May

It's been a good month for gardening. We've had healthy amounts of rain and its not prohibitively hot which means I've been able to weed everything.

My veggie garden is coming along nicely. To my pleasant surprise, I have a peach tree, two Idaho potato plants and several watermelon vines (the latter will be transplanted or given away) growing in my compost. Other than Blinky uprooting and subsequently killing one of my marigold plants; my main preventative measure in my tomato and pepper bed; I could not be more pleased with this section.

Occasionally I have to run the sprinkler for the veggie garden and found it amusing that the water created a line of demarcation in the grass. Can you see it?

While letting the dog out at lunch, I noticed my hydrangeas are starting to bloom. Aren't they beautiful? They are a pink hybrid, but one is starting to adopt a purple tinge. While also beautiful, I prefer pink. Will have to get a soil test and amend according.

 

Finally, a butterfly bush bloom to kick start your weekend:

 



How does your garden grow?

Fall Prep

I haven't been up to a whole lot these last few weeks, other than some yard maintenance. And by yard maintenance, I mean vigorously pulling Mexican heather from my rain garden. Those babies have a tendency to take over! And they're obscuring shorter, more attractive plants like my Cahaba lilies and ginger lilies.

After removing 90% of the Mexican Heather

We've had a dry summer which has damaged the woodland ferns in the rain garden. Lucky me! I also plan to dig those out as soon as I'm done with the Mexican heather. Hopefully that will enable my canna lilies to progress as it seems their growth has been stunted the last few years.

Totally Overgrown!

On the hillside, I am going to replace a small island filled with irises and daylilies with another fruit tree. I have my eye on a dwarf pear tree that will fit the space perfectly.

Its a long to-do list with very little time. Hopefully I can get most of this done before we have another cold snap which forces me into hibernation.

Preserving Fuit the Lazy Way

I've written before about my awesome peach harvest this summer. We ate a bunch, gave tons away and still had peaches for miles. What I decided to do with the overripe ones was slice and core them and freeze them for smoothies. Delish!

The peaches on the tree are long gone but I still have about five quart-size Ziploc bags full of sliced peaches ready for dessert.

Here is my smoothie recipe that I use for my single-serve blender:

• Half fill the cup with milk. We use whole milk, but if you want a skinnier option, feel free to use reduced fat.
• Add frozen fruit. In addition to the peaches, I use strawberries, blueberries, banana, whatever is on hand. The riper the better as this eliminates the need for sugar.
• Blend.

That's it. Can't get any easier, healthier or lazier than that.

Enjoy!

Everything's Just Peachy

Ever have something in your garden that you've fought with for years? I have several of those, one of which is a peach tree I planted in honor of my daughter.

Growing up with the sub-tropics, it was common to have fruit trees in your yard. And they required very little maintenance. Generally, you planted it, left it alone, and after a few years, you were rewarded with fruit. Not the case in SE Alabama. Fruit trees, specifically stone fruit trees are difficult at best. They require constant attention as they are subjected to any number of diseases and pests. I have waited year after year for my peach tree to set fruit, only to be sorely disappointed.

Imagine my surprise last weekend when I finally got around to spraying, that I noticed it was loaded. Actually my first reaction when I spotted the sea of yellow from a distance was, "It's only May! What's wrong with it already?" As I approached, what I thought were discolored leaves were actually baby peaches. Score!

 

 

There are quite a few on the ground already, which I'm hoping is due to birds picking at them. But nothing could dull my excitement. For me, this is the holy grail of gardening...hard work paying off! the DH suggested pruning them for large peaches but I don't have the heart to do it.

 

In other gardening news, my Asiatic lilies are blooming. YAY! Aren't they gorgeous?

 

 



Happy Gardening!