How Does Your Garden Grow?

Ah, June...that lovely month when gardens burst with blossoms. School's out. My harried preparations for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Upstate Farm Tour are complete, and the tour introduced me to the nicest people in the Upstate. Honestly, I think only genuinely kind people were admitted to the tour.

Now, the pace is much less frenetic around our home. The gardens are planted. The beds are tidy and weed-free. (Well, at least for today.) We're not suffering terribly from drought conditions--yet. The vegetable gardens hold the promise of delicious dinners in future weeks--baby squash and vibrant tomatoes, lovely bean blossoms and funky, firey peppers. Plus, we're still winning the war against plant diseases and pests...so far. 


June is a honeymoon period for us gardeners. Sure, there's still plenty of work to do. But it's a slower pace, more maintenance-type work, before the serious heat hits.

And today, after harvesting a delicious bowl of fresh raspberries, it was time to enjoy the June blossoms in our garden for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, sponsored by May Dreams Gardens.


Honestly, I'm so thankful for Carol's Bloom Day. Not only is it a lovely idea to take time to stop and smell the roses (although mine are currently covered with hideous Japanese beetles), but it provided a good distraction today. You see, I'm still trying to write about the phenomenal gardens I saw during the Asheville Garden Bloggers' Fling. And today, as I reviewed the photos from my favorite garden of the tour, I experienced a serious case of writer's block. I simply couldn't find the words to describe the most inspiring garden I've ever visited.


So, hoping that my muse might return after a walk around our gardens, I set aside my planned writing to share what's blooming:

One of my favorite herbs greets guests along the front path, releasing a delicious, welcoming perfume when brushed. Unfortunately, 'Provence' lavender also beckons pollinators. While the bees enjoy the lavender, our human guests often shy away from entering the path to the front door. Who can blame them? Last summer, our youngest son learned the hard way that an accidental encounter with a sprig of lavender can lead to an angry altercation with a bee.

Perhaps planting lavender along the walk to the front door was not my most brilliant idea.

Exploding with blooms, the dwarf gardenias enjoyed our mild winter. I've never seen them so heavy with blooms as they are this summer.

Thank goodness for volunteers. Somehow, during the crazy spring, I never planted sunflowers. Luckily, several volunteer blooms appeared in the perennial bed, adding a nice splash of color and height. Still, I think I'll plant a bed of sunflowers by the back garden, although they'll be late bloomers. We'll have some stems for bouquets, and the birds will enjoy an autumn snack.

The tall verbena filled out nicely this summer, no longer sporting only a few colorful stalks...

...while the hardy geranium continues to provide a soothing, cool, creeping border of blue.

The real stars of the front gardens, though, are the daylilies and hydrangea. While shade dominates our gardens, I recently tucked a few new daylilies into the small, sunny patches in the front beds:

'Purple d'Oro'

'Perfect Peach'

'Prairie Blue Eyes'

'Stella d'Oro'

A missing tag...I think this was 'Grape...Something.'

The hydrangea in the garden are young--the oldest being about three years old. Still, they're presenting a lovely show:

'Blushing Bride'

Young Oakleaf Hydrangea, planted in Fall 2011. 

 

Variegated lacecap

The winter's hard pruning benefited the butterfly bushes--the blooms are more prolific this summer than in the past, when I just tidied them...

Lantana always dominates the summer landscape, providing ample color and attracting hummingbirds and bees.

And fortunately, the phlox looks lush and healthy--no sign of powdery mildew...yet.

Purple coneflowers and bronze fennel serve as food sources for bees and swallowtail butterfly larva...

...while pollinators dislike feverfew, which should not be planted within 20 feet of fruit trees or bushes requiring pollination. (I think this may explain my problematic blueberry bushes. Hmmm.)

In the kitchen gardens, blooms forecast future feasts:

And even by the river, where no gardener planted seeds, blooms highlight the walk to the forest, providing snacks for yellow finches.

It's funny how nature works that way, isn't it?

Wishing you a garden full of blooms to celebrate Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day! What's blooming in your garden?

XO ~

Julie

P.S. Update: Where have I been? I just discovered Fertilizer Friday. It's another garden party where you can share and see beautiful blooms (although my fertilizer is all organic, of course!) Enjoy!

And she emerged from the greenhouse in time for...Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

Whew...I've barely made it! I've lived in the greenhouse during the past few weeks, potting up thousands of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and flowers. My brain is--quite literally-- fried after our unexpected jump from winter to summer (high temps in the mid-80s today, which of course means it's well over 100 degrees in the greenhouse, even with three fans on full power.)

Today, though, I'm doing the happiest of dances, because...

I'm DONE!!!

Yes, all the itty bitty green babies are nestled safely in their OMRI certified biodegradable pots, surrounded by lovely organic soil, awaiting tomorrow's feeding of fish emulsion.

My neighbors will hate us for the next day or two.

The neighborhood cats, however, will be lining up outside the greenhouse. As much as my green babies love fish emulsion, it's the one element in the process that kills me a little bit. It just lingers, no matter how often I shower. It overwhelms my sense of smell, and I think I smell like rotten fish for days. Phew.

But that's a task for tomorrow.

Today, after I watered the last newly planted tray, I drank a celebratory Diet Coke, grabbed my camera, and took a quick walk around the gardens.

The hardest part of owning a small nursery is that I miss the best time of the year—spring. I'm so consumed with starting seeds that I forget why I started gardening in the first place—to enjoy the magic of the first blooms of the season. Even though today is hectic—work, kids' horseback lessons, errands—I'm so grateful for May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. It forces me to stop for a few moments and enjoy what's happening in the gardens.

And—oh my. What a crazy plant party is going on!

Edibles! Ornamentals! Medicinals! Oh my!

The overwhelming theme, though, is—weeds. Eek! And mulch—needed ASAP! And—where did all of those leaves come from? I vividly remember hauling ten billion leaves out of the beds this fall. Yeesh.

So, if you'd be so kind to overlook the random weeds that crept into the photos, and search carefully under the bed of leaves...you'll find what's blooming and growing in our garden.

Let's start with the pretties:

Daphne. Last Bloom Day, I raved about my neighbor's daphne. Now, I have two pots to call my own.

And it is heavenly.

Tra la! It's almost spring! Five more days, and it's official! Our daffodils, though, are almost gone, except for a few...plus the other hundred or so that I planted about a month ago. (I know, I know...I was overzealous last fall and seriously over-ordered bulbs. Twelve-hundred bulbs, to be exact. I still have a few boxes that I'm going to plant to see what happens. Curse those 40% off sales.)

But these Ziva paperwhites were from that order, and they are now gracing the path to the small greenhouse. 

Totally worth it.

And these tulips, too, somehow had the stamina to endure weeks (months) of dark to be planted a mere six weeks ago...

And then there are the cherries...

This is my daughter's birthday tree. We planted it when she was born.

She'll be 11 on April 2.

I'm teary, just thinking about it. (You can see her through the years with her tree here.)

Can I tell you, my tomboy, chicken-loving, horse crazy girl had to change outfits, fix her hair, and put on lip gloss before we went to Barnes and Noble last night?

I'm dying. I need to stop time and keep her little.

 

One of my favorite additions to the garden is the weeping cherry. 

The chickens enjoy it, too.

The viburnum is ready to pop. I've never seen it so full of potential blooms.

And the forsythia...finally, all of the bushes in the front, back garden and forest are filled with cheerfulness. Even the bushes our pups chewed last year recuperated and are blooming like mad. Nothing announces spring like forsythia blossoms.

I even cut some to bring inside this year. 

The hellebores continue to amaze...more and more keep popping up all over the gardens, which is fabulous because we have so much shade. And--I just discovered a nursery that specializes in amazing hellebores. Don't tell my husband, but I think I need some online retail therapy. 

(You know, he reads my blog. I think he's even a fan. This is just my subtle way of letting him know that I'm ordering a few plants...) 

Just a few. Not 1,200.

This camellia makes me think of brides...lovely, blushing brides. Or sweet, itty bitty baby girls who don't care about lip gloss. 

Crazy--even the coreopsis is blooming.

My favorite perennial is peeking out from the leaves. Truly, is there anything as gorgeous as a bleeding heart? 

In the back tiered beds by the pool, coral bells are emerging...

 ...and the creeping phlox popped a few blooms.

Ferns fill our shady gardens, and I adore watching the fiddleheads emerge.

Woodland violets...scattered throughout the forest.

Tea Olives with new growth and tiny blooms...

Pieris Japonica...which I used to abhor and now adore.

I've always much preferred spring flowers like columbine compared to imposing, in-your-face shrubbery...

The blooms are darling and the leaves are lovely on their own.

Then, yummy: Edibles!

In my opinion, most edibles are as gorgeous as any ornamental--with the added value of deliciousness! 

"This is the dawning of the Age of Asparagus, the Age of Asparagus..."

Future blueberry pie!

Divine Fraise des Bois! We'll never have a pie from them, but they are the most scrumptious treat imaginable. I've planted them in containers, in the forest, as borders...they are beautiful, evergreen, and mouthwatering.

Swiss Chard is still going strong...and is about to become a frittata tomorrow.

Peas are beginning to peak out...

This year, I'm growing eight varieties of garlic, plus shallots and onions, in grow bags and containers. So far, the results look promising.

I am, of course, in dire need of getting the big garden and potager cleaned up and planted. You know what they say about the shoemaker's children? Well, that's the same as the trials of the nursery owner's gardens. 

Finally, herbalicious:

I'm honestly in awe of this little raised bed that I planted to showcase medicinal herbs. Now, I'm not an herbalist, but I do have herbalists who request that I grow specific plants for them. I'm fascinated by the history of herbal cures. In fact, I attended an organic growers' workshop this past weekend, with a tract dedicated to medicinal herb usage. I was so excited to learn about how to use mugwort and tansy, wormwood and clary sage.

It was so disappointing.

However, when I looked at the herb gardens today, I was far from disappointed. In fact, I was amazed by the growth:

 Pennyroyal

Valerian

 Wormwood

Clary Sage

 Feverfew

 Self-Heal

Wood Betony

 

 Roman Chamomile

Horehound

 Tansy

Still, I have a shelf of books devoted to herbs, so I'm going to keep reading and learning. Will I ever treat my kids with an herbal concoction I brew in the kitchen?

Probably not.

But I think I'm brave enough to make lemon balm tea. Just brushing the dead leaves away from the lemon balm left the most delicious fragrance on my fingers.

Bliss.

Thank you, May Dreams Gardens, for reminding me to get outside and enjoy the blooms. I'm looking forward to virtually visiting the other garden bloggers' spring gardens!

Happy almost-spring!

XO ~

Julie