Mother's Day Garden

Mother's day in the garden is always fun! There is so much growing here in Central Virginia! The air is sweetly scented with honeysuckle and roses, and the birds are washing in the fountain!
My pomegranate has a bloom...

Just the one so far. My neighbour has spoken about cutting down the trees- especially after one of them broke off in the gales this weekend!
My daughter loves these chive blossoms- you can pick them and use them to make a pink chive vinegar!

My potatoes are getting huge- so I added a lot of mulch around them. After I watered them a LOT because the wind had dried out the ground so badly. I also transplanted one of the zucchinis I was growing into this bed.

The other one remains in the pot I planted them in:

Black Beauty Zucchini

My broccoli is beginning to flower too!

See the tiny little floret in the middle there? Just the first three I planted are blooming yet- but I suspect the others will soon too.
You can also see that my lettuce and spinach are doing great too...

I mulched around the broccoli because it'll help the roots to stay cooler, hopefully preventing it from bolting!
Something is munching on my spinach- but I am not sure what it is.
There are other triumphs occurring...

PEAS! Yes, large numbers of pods have been spotted on my pea vines!

These are a shelling variety- so I have to wait for the pods to fatten up before I get to pick them.

I also have baby tomatoes.

These are the sungold ones, so not much longer until I can actually eat them ;) And they are not the only ones...

The other tomato is blooming!

And so is the other pepper!!

And in the best news of all- the decapitated pepper has sprung back:

Look at all those new leaves!
My beans are growing like the proverbial weed. I nicely used a yardstick so you could see that ;)

As are their cousins the lima beans:

Those I did not measure for you!
Speaking of beans, take a look at these blackeyed peas...

They were part of my daughter's science experiment- she chose to grow blackeyed peas from the jar of them we had for cooking. She is quite proud of their progress- and I am amazed at how well they are doing.
I have a couple of swiss chard plants too. Here is one. Yes, I have picked a couple of leaves from the chard, spinach and lettuce. They make great salads!

And in the square next to this one, I transplated the other of my straightneck yellow squash- whose sibling can be seen in it's original pot below...

The carrots are also doing well. The wind dried out the soil terrible though and it seems kind of rocky.

Finally the showpiece- corn with roses! Yes I measured that for you too...

Guest Garden: Bacon's Castle

Bacon's Castle is a Jacobean house situated in Surry, Virginia. The tour guides tell me it is the oldest High Jacobean brick house in America - I can assure you it is definitely a beautiful one!

The original structure is the one with the peaked roof on the left- the other two were built a couple of centuries later. Yes, here in America is a house whose history is measured in centuries rather than decades!
Isn't it pretty?
The gardens are legendary. The original owner (a wealthy English settler) imported English loam just so he could grow the things he was used to... and when the house finally came into the hands of Preservation Virginia (otherwise known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities) the gardens were long gone. Lucky for them, a previous owner had drawn a plan and they finally found them...
Nowdays, they are taken care of by volunteers- so of the six original beds, two are farmed and four remain as lawns.

You can see here two of the lawns- and in the distance, two of the farmed beds.
The beds surrounding the area are still cultivated... espaliered trees, cold frames... (the white fence thing on the right is an espaliered tree).

Herbs and veggies and medicinal plants...

The corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) was a frequently used medicinal herb- it contains a much smaller amount of the alkaloids found in the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) and can be used in much the same way- as a pain killer, sleep aid etc...

It's not the only herb either. Sage and the other culinary herbs were well represented- after all, it was a kitchen garden.

This is a South facing wall. It blocks the winter winds from the North, and is heated by the sun. That means that plants get an earlier start and it has a micro-climate that will often allow for tropicals to grow in otherwise inhospitable regions. Probably not here in Virginia though :) You'll be able to up your zone a notch or two- which in the case of England (whence this idea came) puts you into tropical territory. Here in Virginia, it allows you to garden year round ;) It is a fine example of a traditional English garden in fact- especially since it was most likely designed by the original (English) owner. Note the strategic placement of the cold frame. I'd bet that cool season crops can grow all winter long here- we are almost at sea level, which tends to extend the season ANYWAY (according to the wonderful Duke of Gloucester Street gardener in Williamsburg).

In fact, the leeks have been pulled from here, while other, warm season, crops are grown. At the far end (top right) are raspberry canes. This is quite a long way from the warm southern wall and so they are just about the same development as my own canes- which have their own micro-climate because they are at the top of a hill :)

I spotted some familiar faces- this fig had grown into a huge tree. With LOADS of figs! There was a strawberry that had so many fruits I was tempted to pick- and what I think is a pomegranate. I am not sure though- the day was windy with gusts going up to 40mph plus. It does not allow for close inspection- and my photos wanted to come out blurry- I was lucky to get what I did!

I would wait until the wind calmed a little before taking photos- but it means I sometimes forgot to read the labels :o. I forget what these are, but they are pretty! (And are next to onions from the look of it!).

It was so windy in fact- that this picture ended up being taken while the wind blew (it was gradually getting worse- and at this point did not calm down anymore). I was amazed it looked so good- the humble foxglove. I wonder if they used it medicinally!

The house is out in the middle of nowhere- it is after all, an old plantation. Yes, it had slaves at one point and was a tobacco farm. Nowdays it is in the middle of wheat fields- not quite amber waves of grain, but close! Stunning views all round!
If you ever find yourself in the region of Surry or Smithfield Virginia, then don't forget a visit to Bacon's Castle!

Why is it called that, you ask? Well Nathaniel Bacon rebelled against the then governor of Virginia, William Berkeley. There were a lot of raids by the native American Indians at the time, and there were a lot of policies that the people of Virginia disliked- so they complained to the governor. Who did not listen. He lived in the city of Williamsburg and did not have to suffer as much as the people. In protest, a young man called Nathaniel Bacon started a rebellion- which had an encampment here for a night. They pretty much trashed the place and decimated the owner (Arthur Allen's) wine cellar. Bacon died from some kind of infection a few days later, and is thought to have never actually visited there- but the moniker stuck!
This is a very brief retelling of the history, you'll have to read up on it for the best retelling!

The Edible Garden- and flowers

If you haven't yet decided to participate in Good Life {Eats} 'GrowCookEat' then you should head on over to the blog to see all the wonderful gardening posts :) And maybe participate in her Mother's Day Giveaways!

But on to my garden, and how it is fairing :) It was a good week for eating the garden- the kids got their first strawberries :) I am fairly sure this is the first time they have picked strawberries and eaten them straight from our garden :)

I decided that this was a fairly momentous occasion, so I managed to get the kids to post with their strawberries just before they picked them!

The verdict? "Delicious!", "Sweet!", "Juicy!".

Is it usual for us to get such early strawberries? Well usually not quite this early- but remember these ones came from the garden centre with some flowers already! However, the next strawberries will be ones that grew here. From the already started plants. Oh well, maybe I can't say they are all ours this year, but next...

You can also see some of my herbs in the pictures. Next to my son you can just spot the chives- I used those a couple of times this week as a garnish... once for a baked potato and another time for soup. Cheddar Potato soup to be precise... it is absolutely delicious!





There are some more chives next to my daughter- those are garlic chives. I have yet to do anything with those this year- I want them to recover after their being transplanted! You can also see the basil I am growing- I LOVE basil in the summer. Especially with tomatoes and mozarella cheese... mmmmm!

Speaking of tomatoes...

I always buy my tomatoes as plants- I just do not have the spot to grow them as seeds.
Plus I need at most, two plants. Only my daughter and I eat them anyway... and I have no space for storage of canned tomatoes. Although that is something to consider...
I digress. These are my sungold tomatoes- they are the best tasting cherry tomato EVER! I had to buy the hugest tomato plant because the small ones were already sold out! But that is OK. I got them- and they are already blooming!
I'll tell you a secret though- I have babies cropping up all over the garden from last year's plants ;) I planted one in the herb garden just to see if it would grow.


The tomatoes are blooming before the peas!! But the peas are doing well- since the weather cooled down. I added some extra string to my trellis so the peas could grow- and you can see the Swiss Chard coming up next to them too :)

This will eventually be given over to a later summer crop- perhaps of squash, (winter) or something that grows fast!

Maybe cucumbers!

The rain we had earlier this week has done some good though- look, Limas!
I planted these especially for my husband, who is a huge fan of them. They really don't produce much though- like peas you have to plant a lot to get a decent crop. I never seem to plant enough (and in case you wonder, I pretty much empty the pea packet!).

They are not the only beans sprouting in the garden though... you can also see blue lake green beans...

Yes, they look very much alike at this stage. However they are in totally different square foot gardens and I marked them so as to not forget which I planted where ;)

These ones are in the same garden I planted my carrots in- which are also doing well :)








As you can see. They are baby carrots, so I am hoping it wont get too hot for them too soon. I am always so happy to see them. Unfortunately, so are the swallowtails!








The bed next door is now sprouting corn. They are tiny yet, but there they are.
I need to thin them out this weekend...








The rainbow beets are taking off...

...as are the lettuces and spinaches. For some reason I forgot to photograph the spinach. I think I'll be able to harvest some lettuce leaves soon though ;)

You can just about see two spinach plants growing in the second square from the back on the left. Those grassy things are my shallots. A couple did not come up, and I am considering planting my garlic in those spots if I still see no signs of life...
The garlic is stuff from the fridge that sprouted. I put it in some water and it took off!

Raspberry season is just around the corner- and you can see my raspberries are ready to go :) Look closer and you can see the berry part. I think they bloomed when I wasn't looking! These plants were given to me by a dear friend, and they produce twice a year- isn't that a great gift? :)

They sit next to this lady, who was also a gift :) This is an Elderberry- and look she is getting ready to flower. I am thinking of moving her over some so she can have a bit more room.
The raspberries have gotten quite thick, and I think they could use a trellis :)

Lest you think the garden is ALL food, I wanted to share some of the other wonders in it- like the flowering comfrey. I know, I know, I really shouldn't let the herbs flower... but I love the flowers on comfrey, and I love the bumblebees guarding it!!

This blue beauty was the first of the irises to bloom. It used to be in my Mother-in-Law's garden, but my husband took it after she died. It sits in the bed with some other irises we rescued :) I also have one from a friend in there, but I am not sure which it is or what colour it is, so theoretically this might be it anyway :)

These yellow ones were also rescued from my Mother-in-Law's garden. They stand in front of some peonies (we also have some of those from MIL's garden, but not these ones) and an heirloom rose. Far in the background you can see the wonderful robin-egg blue pot that my tomato is in :) It sits under the pawpaw for now :)

I have no idea what this iris is. We planted it ages ago and forgot about it- it has a stunning triple bloom- very pretty!


It sits amongst the creeping phlox in the fountain garden- where the spiderwort is now blooming :)

The roses are starting to bloom. This is Rosa damascena versicolor- otherwise known as the Tudor Rose. It has the most wonderful fragrance, and is supposed to get about 5 foot tall. At MOST. This one is about 12 feet tall- and I could not reach this rose to smell it, I had to reach my arms up to get the photo- and the rose is not at the top of the plant!


The periwinkle or Vinca major is also in bloom- a carpet of green leaves studded with blue flowers. They were originally supposed to grow around the mailbox, but they no longer do, because we moved the mailbox. They have spread so far though, that I am sure they'll get back to it soon :) These were gifts from my Mother-in-Law's garden :)

With all the flowers, it is to be expected that there will be a visitor or two to them.
I saw the first hummingbird at our feeder in the last week. He was pitifully thin from his long trip, but there he was.
I had had my feeder up for a good week or so already, so I was prepared- unlike last year when he kept hovering around the window trying to tell us to supply his food ;)

They are not alone in the garden either. In fact, the garden has been harbouring a thief!

The other day, I came out to find one of my square foot garden grids all messed up... and I blamed the kids or a dog, not thinking too much about it. The grids are made of string this year, and before I bought my skewers to use as stakes, I had used some plant tags...
The following day, my daughter asked me "what is that in the tree?".
There was a robin, trying to get some string- and not just any string, but some from my garden!! She had managed to get it stuck in the tree- and if you look in the lower half of the photo- dead centre, you can see the plant tag hanging from the barely visible string. Sorry about the photo quality, but it was a rainy day! She kept attacking the string and trying to take it up to her nest- but to no avail.
I suspect she was a first timer, because about 30 minutes later, her nest fell out of the tree!

Here you can see it on the ground- complete with pieces of string and pine needles. She had not finished it yet, so at least there were no eggs!
There is also a piece of wool from my spinning stash. I still wonder how that got outside...

Well that's the garden so far :) Happy Gardening everyone!