• Still love okra flowers!
• Okra, cherry tomatoes & Mexican sour gherkins are growing in the aquaponics system.
• The water in one of our ponds completely evaporated. So, I took advantage of it and troweled out much of the duck sludge. This was literally a crappy job. But, I’m so glad I did it.
• Basil growing next to an herb barrel.
• The ladies are continuing to lay well, so I’ve been making lots of hard boiled eggs.
• Awhile back I ordered hatching eggs. Things didn’t go as I had planned and only one black copper marans hatched. Not that it’s a few weeks old, I noticed it has a few white feathers. Ugh! This was a damned expensive chicken for it not even to be breeding stock.
• Zucchini has been blanched and frozen.
• The tomatoes have been transformed into sauce. One batch has Italian flavor. The other has Mexican.

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Another June, another great display of color. All the flowers seem to be blooming earlier this year. I’d guess my flowerbeds are nearly at there Summer prime and summer hasn’t even technically begun.

BIRD VILLAGE

Lupine and Shasta Daisies.

Potentilla ‘Goldfinger’

Yarrow

Hairy vetch in our little meadow area. Purple is the usual color. But, I spotted a few white blooms, which I have never seen before.

SHADE GARDEN

FRONT YARD & POND

Creeping Jenny

Lavender next to the pond

Lavender ‘Grosso’ near the cement wall

Black Lace Elderberry

Thyme

WILD FLOWERS

Wild red elderberry & daisies

Foxglove

All year I wait for this time of year in the garden and it always seem to pass too quickly. I need to learn to step outside and just enjoy it, as opposed to stepping outside only to do yard maintenance.

To enjoy more Bloom Day posts check out May Dreams Garden

The post Bloom Day – June 2016 appeared first on .

May & June are my favorite months to enjoy our flowerbeds. This May has not disappointed. The foliage is filling in and the blooms are lovely.

BIRD VILLAGE

There is a lot (almost too much) going on in the bird village. After many years, this area is finally starting to feel like a complete project. If only I could keep the weeds out…

Snowmound Spirea

Lupine
This has been a great year for the lupine.

Lincoln Star Clematis

Allium

And more beautiful blooms

Near the Bird Village is a native rose that’s looking great.
And, there are a couple iris’ in our little meadow.

SHADE GARDEN

Top Left: I’m not a huge rhododendron fan, but I love the light purple blooms on this one.
Right: Variegated Weigela. Love it and all its pretty pink flowers.

FRONT YARD & POND

The lithodora is looking fabulous this month.

Top Left: Variegated Vinca Major
Top Right: Cotoneaster
Bottom Left: Thyme
Bottom Right: Hardy Geranium

Top Right: Columbine ‘Aguilena’
Bottom: Easter Egger hen searching for bugs in the creeping thyme

To enjoy more Bloom Day posts check out May Dreams Garden

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• The cement path that was begun 7 years ago is now complete. So, so excited about that!

• While we were mixing cement for the path we also poured cement to secure 2×4’s for our soon-to-be-installed patio lights.

• The spring flowers have been extremely lovely this year. I’m loving it. And, so are the bugs. The amount of insects out and about is crazy. I don’t remember this many out so early.

• The violet-green swallows are here. I enjoy watching them fly around searching for a lunch of insects.

• The dirty, crummy task I did this week was clean out duck sludge from the pond in the front yard. It was disgusting, but absolutely needed done.

• Mo, our one eyed Easter Egger rooster, has been living with the goats. He got inside their fence and can’t figure how to (or doesn’t want to) get out. It’s actually a good spot for him. He can mind his own business without the other young roosters bothering him.

• I can only guess that the barley seed I got is bad. I’ve tried starting it a number of times and it just won’t grow. Such a bummer. I was hoping this would save us money – instead I just wasted money on bad seed. Blah. I’ll try barley again. But, not yet – I’m irritated.

The post 2016 Update – Week 16 appeared first on .

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.

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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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Here it is already. August’s Bloom Day. Our flowerbeds are not impressed with this crazy, hot, dry summer we’re having. I’m not impressed with it either.

The flowerbeds in general look quite crummy. But there are a few, very few, plants that have powered through the weather and are blooming.

FRONT YARD

These two photos are literally of the only plants blooming in the front yard. It’s lookin’ pretty dead out there.

The pond area still has a few things in bloom, though. In fact, the marigolds just recently started taking off.

SHADE GARDEN

Not long after I planted the impatiens and violas some of our chickens scratched and pecked the area, digging at bird seed that had fallen. It has taken all summer, but those plants have finally came back and are blooming.

BIRD VILLAGE

The bird village is not in good shape. It has received very little water over the summer and it shows. However, there are a few random blooms spread about.

There is a lot of tan and brown going on right now.

There is not a lot going on around the pond, either. There are a few pickerel weeds & geraniums holding on, but that’s about it. The cardinal meadowlark doesn’t seem to mind the lack of flowers.

The meadow still has some blooms trying to make it through the season.

GARDEN

Left: Inside the garden fence I planted an area with hundreds of sunflowers. This is the one that made it. It’s pretty, but quite underwhelming. I think right after I planted the seeds birds devoured them before they even had a chance to germinate. Boo!
Right: Calendula that I planted last year reseeded and looks fabulous this year.

Well, this summer was kind of a bust in the flowerbed department. I’m glad we get to try again next year.

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.

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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.

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