Update on frontyard garden 2012

Hey all,

here's an update on the frontyard garden.  I was glad the parsley overwintered really well, and came up very early on in spring.  The flat leaf Italian parsley and alliums (green onions, and the chives... and even the garlic) did well coming back on their own.

So here are a few photos updating how the front looks.

Alpine Strawberry looks pretty happy...

By the front door, the rosemary coming out and acclimating to the weather with the overwintered sage behind it.  Dianthus, roses, and alpine strawberry.

Diamond shaped boxes with green onions on the border, and the beginnings of basil, and dwarf Hestia Scarlet Runner Bean

As you can see from the bottom of the photo, the lavender has not come back, but the meadow sage is coming back singing a chorus!  Everything looks decent, but I will soon plan to yank out the green onions once they go to seed, and plant alot of marigolds and red salvias.  I've been told by several people that marigolds keep the rabbits away.  I don't know the validity of this, but feel free to dispense your advice in the comments section :)     I do know marigolds are edible...
The red salvias, the kids and I love to suck out that 1 droplet of nectar that is at the bottom of that long red flower...(sorry hummingbirds!)

The diamond shaped box with the green onion around the parameter.
Basil is planted in the box.  Dwarf Hestia scarlet runner bean was planted in the shape of a diamond, and generously - but as nature usually does, it's not doing what I want it to do!!! AAAAAARGHHhhhhhhhh

The chive flowers add a touch of purple to all the green, and behind it is flat leaf Italian parsley about to go to seed.

A stack of rocks.  Hrmmmm
I took these rocks from my dad's house, and I've always like the look of stacked rocks.
They remind me of my grandmother in korea who passed away a couple of years ago. We visited a few places that had stacked rocks in Korea.  I want to say they were mostly temples, but it happens whenever you find places with many rocks: rivers, canyons, mountains...my front yard...  LOL

More pictures to come, as the season progresses!

Summer in March... craziness

What Magicks is this!?

Recently Chicagoland has been in the high 70's to 80s.

That is just madness. We went straight from winter to Summer!

This has me thinking a few things...

1- July might be 160 degrees, and the power will be out everywhere. We're paying for those two mild summers in a row... 

2- Welp, there go the brassicas!!

3- I should focus on more heat tolerant plants.

Here's the status of some of the things around the ol homestead:

Spinach! Sprouting from the fall planting! YESYESYESSSSSSSS

Although who am I kidding? With this hot weather, it's probably going to fast forward to bolt.

With that in mind, I have Indian Malabar spinach in a seedling tray.  The Indian climbing spinach loves the heat, and will be great to take over for the rest of the season.

French Tarragon.  I don't know what to use this for,

but I am glad to see the mild winter had it coming back on its own!

Our lovely Sage! I took a gamble and left it outside by the front door.  I read online they are zone6, but hoped the proximity of the home would shelter it somewhat  and HUZZAAAAAH it worked!  In fact the brown leaves on the plant were the only ones affected by frost!  

The blanket of leaves might have helped, too.

Unfortunately, this successful experiment means it's certain
I will try to overwinter a fig outdoors next winter.

I have been dreaming of doing such, but we were zone 5A.  Recent news said we are now 5B. MU HU HUHA HAA  ::Evil cackle::  It's all coming to plan nicely.

Rainbow Heirloom Tomato seedlings, and Korean Giant asian pear in the background.

Oh, Hello, Ladies....

The ladies would like you to know they have overwintered just fine, too.  Two eggs each day, give or take one every so often due to lack of daylight.  We had a few predators stop by, but nothing the locks didn't keep out. The bottom of the coop is also double layered wire, and the previous owner made it raccoon proof.  The #1 thing backyard chickeners encounter is neighborhood friendly predators.  We had foxes, and Raccoons come by, and we are surrounded by homes!

  They are a rough and tough bunch of Austen era ladies, though.  Maybe more of a Mother Jones.

Just look at those disapproving glares.

 Love you too, Watermelon and Bully! Gorgeous!!

All of the front yard boxes have their uh... spiky things coming up.  In front of us, we have Garlic which was planted last fall.

The flat Italian parsley overwintered pretty darn well.  You would never have known winter came!  The English chives are coming up around it as well, and it'll be soon enough before we have purple flowers everywhere that look like the "Horton hears a who" flower.

yes, that one...

All in all, I am very wary of what the rest of this month and the next will look like. I can't depend on the normal planting chart, and it'd be a complete shame to play it safe and wait...

then again, if you know me, 

Possibly kill all my seedlings with an errant frost?!

 HA!

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