Spring Blooms
I didn’t bring very many of my flowering plants to Maine with me. There was the boxwood hedge that made it in and a few of my hydrangeas. I did manage to get a few of my ‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint, which is one of my favorite perennials.
The rest of these lovelies were all here when I arrived. With the exception of the rock geranium and bleeding heart, they are all new flowers for me. I had a purple columbine in my garden in Ohio but it was not like the one blooming here. I thought it would be nice to give you a glimpse of the color I’m seeing in my garden right now.
I’m not sure if I have a favorite yet, I’m still watching these plants to see what they are like throughout the seasons.
What’s blooming in your garden this week?
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The Bounty Begins
I love salad season. After a long winter of eating lots of root vegetables, salads really make my palate happy. Around mid-February I start to crave leafy greens but usually refuse to buy salad that’s not locally grown or grown in my own garden. Hopefully I’ll have a greenhouse someday to allow for a few green salads all winter long, until then winter means a famine of salad.
I’m extremely thankful that every evening I can head out to the garden to harvest a bowl full of various greens for our dinner. This year my focus was on red leaved salads since they contain more nutrients than green (for more information on healthier varieties of vegetables read Eating on the Wild Side.) There are also tiny French Breakfast Radishes to eat, I actually don’t like radishes, but I grow some each year.
Last night we also enjoyed Acadian Redfish as our maine course. I was reading an article about how this fish isn’t sold much because it’s considered “lobster bait” or a lesser species. Fisherman don’t make much on it. Our local fishermans co-op featured it and I decided to give it a try. Buying it helps the local fishing industry and it helps lessen the need for other popular fish. Here’s an interesting article from The Portland Press Herald about encouraging people to eat more Redfish.
What are you harvesting from your garden this week?
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Friday Favorite: Flags
I love flags, love.love.love them! When I was a kid I was always the one hanging our flag outside for holidays. Things are no different now, I have almost always had a flag or two in the garden. Last year I only had one small one in a flowerbed, this year I decided to go all out!
I’ve been eyeing these triple flag holders for quite a while, they’ve been on my Amazon wish list for many years. Bunting is also something I’ve been wanting to get but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Last week I stopped at a local store and they had both items! I snapped up a few and came home ready to decorate the house and barn.
Now it’s looking perfectly patriotic around here and that makes me happy. I love the flags so much I’m thinking of getting another triple flag holder for the chicken coop, no doubt they’ll love a little summer decor as well. Colombian flags will also be purchased to hang out on the appropriate holidays, nothing makes me happier than celebrating both of my citizenship countries! I don’t think I’ll be able to find those locally.
Do you hang a flag in your garden?
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Water
There is no water up by my main garden behind the garage. As a result, I end up carrying water up there by hand, which isn’t a big deal, until you plant a few 70 foot long rows and no rain comes. Luckily we have a tank that we put in the back of the truck. This gets filled and parked by the garden, viola – water.
This makes it much easier to water my garden and take water to the pigs as well. These piggies can go through 6 gallons of water a day for drinking and their wallow. While I don’t mind carrying water, I like saving a little bit of time to use for other things. Eventually it would be nice to have a yard hydrant put in, but that will probably have to wait for a few years. Until then, my water truck works very well!
Do you have anything you have to find workarounds for in the garden?
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Mowing, Mowing, Mowing
Last night we picked up a new vintage Cub Cadet garden tractor. We’ve been looking around for one, mostly so I can mow the lawn way faster than in the seven hours it currently takes me with our little 20 inch push mower. I love to mow and I love to push mow, the exercise is great and it’s a deeply satisfying job.
This little mower is a champ, we purchased it for $100 about fourteen years ago and it’s still going strong. Mr Chiots had to do a few things to it this spring to get it running, but it’s been mowing and mowing and mowing this season.
Lucky for us we got it from our neighbor who bought it new way back in 1988 (at least I think that’s the year).
I am the chief mowing officer around here, in fact Mr Chiots barely mows. Mowing is one of those chores I thoroughly enjoy, even at seven hours a week. It will be nice to get it finished in at least half the time though, that will leave more time for other garden chores, chiefly adding new ornamental flower beds.
Who does the mowing in your family and what kind of machine do you use?
