Early Summer Evening

 

 

Walking the gardens in the evening is one of my favorite rituals.  It gives me a chance to take assessment of the various beds, dead-head flowers, pull weeds, prune as necessary.  The front yard perennial bed is beginning to fill in.  Late in the winter, several plants were damaged/destroyed when heavy tree rounds were accidentally dumped in my yard.  Slowly, new perennials are filling in the gaps.  Columbine, Sea Kale (Crambe maritima), Bee Balm, and several other new plants are beginning to establish, despite the slug onslaught.

The young plum trees (a Methley and an Early Laxton), have set a few fruit, despite my pruning heavily to shape them.  white clover fixes nitrogen below, nestled beneath honeyberries, rhubarb, comfrey, yarrow and other medicinal or edible perennials.  The day lilies are beginning to fill in and bloom, obscuring the fading foliage of daffodils and tulips.

 

Behind the Early Laxton plum, a rhubarb’s leaves capture and funnel water to the thirsty tree roots.  An artichoke’s silvery, deeply-cut foliage is a nice contrast to the deep rounded rhubarb leaves and profusion of lacy Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella).

 

 

In the backyard, bush beans and Dwarf Curly Scotch kale are growing rapidly.  The spears of garlic foliage are just beginning to turn brown, but the garlic won’t be ready to dig for another 2-4 weeks.

 

Ruth, in the side orchard, amidst tiny new Goumi berry (Eleagnus multiflora), Juneberries (Amelanchier alnifolia), Seckel pear, Breda Giant medlar.  In front of her, one of a number of lupines, which fix nitrogen.  Behind her, to the right, comfrey act as dynamic accumulators, and make fabulous fertilizer.

 

One of two Angelica plants in the shade garden.  The tiny seedlings are beginning to take off.  They should reach 6 feet by the end of summer.  When they get larger, I would like to make a batch of traditional Angelica candy.

 

Velvety thimbleberries, an Oregon native, are beginning to turn color.  While somewhat flavorless and fragile on their own, they will be added to other garden fruits when making jam.

The children enjoy using the large, soft leaves in their make-believe play – they make a fine palette for berry and charcoal paints, or a few laid overlapping can be twisted into a bundle for various treasures (pretty stones, immature hazelnuts, currant berries).

Back tomorrow with some photos of the produce we have been picking the last two weeks.