Garden Update -- Bad Blogger, Good Gardener -- Part 2!

Even though I've been taking lots of pictures of the garden, I never seem to find the time to actually sit down at the computer and update my blog. So, now I'm going to update on all my plants in one enormous blog so that I'll be up to date. Hopefully, from now on I can keep it that way!

Here's an update on everything except the status of my recently planted self-watering containers. That will come in the next post.

Critters and the Peas:

So far everthing is growing pretty well. Most of the self-watering planters have sprouted and my perennials are coming up really nicely in my regular garden bed. I've only lost a few plants to the raccoons and wild cats that are becoming such a nuisance in our neighbourhood.

The worst loss was my peas. Out of about 20 plants, only 4 ended up growing thanks to some animal that dug up the bed every night looking for grubs. I've replanted where nothing grew hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

Interestingly, I planted my peas in the same traditional raised garden bed that I always plant in. My brother planted seeds from the same pack (Mammoth Melting Sugar Peas) on the same morning in early April in the self-watering planters that we're both using this summer. He had a 100% success rate with his peas and they popped out of the ground a full 2 weeks earlier then mine. Probably because the first half of this April has been pretty dry and I was not disciplined about watering regularly. Also, even though he's been battling the critters full-force, he's still had way more success. Chalk one up for the self-watering planters!


Strawberries and Horseradish:

A friend has given me a horseradish plant and several strawberry plants. I put most of the strawberries in self-watering planters, but I also put a few in my normal garden bed, so we'll see which grows better.


Fruit Trees:

We have a plum tree and a pear tree in the backyard and an enormous apricot tree in the frontyard. The apricot and plum are in blume and they are gorgeous. Believe me, my photography does not do them justice.






My Perennials:

I got this rhubarb 4 or 5 years ago from my Aunt who lives in the house where she and my mom and their siblings grew up. This rhubarb was originally planted by my grandparents. It seems to like my backyard and I love rhubarb.

To the left of the photo you can kind of see my Sweet Woodruff which has spread out of the back garden plot (which is a real mess) into where the grass is supposed to grow, which is fine with me. It's a really pretty ground cover. I'm planning on transplanting some of this to my front yard garden (which is also a mess) since it likes the shade so much.

My perrenial herbs are coming up nicely. I have oregano, chives, tarragon, lemon balm, and lavendar. I'll add basil, parsley, rosemary and cilantro in the next few weeks.

Here's my tarragon:


and here's the chives: