Celebration of Roses

mom loved roses. wild roses, yellow roses, all kinds of roses. we were lucky enough to inherit a large wild rose bush with this garden space, and we added a mini rose bush in our first year here. the roses are large and lovely right now, you can smell their sweet perfume on the breeze all the way down the street. they are amazing.

 the bush along the house also extends right down the fence, and part way around the back yard. the wall of roses helps us out with some afternoon shade on the back patio, and for the month of June, smells so good. i was sure to take a couple and press them in a book. happy rose season!

Today in the Garden

the rain.

one big difference between this year's garden and last, we've barely had to water. it seems to rain a little each day, with a nice big heavy downpour once a week. we've had to give the seedlings water maybe for the first few days their in the ground, but then after they hold up on their own.

i think what is also helping is having a ground cover layer in the bed. it protects the soil from the midday sun keeping it moist and cool. the plants are finally starting to gain some height, and our first little batch of strawberries is almost ripe. in the next few weeks, the sunflowers will form an amazing canopy layer in the foodforest. things are looking up..

chores

it's been an interesting spring so far. the sun is warm and inviting, and the air is cool most days. in other words, ahhh perfect weather. also very helpful for getting yard work done.. and the whole house comes out to play. our friends upstairs have decided to try their hands at gardening this year with us, and have started some cukes from seed. also, their pepper patch is coming along nicely.

the entrance to the main kitchen garden is lined on either side with strawberry plants. they're already producing fruit, but it's up to us to beat the squirrels to the finished product. once they fill in, they'll make a really nice perennial ground cover to keep the soil together. most of the outer edges of the food garden are now perennial, including the far row of sunflowers that sow their own seed. with the help of the squirrels of course.

in other excitement, in the next few days the side of the house will be bursting with bright pink wild roses. what an amazing perfume.. you can smell them all the way down the road when the wind picks up. can't wait!