The State of The Garden

Visitors start coming in tomorrow, so I wanted to slip in an update to the state of things outdoors here at Highland House. 

 I have been encouraging white clover to take over our lawn. By encouraging, I mean I haven't been doing anything to encourage the grass. . .no fertilizer or herbicide for 3 years now. Clover prefers soil with a higher pH, and it's a fairly aggressive colonizer. But grass, with it's intercalary meristerm (are you impressed that I remembered that?) is also a wicked good competitor, especially if the area is mowed. We do mow because we like the walk-ability of it, as well as the fact that mowing discourages ticks. But. Look what our "lawn" has done. It is full of honey bees, too. John and I watch them from the patio every evening. We had poor pollination on our apples this year, and I'm hoping that this cover crop will help next year. Truth be told, though, I think it was the cool rainy weather during pollination, rather than a lack of bees. We also have a ton of bumble bees, who are also big players in the pollination game.

The blueberries are starting to blue up a little bit. I had a couple of ripe ones the other day, and we'll have to compete with the chipmunks for the honor of consuming them. But last year we had a decent crop, even while sharing with our cheeky neighbors.

The apples, though a little sparse, are also coming along well, though our Macouns and McIntosh weren't ready to harvest until October last year. I love watching them. I wander about in the yard at least once a day, and check on everyone.

The peaches are also coming along nicely. We harvested last year in late July, so they may not be far off. I don't know what cultivar they are, but they were way tasty. 

I have also planted 2 Stanley plums. It was a bit of a mistake, really. I had intended to only plant one, but it was devoid of leaves for my fall planting last year (due to smoke in Oregon where it was grown). It was late coming out of dormancy, so the company sent me a replacement. 

We're a couple of years off from any crop, but I have a plum cake recipe that will be Very Happy when they do finally come in. Plantspeople (as opposed to the old "Plantsmen") are such optimists. While I realize that I may never see my Dawn Redwood mature fully, it doesn't even occur to me that I might not be around for the plums in a few years. Smile. No guarantees, of course, and maybe it's just because plums are FOOD, and I'm not willing to consider not eating them

The Kilarney raspberries are in. I'll have a really decent harvest tomorrow, just before the company gets in. I was ready to pull them out and replace them with the primocane bearer JoanJ last year. They were small and flavorless, and quite light in color. 

The crop looks much better this year. Abundant, for one thing. The color is still light, but they are decent sized and quite tasty. They must have heard my threat.

Ornamental activity includes the ongoing forget-me-nots. They are such little heros. Their sweet little flowers may make some underestimate them, but they are formidable competitors. I have some involved in a Darwinian struggle with some volunteer ferns (also easy to underestimate), and it's not clear who will win. The ferns are also having a go with my mint, of all things. Who give mint a run for its money? Don't mess with mint. . .

I do absolutely nothing with this clematis, other than occasionally straightening that little metal support, which is still leaning against the wall where it was when we bought the house. I don't prune it, dead head it. . .nada. And so far, for 3 years, it just comes back and grows and blooms in the sun. Talk about optimism. Oh that I could require so little care. . .

The hydrangeas are just getting warmed up. The smaller white ones are really pushing the blooms now, and the foliage looks healthy.

Rhubarb continues on, though it's showing some signs of tiring. Some of the lower leaves are wilting (some have lawnmower blight), and surprisingly, I'm not seeing any flowers. That's not a disappointment, of course, but it's a little surprising. I should make a cake for the visitors.

Lastly, the asparagus are in full feather as well. These fronds make such wonderful additions to floral arrangements, which I try to keep in the house this time of year. The weather was exceptionally humid today, though not terribly hot. Thank goodness. But having blooms indoors with me is just a balm when we close the doors and turn on the heat pumps. We'll throw them open in the morning, and enjoy the air, and the easy transit between indoors and out for as long as we can.