Finally
At last, a perfect spring day in Maine.
The ajuga is looking great. Spreading, but only into the lawn where it can be mowed back.
We’re taking care of the baby tomatoes in tubs still. Moving them inside at night and outside during the day. Sam’s watering them. They’ll be in the ground soon.
The hoophouse beds are producing spinach and kale for eating. A little red lettuce that was planted last fall has survived the winter, amazingly. There’s also arugula and some miner’s lettuce that’s going to seed. And escarole.
The front garden is filling in. No real blooms yet, except for the chives.
And – an exciting development! I found a nearby source for native plants, the Native Gardens of Blue Hill. Not only did they have a plant sale today, but they have a beautiful native garden with a lot of full grown plants so I can get an idea of what things look like. I bought five plants (could have bought more): a columbine, a monarda, two different penstemon varieties, and a mountain mint. I’ve planted them in the circle garden already.
Next step is to transplant a few of the natives that I have around the yard into the circle. There’s a spirea alba growing the asparagus bed (?), a lot of bristly sarsparilla in the fruit yard, and a nice patch of pussytoes growing in the gateway to the orchard. Maybe some cranesbill geranium. I’ll look for some of the yarrow that was growing in the hoophouse, if it hasn’t been killed off by all the agriculture going on in there. Making a garden is such an exciting and hopeful activity.
Your garden is beautiful and the hoophouse looks very productive. I love ajuga and must thank you for picturing/naming it. It blooms in a neighbor’s yard and for the life of me I couldn’t remember its name. Our oxeye daisies are just starting to bloom and we’ll have masses of them.
I almost called it dead nettle, but no, that’s something else. Ajuga is also called bugle weed. June will bring daisies, love them.
you would be surprised, like, Surprised by how totally satisfying this post is for me….i look, read, look, read, repeat etc
if i had a “real” garden, it would be yours. Just everything about it. the so totally Functional Hoop House, the plants that are here
and there and might be transplanted elsewhere, that circle garden you envisioned, created, then FOUND a source of Natives to inhabit
PLUS their garden of Growing Plants to learn from…that is such a huge added gift…..! the tomatoe seedlings, moving in/out
i so much look forward to the days to come. Yes. Excitement. Hope. Plants.
It is so gratifying! For me and I’m glad to know for you also! I was thinking back to childhood, I’ve always loved and been interested in plants.