Garden Stuff

15 comments:

 Wow...how horrible has the weather been this winter?

I have read the news and emails and blogs and Oh M G

Yikes 

It is hard to imagine all of the snow and cold...but ... 
At least we all have catalogs and inspiration for spring and summer garden plans.

And spring is just around the corner!

Here are a few things we are working on this month... 
I must add that we have had lots of rain in California
 but quite a few days of unusual warm sunny weather too


These are the apples harvested from newly planted trees... last year...
And here they are this January...doing well, with the first blooms and buds.
We hope every additional year will bring more fruit.  
Most of the orchard trees are fertilized with compost from this garden.  
It is amazing how much the trees seem to benefit from the compost we add and how much we like making our own "soil" from grass clippings, lettuce leaves and the occasional "horse poop"  topping!

This year the sweet pea bed takes the place of bulbs...which I did last year.  It was pretty, but too expensive and too much work.
 The seeds of the sweet peas have just now started to crop up and will give us beautiful little arrangements in about a month or so...for pennies!
 Some of the English Roses were a mess...so a few new ones went in this weekend...
My son David was a big help...he can pull up the rocks and dig the new holes for these new bare root plants in half the time it takes me.
 The rocks are everywhere!

Lots of hand seeded lettuce is in...along with carrots...and beets


No tomatoes yet...
 but I did try the new "winter" varieties...bummer...
not a tomato in site!  
Pulled them all out.
Edible peas are up and we add a few of these to a salad..
but they are slowly growing...  
I like the way the plants look anyway...even if they are not producing peas just yet.   

The parsley beds just continue to produce...
I sometimes put the green leaves in small arrangements, 
with what ever flowers happen to be blooming 

Here is the winter broccoli...
This is a test....
Do we like broccoli?
Is it worth the trouble?
I looks pretty wimpy but I am going to let it do its thing and see what happens!

We have a few garden construction projects too...
this is a wisteria pergola at the rear of the veggie/pottager area
The gates will be at the front, just for some interest. 
We have left them out this winter to rust and age.  
I really want to get this done because 
this is the best time to get the wisteria in the ground.


This morning there was a small rain shower 
and it was nice to see the beds and pots getting some water 
from something other than a sprinkler.



Looking forward to the bulbs popping up too!  
And soon we will be here again.


Cheers 
and here's to all good things from the garden

kelley
15 comments:
  1. Beautiful gardens Kelley!! :) Rachel

    French Farmhouse 425

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so confused. Isn't this the garden that goes with the house that you sold, lock stock and barrel not too long ago?

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's going to be so beautiful...and tasty.
    Jane (artfully graced)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm in California too...and my Meyer lemon tree is full of fruit. Pretty photos.
    Mary Ann

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely photos! An inch of ice on the ground here this morning, it's hard to imagine bulbs popping up-let alone lettuce! Thx for the photos, gives me hope!

    -B

    ReplyDelete
  6. I could almost feel my hands in the dirt!! Can't wait for that.....
    Thanks for giving me the feeling of spring in your beautiful post:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm totally beside myself with jealousy! I'm thinking of turning the back half of my garden into an urban vegetable garden. I'd love to sit on my back porch and look over my land (10 feet) producing fresh vegetables.

    ReplyDelete
  8. always makes my morning to see your precious garden....and i do love Fifi's painting of your house!!
    even in Texas it's soooo incredibly cold today....maybe snow later....
    xoxo,
    j

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Karen B; sorry for the confusion. About two years ago we purchased an acre of "disaster" up in Ojai near Santa Barbara. We have been working on the land since we purchased it and get to spend most weekends up there. One of the things I enjoy most is the veggie garden,,,and I probably talk about it too much but it has been really fun. We get so much produce out of the bed it continues to amaze me.

    We did sell another house, and everything in it, near the beach this last summer and are considering our options for another project, but right now we rent a little condo....which I know I will never end up in...whew!

    Stay warm guys! And thanks so much for stopping by and for the great comments

    kelley

    ReplyDelete
  10. You transported me this morning with your beautiful garden - I love to garden but have a sliver of rocky land with a 45 degree slope, what I have is in wine barrels.
    Have you heard of biochar - it is the active ingredient in terra preta (can Google) and you can buy it here. It has transformed my soil, I'm a missionary for it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love seeing pics of your garden :) We too tried "winter tomatoes" to no avail....really pissed off my hubby ;) We have been having such lovely weather here that it is slightly worrying me of what is to come! Loved the sprinkles we got on Sunday too! Gave all of the plants a tiny shower to clean them up....
    XOX

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kelley~
    I was gonna ask about the garden too but read your response... Everything looks so yummy... I really want to plant a garden but with all the rabbits and squirrels I wonder what they would leave for me??

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my goodness Kelley....I LOVE your stone garden beds and bamboo contraptions! And your little watercolor of the house is beautiful. We might have to come over for a gardening lesson..... yours is so abundant and ours...well... hmmm... It needs some love. Yours should be street-side instead of ours!!! : )

    ReplyDelete
  14. J-E-A-L-O-U-S!
    2 feet of snow got covered in 4 more inches last night, plus an inch of rain and sleet today with more snow expected tonight.
    why do I live here?
    I can't even remember what sunshine looks like!

    ReplyDelete

~*~love to hear from you~*~

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.