It seems awfully early in the spring to be talking about planting the garden. We’ve had hard frosts and even snow in May so we’re careful to protect the tender plants for a few more weeks. However, the grass is very green and Bert has had to cut it twice already! After the forsythia blooms, the next color I notice is the blooms on the Redbud trees. They are such a pretty pink but they don’t last long…just trying to get a decent picture is hard. But they do make me smile!
Here’s a close up of the flowers:
The Japanese Dogwood trees in the front yard are budding out. I’m looking forward to when this whole row of trees is in bloom!
Of course, the huge batch of onions in planters by the patio are doing well. They look crowded, but we’ll eat them as we thin them.
We saw our first hummingbird so we quickly bought our favorite begonia plants. The red flowers match the feeders and help attract the birds.
Kathy and Ben came to visit last weekend and brought us a bunch of asparagus roots from their property. The roots had spears that looked ready to eat…but we’ll leave them alone this year and give the roots time to get established. Since they are pretty vigorous roots, we may be able to get a meal or two out of them next year.
Bert set up the rain barrels last week and they are now full! It takes about 1/4″ of rain on the roof of the shop to fill the barrels. See the set up at https://marykisner.com/setting-up-the-rain-barrels/
Here is the big barrel up by the garden. If we plan it right, we can use rainwater all summer to water the garden. You can read about how Bert pumps the water from the rain barrels up to the large tank at https://marykisner.com/pumping-the-rain-barrels/
Our tomato plants are doing well under grow lights in the shop. Each day that isn’t too windy Bert sets the plants outside to harden them up. If it’s hot and sunny, he puts them in the shade by the shop so they don’t get sunburned.
Amazingly, Bert has been babying a tiny oak tree that sprouted from an acorn from the tree in our yard. That tree was also sprouted from an acorn that came from the Kisner hunting camp, so he’s pretty protective of the plant!
Up in the garden, I finally see the new growth in the row of lavender plants. I should have a nice crop of lavender to dry this year.
Here’s a close up of the new growth:
And of course, the Echinacea bed is going to town with new growth. The flowers really make me smile and make the bees happy!
So, that’s what’s happening on the first of May, 2025. Next week I hope to plant lettuce and radishes in the raised planters on the patio. In the meantime, we’ll be careful to protect the tomato plants…in the past, due to a late freeze in May, we’ve had to totally replace all the tomato plants because we planted too early. Live and learn! Mother Nature has an agenda of her own!