Also known as serviceberry. A native plant, one of my favorite signs of spring up here in Maine, along the roadsides. Sweet white blooms and reddish leaves. Someday I’ll plant some around our property.
Shadbush
Author: Catherine
In front
My front garden is shady and neglected. I’ve tried to plant a few things there, but I’m pretty sure they’ve disappeared. These hardy ones come back on their own every year.
Spring babies
It’s so much fun to observe the new growth springing up. Here’s a gallery.
Hazelnut grove
All five hazelnuts are planted. The easternmost holes had much more sandy soil, due to being on the edge of the septic fill. The westernmost two holes had dark loamy soil with some earthworms and a little clay. We only encountered one large rock, but lots of medium and small rocks and some rotting wood and roots.
Now we have a grove! I love the phrase “hazelnut grove.” We are happy with our new tree planting. Sam says the yard now has a “feature.”
Tree and bush planting
My order from Fedco Trees arrived. There is urgency to get these bare-root trees planted.
- Ten raspberry canes – in the fruit yard
- A New England aster, a witch hazel, and a spicebush – in pots for now
- An American smokebush – in the yard in front of the rockpile
- Five hazelnuts – in an arc with the crabapple in the center
Finished with the first three and one hazelnut. We still have four hazelnuts to plant. It’s taking some time. Scraping the hole with the tractor. Removing the rocks. Replacing the soil (very sandy fill) and supplementing with leaf mulch to ensure the hole is full. Topping off with pieces of sod upside down. Thoroughly watering in. It’s satisfying to see them in the ground.
Hoophouse door repair
We have had strong winds almost every day this spring. Maybe that’s the reason the zipper stitching pulled out of the front door of the hoophouse. With some encouragement from Sam, I decided to repair it with some hand stitching. It was challenging because, of course, it was windy when I worked on it.
Potting up tomatoes
The tomato seedlings have a good set of second leaves and are ready for potting. We did half of them today – that’s 40 seedlings.
Other seedlings being nursed along: eggplant, peppers (not germinated yet), tomatillo, ground cherry (not germinated), celery leaf and shallots. The leeks and borrettana cippollini onions have been planted out.
French Tarragon
I bought myself a present – a beautiful little French tarragon plant in a pot from Chase’s Daily in Belfast.
Turkey
A few turkeys visited the yard. Caught this one with the cell phone camera. Impressive.
Some wildflowers
The lupine is usually not that noticeable until it flowers. This year, I’m paying attention to its early phases. Great big clumps of leaves! And some violets brightening the yard, along with many dandelions and some of that delicate white wildflower – I’ll have to look it up.
Update: bluets, Quaker ladies, Houstonia serpyllifolia
