that looks like an impressionist painting, but it's all I have for now.  Hopefully, I can get some better pictures of the sweet flowers on this bush with my DSLR before they've finished their run.

And, I was almost giddy when my plant ID app identified two smallish dogwood trees flanking this Japanese Quince bush.  They are just beginning to bud out.  Pictures of those will follow in a week or two, I imagine.  Edited to add:  Turns out the trees that flank this Japanese Quince are not dogwood, but one is a peach and the other a sour cherry.  No complaints about either!

My heart just swells with how pretty things are looking right now.  Even the weeds can't diminish the pleasure all these flowering trees and bushes are bringing this spring.

~~~~~

Continuing with the spirit of "New Things",  I must continue just a bit more discussing asparagus. 

I had my first harvest!  

And now I know mid-late April is when they are likely to make their appearance in our backyard.

There were only about eight or nine spears tall enough to harvest, but that was just enough to enjoy them one evening earlier this week.  They are definitely better than anything I've bought in the grocery.  Brighter tasting, very crisp.  I even ate one fresh, rinsed off, but without cooking.  I prefer them cooked a tad, but raw was totally edible.


Stirred in some olive or avocado oil (I don't remember), sprinkled with sea salt and roasted in the air fryer/toaster oven for just a few minutes, these were delish!  And now I can't wait for more to grow tall enough to cut.

~~~~~

I don't think I'm going to keep tallying all my New Things, but I'm still taking note of them.  And gratefully so. I'm finding that noting new things really is something of an act of gratitude.  Especially when all the new things are so lovely...



I hope you have a beautiful weekend!



23 comments:

  1. Your garden is beautiful and looks huge you are going to have so much fun getting things into shape, my advice is just take your time, as for rose bushes don't be afraid of pruning them they soon grow back again and look much better for a good trim. The Gardeners World website has lots of good advice I enjoy watching the program on a Friday evening with Monty Don. I bet your asparagus was delicious you can't beat home grown produce. I believe one of those birthdays was yours I hope you had a lovely day. Have a great weekend. xx

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    1. Thank you for the recommendation, Linda. I just checked out Monty Don and have subscribed! Yes, one of those birthdays was mine. :)

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  2. Enjoyed your photos of your birds and the bushes. We are still waiting for our asparagus to come up. I look everyday. You're right-we have much to be thankful for, and sometimes slowing down and really looking reminds us of that!

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    1. So much to be thankful for indeed, Debra. :)

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  3. Your property holds so much beauty. You have captured it well with photos and language. Fresh asparagus sounds wonderful. Hubby and I love it dine in the airfryer with a bit of oil, salt and pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese. We always know spring has sprung when asparagus shows up at our grocers and the price is right.

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    1. We have been treated to a beautiful spring, Marsha. When we saw the property last fall we were struck by how pretty it was then, but we were also too busy to fully enjoy it. While spring brings a busyness, too, we're rewarded every spring day with all the fresh green and flowering trees and bushes. It's really pretty glorious. :)

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  4. What a great adventure you're on with your new property and all the established plants and flowers. I love watching Garden Answer on You Tube every morning around 7. Laura is a wealth of information. Enjoy the asparagus!

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    1. It is an adventure, Vee. :) I, too, watch Laura of Garden Answer. Her energy amazes me, but I'm always inspired by her and learn something each episode.

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  5. Spring is an exciting time of year. Even though I don't garden anymore, except a few potted plants, I take great delight in seeing everything come to life.

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    1. I didn't imagine I'd be up for gardening again at this stage in life, but hopefully we have it in us to do it this year and see how it goes. Seeing all the pretty flowering things pushes me forward. :)

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  6. How neat you're growing food in your garden. I like that yellow bird.

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  7. Spring brings along with it the thrill of discovery on your new property. Lucky you to have an established asparagus bed - I really do miss ours because nothing tastes quite like freshly picked.
    Alas spring is being very backward here - this morning there's flurries in the air again and it's back down to single digit temps again. Yesterday it actually made it into double digits but there was still a cold wind.

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    1. Single digits sound pretty brutal for April, but you are significantly further north. We're supposed to get down into the 30's overnight next week again. I'm actually looking forward to it. As I've gotten older I tolerate the heat less and less, it seems. I'm loving this spring.

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  8. Your garden is lovely. Thanks for the tour. I used to have a bed of asparagus, and would eat them raw, too. The tips of fresh picked asparagus are like fresh Green peas. You'll never buy asparagus in a store again. Nowadays I get it from the local farm, as couple of hours after it's cut. An annual treat.

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    1. I've been thinking about you, Liz as I consider what to do if the asparagus growth outpaces our ability to eat it. I know you'd find great uses for it even if it turns to mush in the freezer - which is what I read it will do after being frozen. I can't really bear the thought of mushy asparagus, so I imagine at some point, we'll share what we harvest. Maybe I should look into pickling it. I'm not a big fan of pickled things (except for pickles), so I don't know yet... Anyway, I expect you'd be up for the challenge of using what you can't eat.

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  9. Looks great Becki! There is nothing as nice as when "Spring" finally makes its mind up to arrive.

    I am hopeful for the irises. We have them at The Ranch; they were one of my mother's favorite flowers and I believe some of the ones we have are from my grandmother's garden.

    Congratulations on the asparagus. I have tried to grow it for years but never had a successful harvest.

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    1. I wish I could take credit for the asparagus, TB. We have done literally nothing (except cut down some leftover ferns sometimes before freezing weather last fall/winter. Going to try to be better prepared to prep the bed for winter this year, but honestly... I don't know that it needs more than we did. I guess our harvest this spring may be the evidence for or against that idea, though. We'll see!

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  10. Someone must have planted the redbud tree with intention . . . in front of the window where you can watch the beautiful birds! I loved seeing the goldfinch!

    We had asparagus at our old house, and I miss having it fresh. My husband says that he will plant some here when he retires.

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    1. Yes, I'm sure the tree was strategically planted. I feel so blessed to be enjoying the beauty left behind by someone else's hands. A word of advice... because asparagus needs about 3 years to mature to the point where picking it is safe to the plant, I suggest planting it before retirement so you can enjoy it all the rest of the years you live there. I read that I healthy bed of asparagus plants will easily last 20 years or more. Those first three years, all that should be needed is to let it grow, cut it down when it dies off, then add some fertilizer and mulch before the next growing season. The hardest part I'm seeing now is keeping up on cutting spears. I can't believe how fast it grows!

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  11. I finally got my act together and added a blog list on my blog of all my friends so I can easily stay in touch! How exciting to see Spring popping up in your new home. Your birds are gorgeous and so are your flowering trees. Strawberries and asparagus? Yum!! I had a lots of perennials on my little farm...rhubarb, asparagus, berries and fruits and even horseradish! I miss it all. Enjoy!

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    1. I don't expect we'll live here longer than 10 years, if we manage that long. I know already I'll miss it when that time comes.

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  12. The bird pictures! I love the bird pictures! I have to live vicariously through you because of the blasted squirrels that do not allow me to have bird feeders!!

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  13. Well done on the asparagus. How wonderful to eat something you've grown yourself.
    Amalia
    xo

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