Spring has been off to a slow start. Not surprising with all the cold and rain. But it seems to have finally arrived in time for Bloom Day.

Not near as many plants are in bloom this year, compared to last year, but I’m sure enjoying what is showing off.

DAFFODILS
A small variety of flowers in the daffodil family are blooming in most of our flower beds.

VINCA MINOR
I love the blue/purple color of this flower. I am disappointed, though, that it’s creeping nature doesn’t keep out the weeds. And, it’s a pain to pull the weeds among all the vines.

RED FLOWERING CURRANT
The Red Flowering Currant does grow naturally around our house. I bought this one, though, and two others. They are in my Bird Village.

LEONARD MESSEL MAGNOLIA
One of the very first plants I planted when we bought our property was this beauty.

CAMELLIA
I don’t love the Camellia’s, and I don’t dislike them. They grow well and flower beautifully, so they stay.

KING GEORGE HEATHER
Heather in the front yard with our new bunny, Thumper.

WESTERN TRILLIUM
Growing among the ferns and fir trees in the natural areas surrounding our house are Western Trilliums. They are one of my fav’s.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSuzdDRhZWl/?taken-by=ridgetop_farm_and_garden

I’m hoping the weather clears up soon. My flower beds are in desperate need of some TLC. Hopefully next month I’ll have more on display.

To enjoy more Bloom Day posts check out May Dreams Garden

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Spring is officially here and we have lots of color. Yay!

A few daffodils & tulips are still blooming nicely.

Grecian Windflower – not many came back to bloom this year

These two are newbies that I don’t remember flowering previously.

Black Lace Elderberry
Flaming Silver Pieris
‘Mediterranean Pink’ Heath
‘Heavenly Blue’ Lithodora

Apple Tree

Creeping Phlox

Plum Tree

Left: Japanese Rose
Top Right: Spanish Bluebells
Middle Right: Viola
Bottom Right: Camellia

Lilac

Bleeding Heart

Left: Osmanthus Burkwoodi
Right: Pink Dawn Viburnum

Holly

Ajuga

Barberry

Leopard’s Bane

This is a plant we got from my parents yard years ago. I’m not sure what it is.

English Daisies
I found a fun double headed daisy on one stem.

One evening Farmer John & Farm Girl were going on a walk. I told them to take my phone and take a photo of a trillium when they came across one. Apparently, they didn’t find a trillium so they thought they’d be funny and take these photos claiming them to be trilliums.

To see other gardens on this Bloom Day check out May Dreams Gardens.

The post Bloom Day – April 2016 appeared first on .

There is a lack of blooms around here during the winter. However, spring is nearly here and we have a few flowers showing off. Not many. But, a few.

FRONT YARD

The daffodils and heather are putting on a nice show in the front yard.

BACK YARD

The back yard is in pretty poor shape. I cringe every time I look out there. But, the weather has been so crummy I just don’t feel like bothering to clean it up. Among the weeds and stems from last years perennials are a couple flowering plants.

Vinca minor

Pink Dawn Viburnum

SHADE GARDEN

I really enjoy our shade garden. Unfortunately, every year the spring flowers look horrible. They bloom, but they sure don’t look great.

Camellia

Hellebore

BIRD VILLAGE

Daffodils and crocus have been blooming in the bird village, as well as one of my favorite native plants.

Red Flowering Currant

And that concludes our first Bloom Day post of 2016. It’s not wowing, but it’s pretty typical of our mid March blooms.

I’m sharing this post at May Dreams Gardens Bloom Day.

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This week’s update isn’t an update on the week, but an update on our to do list. I like lists. Well, it’s not so much the list itself I like, but the crossing things off the list. So gratifying.

Since the photo template I use for our weekly updates has nine spaces, I’ll list only nine things that need done. There are, of course, about a hundred more items that could be added. But, we’ll start with nine.

1. BUILD BRIDGE
   When we added a pond to our bird village the overflow goes right through the walking path. The intention was to build a bridge over this area. We need to do that.
2. CLEAN UP PATIO EDGE
   This fall we poured a stamped concrete patio. I love it. However, surrounding the patio doesn’t look too good. We gotta fix that.
3. FIND USE FOR WINE BARRELS *In process
   We have 3 wine barrels that I love. But, I’ve never found a good home for them. It’s time to figure that out.
4. CLEAN SIGNS
   I have made a number of signs. Most of them have been around a couple years and could use a good cleaning – like the one in our bird village that has many bird droppings on it.
5. TACKLE THE BACK YARD
   Making anything of our backyard was on the back burner for a few years because the first major step was putting in a patio – and, that kept not getting done. So, I didn’t spend much time on it. We now have a patio. Woop! Woop! It’s time to get the back yard lookin’ good – without spending a fortune.
6. FINISH CEMENT PATH  DONE! To see it check out this post.
   One of the first things I did when we moved here was put in a cement path using a walk maker form. Farm Girl was just a baby and all summer during her nap I would mix cement and pour two mold’s each day. Eventually I got the path done – well, as done as it could be at the time. Now that the patio is in, I can finish the path.
7. CLEAN UP MEADOW  DONE!
   Last year’s perennials need trimmed in our little meadow. Also, the meadow has never looked the way I was hoping it would. I need to look into ways to remedy this.
8. BUILD PATH IN FRONT OF COOPS  *In process
   We had extra concrete when we had our patio poured. So, we quickly through together a form and poured the extra in front of one of the chicken huts. It doesn’t look fabulous, but I love that it’s not muddy in front of the coop. I’d like to add a mosaic of concrete in front of the other chicken hut and chicken tractors.
9. ADD FILTER & PUMP TO POND
   When we put in the pond in our front yard it was a last minute thing, quickly thrown together. We had a pump, filter and water wheel – but, no electricity. We now have electricity near the pond, so we need to get all those things moving.

The post 2016 Update – Week 8 appeared first on .

Well, I’m just gonna say it, I’m ready for the changing of seasons. This summer was too hot and way too dry. I didn’t spend near enough time in my flowerbeds deadheading, weeding and watering. And, it shows. I’m ready to move on and try again next year.

FRONT YARD

One. Literally one, flower is blooming in our front yard.

AROUND THE FRONT POND

The thyme still has some flowers. The bees are loving them.

The marigolds took awhile to get going, but they eventually flowered and are still putting on a good show.

A couple nasturtiums are continuing to bloom. However, most gave up a long time ago

SHADE GARDEN

A few weathered impatiens and violas are hanging on.

BACK YARD

The lone bit of color in the back yard.

BIRD VILLAGE

Left: A few flowers are doing their thing in our itty bitty meadow. But, most interest comes from the seed heads.
Right: The barberry is a fabulous crimson color. I wish I would have planted more.

Renegades – these rogue flowers opted to bloom in our gravel driveway near the Bird Village. They’re pretty, but out of place.

In the Bird Village Pond:
Left: Last September I transplanted a few geraniums to our greenhouse with the hopes of overwintering them. In the spring I moved them back outside. They’re still blooming along the pond’s edge.
Right: Pretty purple pickerel weed bloom

Many blooms died off long ago.

GARDEN

The self sowing calendula continues to bloom. Just a few years ago I introduced it to the garden. I’m so glad I did. I love it.

It’s not much, but at least there are a few bits of color to brighten the flower beds this month.

Sharing this post at May Dreams Gardens.

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The middle of July is already upon us, which means it’s Bloom Day. We had an unusually hot, dry June, which put the flowerbeds ahead of their usual schedule. We’ve been watering enough to keep the plants alive, but maybe not enough to keep them happy and producing their best. We’re already at the point where the majority of blooms are past their prime, which generally doesn’t happen until August. However, we have had some blooms over the last couple weeks to show off.

FRONT YARD

The pond in the front yard is in full bloom.
Top: Pickerel weed, creeping jenny & 5 cutie patootie ducklings.
Bottom Left: Cardinal Meadowhawk on a mint blossom
Bottom Right: Itty bitty marigold. I planted marigolds in front of the pond like I did last year. This time, though, they are scrawny.

More blooms around the pond. I love this section. The butterfly bush, lavender, daisies, day lily, yarrow and an unknown plant or two all bloom at the same time creating a beautiful little scene.

BACK YARD

The back yard is still in need of an update. I haven’t put the time into this area like it deserves. I’m thinking this fall and spring may be its time.
Top: I can always count on these three: marrow, day lilies, and shasta daisies.
Bottom Right: Wild red elderberry

BIRD VILLAGE

The bird village is always my favorite. However, it goes a little crazy this time of year.

The pond has a few plants along its edges in bloom, like pickerel weed & geraniums I over wintered in our aquaponics system.

The meadow strip. Every year I plant new seed hoping for a little variety. And, every year the daisies and blanket flowers take over.

While they are not officially blooms, they are new flowers in our garden. They are hand blown glass flowers created by me, Farm Kid1 & Farm Kid2. We took a workshop at Live Laugh Love Glass in Tigard. The flowers are beautiful, but I don’t love their place in the landscape.

OTHER

A few other blooms around.
Left: A hardy gladiola in a side bed that I really don’t spend any time on. I don’t think it’s been watered once this summer.
Right: Nasturtiums. They’re flowering, but aren’t trailing like I’d hoped.

Left: Calendula in the garden, reseeded itself from last year.
Right: Okra in the greenhouse. I surely didn’t know okra had such a splendid flower.

I’m sharing this post at May Dreams Gardens.

The post Bloom Day – July 2015 appeared first on .

June is definitely one of my favorite months in the flowerbeds. Here’s some of what’s blooming now & why I love this time of year:

SHADE GARDEN

Our shade garden is pretty in pink right now. I like all these plants, but I’m most excited about the bleeding heart. I had been wanting one for a long time. Last year I finally planted a couple and this year I get to enjoy their beautiful flowers.

FRONT YARD

Top Left: Black Lace Elderberry
Bottom Left: ‘Pride of Donnard’ Escallonia

FRONT YARD POND

Nothing is blooming in the pond, but there are pretty flowers around it.

Top: Cranesbill ‘Biokovo’

BACK YARD

There is not much blooming yet in the back yard. It’s primarily green & more green, with spots of color scattered about.

Top Right: Snowmound Spirea
Bottom Right: California Lilac

BIRD VILLAGE

Top Left: Potentilla ‘Goldfinger’
Top Right: Lincoln Star Clematis

To see what others have blooming in their yards, check out May Dreams Garden.

The post Bloom Day – June 2015 appeared first on .

Here’s what’s blooming in our gardens on the 15th of May:

SHADE GARDEN

FRONT YARD

FRONT YARD POND

BACK YARD

BIRD VILLAGE

To see what others have blooming check out May Dreams Gardens.

The post Bloom Day – May 2015 appeared first on .

FRONT POND

BACK YARD

IN THE GARDEN & ALONG THE GOAT FENCE

BIRD VILLAGE

I’m sharing this post at May Dreams Gardens Bloom Day.

The post Bloom Day – August 2014 appeared first on .

It’s amazing. Summer’s really here & my flowerbeds are at their peak.

FRONT YARD & POND

BACK YARD

BIRD VILLAGE

Hope you all are having a great summer!

I’m sharing this post at May Dreams Gardens.

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