the garden thru mid-july 2024.

fairy roses

chiffon rose of sharon

peony - handed down from jesse's grandma jane

pickling cucumbers & pattypan squash

black-eyed susan among crystal apple cucumbers

pattypan squash

annabelle hydrangeas

turnips

nye bevan rose

inchelium red garlic

yarrow

we cage many plants with chicken wire to ward off predators and to protect from our rambunctious dogs.

black-eyed susans.

new potato fence

cosmos

yellow onions

peony poppy

clematis

lupine

clematis

This is the season of many life celebrations and transitions leaving little head space for recording garden activity and beauty. However, the harvest is beginning to come in and it is enjoyable to have a space where I write down the details, so here we go.

This is our 21st year to garden! We began this garden the first spring in our current home when our daughter was a newborn. It was a tiny space - a couple of raised beds and a cattle panel arch. We have grown our gardening footprint by leaps and bounds. There are so many aspects to gardening for us that are routine which makes it easy to plan in the winter and execute in the spring. We added a few new vegetables and flowers - turnips, ground cherries, red onions, lupines, yarrow, popcorn drift roses, fairy roses, foxgloves, more lilacs, another oakleaf hydrangea -  this year and also built a fence for our potato bed. 

The weather has been mostly balanced with rain and high - but not consistently scorching - temperatures. We are enjoying cucumber salads, drying herbs (basils, yarrow, sage, oregano, roses, chamomile, dill) freezing vegetables (greens, green beans, squash, sweet pickles, dill pickles), preserving garlic and onions. I harvested the first potato plant today just to see how things were going. That one plant yielded 2 1/2 pounds and I plan to make a potato salad out of them. 

Last year we harvested just over 700 pounds from the garden and I was able to calculate that would have cost just under $1,900.00 if purchased direct from the grocery store. It's not all about numbers, but numbers do provide information to give perspective. I don't see why we wouldn't be around that same amount of harvest this year. I hope so, because it is so convenient and healthy and frugal to grow and enjoy your own.

2024 Garden thru mid-July {  126 lbs. } 

Cucumbers { 20 lbs. }

Garlic { 12 lbs. } 

Green Beans { 17 lbs.} 

Greens { 9 lbs. }

Onions { 28 lbs. }

Potatoes { 2 lbs. } 

Squash { 26 lbs. } 

Turnips { 9 lbs. }

Herbs & Flowers { 3 lbs. } :: Basil, Sage, Oregano, Chamomile, Rose, Yarrow, Lemon Balm, Mint