What's growing on Wednesday

Chocolate mint for a tasty sweet tea

It's raining again & you know what they say...  April showers bring May flowers.  Well with our weather lately ranging from 70 degrees one day, to heavy rain the next, we have got flowers and greenery shooting up all around us right now in April.

This week Ben built me another new raised bed and placed it in the corner of our new garden area.  It's about 2' deep 2' across and 4' long.  I'm not sure what I'm going to plant in there yet.  Maybe the leeks since this is one of the deeper beds I have in my veggie patch or possibly peppers since this is a very sunny spot.

Back in the more natural and native part of my yard I noticed the Saalal and Oregon Grape are both showing signs of spring with new growth and even buds on the Saalal.  This is good news for the 6 or 7 hummingbirds I have hanging around my yard.  They really loved sipping from the tiny white blossoms  of our native saalal last year.   

Mushroom in moss

I noticed some new leaves and growth on the huckleberry bushes too.  Huckleberries grow wild here in the Pacific Northwest.  They seem only to grow where an old tree has died.  They favor old stumps and decayed duff piles.  The berries, when ripe,  are quite small like a pea, but still a  tasty treat when added to summer pancakes.  That is if the birds and chipmunks don't get to them first.

Ajuga, aka bugle weed

In the backyard herb and flower bed things are really filling in nicely.  A few days ago I chased a momma and her 2 yearling fawns out of the herb patch where they were happily munching on my day lilies again.  If only they had an appetite for weeds.  But it's fun to see them so close to the house even if they are eating machines.

Big color on  tiny violet

How wonderful to be on year 4 in a garden.  When we moved into this house it did have a lot of established garden area.  I added to that year after year and moved starts of this and that into place.  I'm really enjoying seeing how it all has come together and to see those tiny starts are now fully established plants. This year I'm really beginning to see my plan take shape as different colors and textures of plants are co mingling in the herb and flower beds.

Well, if it stops raining anytime today, I may get out and pull a few weeds.  It always seems easier to pull them up by the roots when the ground is wet.  Other than that I'm ahead of the game with my spring chores.  

unfurling fern

This weekend we plan to plant our dahlia tubers from our recent buying spree at the Whatcom County Dahlia Society's tuber sale.  Ben and I each picked up a mix of sizes and styles of blooms, so we've got our work cut out with planting and labeling them.  It will all be worth it to see them in bloom this summer.  I can hardly wait!

How's your spring garden growing?  Any big plans for new plantings and projects?  Veggies, flowers or both?  Are you going organic this year?  Send me links for your gardening blogs adventures and even mis-steps stories.  I love to hear and see how other gardens are growing too.  Just click on my photo below to email me or leave a comment.