Seed Planting

It's nearly May and in the Northwest that means it's Seed planting time! If you're like me then a patch of dirt is an exciting thing (hence my pictures here). My progress:
In the front yard between bedding plants:
Arch of Sweet Peas
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Larkspur + Marigold together (both 4 feet tall)
Chives
Portulaca
Godetia
Chamomile

Shirley Poppies

Red-orange Poppies

Lavender Poppies with curly leaves
Trailing Sapphire Lobelia



In the parking strip:
Borage
Ice Plant
Portulaca
Violets
Larkspur
Godetia


Front porch North:
Mammonth greystripe Sunflowers (12 feet tall!)
Red Sun sunflowers
Del Sol Sunflowers
Cosmos (from Hazel)
Shirley Poppies


Front porch South:
Mammonth greystripe Sunflowers (12 feet tall!)
Red Sun sunflowers
Del Sol Sunflowers
Delphinium
Cosmos (from Hazel)
Godetia


In gravel along North sidewalk:
Shirley Poppies

In gravel along South sidewalk:
Lavender Poppies with curly leaves
Shirley Poppies

Started indoors to plant out in a month:
San Marzano Tomato
Bright Blue Salvia
Light Blue Columbine
White Columbine
Dark Blue Columbine
Crystal Palace Lobelia
Double Pink Poppies
Violet Lupines (from Helga)
Red Sweet Peas (from Carol)
Red Hollyhocks
White Hollyhocks
Pink Hollyhocks
Dark Red Hollyhocks

Started indoors for Mom's future Potted Herb garden:
Cilantro
Chives
Basil
Tomato
Parsley
Dill
Rainbow Chard
Borage (outdoors, will divide)
Oregano (outdoors, will divide)
Spearmint (outdoors, will divide)
Thyme (outdoors, will divide)
Still need for her: Edible flowers, Marjoram.

10 Layer Bean Dip

A can of organic refried black beans inspired me yesterday. The results were fantastic! My take on the recipe is below.

Scallions
Cheddar + Pepper jack cheese
Sour cream + taco seasoning
Chopped Olive
Tomato + Red Pepper + Salsa
Avacado + Lemon Juice + Sour cream
Red Onion
Jalepenos
Cheddar + Pepper jack cheese
Beans + Chicken stock + Taco seasoning (heated together)

Nearing April's End

A volunteer Rose, always a welcome sight. May have come in with the Iberis from Betty's yard.

Kohlrabi progress.

Dicentra.

A sunny morning today had me in the garden early looking for where to start the annual seed planting. Lots of space!


This Cottoneaster has lovely berries in winter, and pink blossoms in Spring.

Kitchen compost. The worms will be in heaven.

Odds and Ends

I love the orange red Miranda Tulips with the snowy white Iberis.

Here's one I don't like. The Red Wing Euphorbia next to the Lavender Erica Heather. The Heather is staying here, so I will move the Euphorbia in the Fall to a new spot. It just wants some contrast...something dark next to it, so it can really pop. It just clashes with the soft Lavender blossoms.

The Heirloom Tomatoes are almost ready to plant out.

Lima Beans! A gift from Jon, these will be my first Limas, I don't know if I've ever even tasted Limas. If you look close you can see "I Love You" etched on the beans...message received.

Egg cartons grow nice ground covers! This is the carpeting flower Purple Palace Lobelia.

This is my happy place, a view of the garden, a place to read cook books, eat, stare, day dream and make notes about what I want to do for the day.

Coco's happy place. Anywhere that's warm!

A Cedar Bat House! Another gift from Jon. He must really love me.

My collection of cookbooks, I didn't realize how many I had until I started to get organized. I love inspiration, I just read these for hours. I'm just starting to cook on a more regular schedule now too.

I've been thinking on a bread machine ever since being inspired by a lunch my friend Maki had me to last year. She not only converted me to tomatoes, she gave me a slice of homemade bread that was so good. I still think of it now. I am so happy to have found this gem at goodwill for $1.29. I saw a recipe recently that uses whole grains just chopped in the blender & then thrown in with the regular flour in the bread recipe. I can't wait to try it...must buy yeast.

Beginning Blooms

The Tulips are up in the front yard.

The Blueberry bush 'EarlyBlue' is blooming.

Radishes coming up!

Another shot of the beautiful Rosemary.

Chives in bloom, almost.

Coral bark Maple, still wild after my very slight pruning.

In contrast, an excellent hard prune on the Honeycomb Buddleja!

Azalea blooms are starting to open.

A springtime look at the front yard, 1 year old now!

Back to our garden

Red Wing Euphorbia in bloom.

The Candy Tuft is having it's first bloom.

Alliums emerging.

Peony foliage unfurling with Alliums.

Driftwood moved to the front yard.

The Brussels sprouts from last year are bolting. I will gather seed if I can't gather sprouts!

A bed of Spinach with egg shells to deter slugs.

Dicentra beginning to bloom.

Our tiny maple tree is doing well in it's new home.

Italian Prune Tree.

Rosemary in bloom.

Tulips...I was able to discover the name at the Tulip Festival: Miranda.

Sedum and Oregano with Quartz.

Mossy wheel, about to retire for the sunny season.

Daisies and Black eyed Susan are growing in the parking strip. Gifts from a friend's yard. This will be really cheery in a couple months.

My new compost bin! I love this.