Godless in the garden

Comment

Comment by Annie Thomas on Friday

Sentient-  I like your chicken wire design.  What did you use for the frame?  It looks like PVC.  The deer are lovely too.  I know they are a nuisance to gardeners, but they are still so wonderful to see.  Where I live, I have to outsmart the squirrels to harvest before they do.

Comment by Sentient Biped on Friday

Chris there is a small woods and creek there. Much is farm and hoses on 2 to 5 acres.

Joan betwen the deer rabbits moles and mice, there is still a lot to lears for me about how to garden in the presence of wildlife. The birdsong is wonderful. Several hummingbids feeding on buckeye nectar.

Those irises are mainly old and ancient varieties in their first year here. They are interplanted with chamomile oregano thyme chives creeping rosemary and so far animals leave them alone. Cant wait to go there on Saturday. have to get through today first!

Comment by Joan Denoo on Friday

Beautiful photos! Looks like rabbits will have a challenge getting into the strawberries. Lovely iris in bloom. Mine are still in tight bud. The deer look as though they have some plan in mind to get to the tasty stuff. Do they bother Iris? My daughter and cousin tell me that deer eat everything the nursery says are deer proof. 

Comment by Chris Breman on Friday

Have you got a wood behind your house, Sentient?

Comment by Sentient Biped on Friday

Why my strawberry plants lost all of their leaves.  And are now in a chicken wire cage.

 

Biggest damn rabbits I've ever seen. Lots of nutrition in those strawberry leaves.

Comment by Sentient Biped on May 12, 2013 at 7:41pm

Annie, it's mainly irises.  Probably 99% of their business, although when they open the iris gardens for visitors during bloom season, they selll other stuff.  In fact, I have enough irises in by yard, but I did buy a Weigelia.  Deer resistant, nectar for honey bees, and drought resistant.  I'm guessing much of their other stuff is heritage varieties from what they grow in the show garden.

Comment by Annie Thomas on May 12, 2013 at 5:50pm

Wow!  The laburnums are amazing.  You wrote that this is a private business.  Do they sell Irises, or is it a private botanical garden of sorts?  It looks incredible.

Comment by Sentient Biped on May 12, 2013 at 10:14am

Great to read about what people are doing in their  gardens!

Annie, thanks for describing your harvests and sharing.  I get almost as much form sharing as from growing in the first place...  Can't eat it all!

Yesterday we went to Schreiner's Iris gardens, a family owned business between Portland and Salem Oregon.  Now is peak bloom time.  It's a nice excursion.  Some pics:

They have several show gardens with hundreds of varieties of bearded irises.

I like these laburnums.  I've been growing some of my own, theirs are much more lavish.

Aesculus.  Common name is horse chestnut or buckeye.

Weigelia.  I wonder if these were brought by the family when they moved from Minnesota in the 1940s.  They are an old fashioned shrub

Comment by Idaho Spud on May 12, 2013 at 6:20am

Annie, I liked reading about your wonderful day.

Comment by Annie Thomas on May 11, 2013 at 7:15pm

I weigh everything I harvest from the garden.  It helps me keep track of what produces well and reminds me of success when things go wrong.  Yesterday, I passed the 5 pound mark for the spring harvest!  So far we've harvested radishes, squash, and dragons tongue beans.  But the greatest joy is sharing my garden with others.  Today, a friend came over with her two little boys.  They were hot and sweaty after two soccer games and wanted to take a dip in my pool.  After we cooled off in the water, I took them to the garden and let them harvest some beans.  They had so much fun and promised me they would eat the funny colored beans for dinner.  They also picked some gardenias to bring home.  Their mother protested, saying "we don't want to take everything from your garden!" but it brings me so much joy to share it with others, especially children.  I brought out the scale and had the boys weigh the beans, explaining that I like to keep track of how much I produce, and the kindergartener and preschooler were so attentive as I explained how to read the scale.  This is what it is all about to me: sharing what I produce, and teaching the next generation to love gardening.  What a wonderful day!

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