Lately I have been drawn to the idea of self-sufficiency...becoming less reliant on typical sources for food. Funny, I almost used the word "tradional" instead of "typical" - but then I thought about what each means...aren't national chain grocery stores more typical than traditional? I have been buying eggs about a half-a-mile from my house for the past couple of months and the other day my next door neighbor gave me half-a-dozen eggs that came from her chickens. I let the husband know today that next year I am going to want to get chicks to raise for myself for eggs. He has a bit of an aversion to having chickens...as a kid his family had them and it wasn't his favorite thing. So we'll compromise somehow...he just doesn't want to get stuck with the work involved with caring for the chickens. But, I think that he is more open to the idea ever since we got to see Bambino's shepherding instinct kick in when we were hanging out with the neighbors and they wanted to round their chickens back into their coop. It was pretty amazing actually, he acted like he'd herded animals for years, it was pretty amazing to watch my puppy just know how to get those chickens to go where he wanted them to. He was gentle but firm with the chickens as he herded them. So...I think it would be pretty cool to have our own chickens and let him practice his herding instinct - plus we'd have fresh eggs to boot!
Summer has always been my most favorite season...but lately spring is in good competition. I guess it's because the last year or so is the first time in my life that I've been able to plant my own yard's garden with things that I chose and then watch what comes of my efforts. Everyday more and more of my tulips are blooming, it is amazing to come home to such beautiful color. We recently picked up some summer bulbs - irises, peonies and callalillies. The goal is to keep it going so that there's always a new wave of gorgeous color to enjoy.
The picture below was taken from the back of the house looking towards the front, this is the flower bed that I have literally sunk many many hours of labor into. On the trellis there will hopefully be a ton of sweet peas soon. I planted some perennial sweet peas last spring...they didn't get going too much last year, so I'm hoping that they just needed a year to establish themselves...That certainly has been the case with the cosmos than I put in a year ago. They hardly grew at all last year and now they are bigger and more colorful than I could have ever guessed. Back to the sweet peas though, I am still debating about whether I should also put in some annual sweet peas there...the problem with that is at the end of the season they will dry and brown, whereas the perennials don't brown as much (at least I don't think they do). I also don't want the annuals to choke out the perennials, especially if this is the summer when the perennials are going to really take off...so I am not sure what to do, but my instinct says to plant my annual sweet peas else where and be more patient with my perennials.
The rhododendron pictured below is one of a few that we have that just bloomed in the last two days...can I say again how much I love this time of year? Everything is so beautiful with all of this color...it seems like everyday there's another plant blooming to suprise me. I can't wait for the weeping cherry trees along our driveway to show their pink blossoms. They should bloom any day now. So taking a look at this pictuer I am kind of thinking I should have pruned this rhody during the fall or winter...note to self for later.
The husband had a suprise for me when I got home...he was so excited to tell me, I hardly had the chance put down my purse before he was asking me to come outside. I put down the eggs I'd just bought, changed out of my work clothes to play clothes and let him lead me out to the garden. At first I couldn't figure out what was different. The raised beds have been filled with a vegetable mix dirt over the past few days so although that is new, I'd already checked that out...the husband has been working very hard to make that happen. By the way, no we did not get a new dog, the sweet yellow lab in the photo below is Otter, our neighbor's pup. He lives in the house pictured in the distance, but likes to come over to say hello and to play with Bambino. It is his "parents" that are our chicken raising neighbors.
Back to my story about the husband's suprise...when I walked out to the vegetable garden, it took me a second to realize what was different...not only are all of the raised beds filled now, but the husband had also picked up a load of gravel for the paths between the raised beds...the last time I'd been out there, the weed fabric on the ground was still showing. I think I didn't notice the gravel right away because it just looked "right" with it there. Needless to say I was excited, the garden is looking sharp, my anticipation for the garden this summer is growing...Below are the rows that the husband formed with his tractor. That is where I will plant corn, zucchini, cucumbers and possibly a few other vine-growing, space-taking crops.
Here are a few of the starts we've picked up...Walla Walla Onions and Asparagus. They are not officially planted yet, that will happen this weekend, they are in the dirt so they can get acclimated and watered when it rains as it is supposed to soon.
A year ago when I first started a vegetable garden in this location I did not have a water faucet nearby. One of the projects that was done last summer by the husband was putting in a water line so a faucet would be closer to the garden. I am looking forward to not having to carry watering cans as far this summer and to not having to pull a heavy hose across the yard to the garden and then putting it away for the frequent mowing that has to happen during the summer. It is nice to have these improvements to the garden - it makes it easier to focus on the actual gardening when the chores involved are not so tedious.
Along the lines of trying to eat more locally and becoming more self-sufficient, it is exciting to see the trees in the orchard getting bigger and (hopefully) giving us a nice harvest this year. In the last three years since we first planted trees in the orchard, the number of trees has fluctuated quite a bit - I'm told this is pretty normal. We have lost a few during winter freezes, a few have been lost because they didn't root properly so they choked out in the summer. A couple others were possibly affected by tree diseases and a lack of sunshine because they were situated near a grouping of alder trees that have since been removed. I have been talking about making an orchard map for a few months now, so I finally went out with my garden journal to do so...there are now 16 trees in the orchard...it was getting hard to remember what we had out there. When we go to a nursery to look at trees, it is tough to know what would be a good addition to what we already have. We want to have a good selection of fruit. Right now we're heavy on plum trees (that's my fault, I love plums). We are a little shy on cherries, we've lost a couple and right now have just one bing cherry tree left...once the map was made we were able to make a list of what we still want to plant in the orchard. The husband would like another apple variety, I'd like another nectarine because they are of course delicous and also incredibly easy to can.
Little by little it is getting easier to picture going out to the garden, orchard (or chicken coop!) to get food rather than to the grocery store. I like the idea of seeing where my food comes from, knowing that there weren't any strange chemicals added to it, and having the satisfaction of being able to provide nourishment for myself and those I love...I still say that the idea of self-sufficiency is probably more traditional then we give it credit for. I don't think we'll ever be completely "off the grid", but the conversations I've had with the husband about things like getting solar panels and a solar water heater to power our house seem more like future plans than dreams. We've also reached the point where we're seriously talking about raising a yearling for a spring and summer to provide our own grass-fed beef...These conversations are happening partially because of the current economy - we both want to find ways to simplify our lives and take care of our own needs. But it's more than that, there is something innately satisfying about providing for your own most basic needs...
The husband had a suprise for me when I got home...he was so excited to tell me, I hardly had the chance put down my purse before he was asking me to come outside. I put down the eggs I'd just bought, changed out of my work clothes to play clothes and let him lead me out to the garden. At first I couldn't figure out what was different. The raised beds have been filled with a vegetable mix dirt over the past few days so although that is new, I'd already checked that out...the husband has been working very hard to make that happen. By the way, no we did not get a new dog, the sweet yellow lab in the photo below is Otter, our neighbor's pup. He lives in the house pictured in the distance, but likes to come over to say hello and to play with Bambino. It is his "parents" that are our chicken raising neighbors.
Back to my story about the husband's suprise...when I walked out to the vegetable garden, it took me a second to realize what was different...not only are all of the raised beds filled now, but the husband had also picked up a load of gravel for the paths between the raised beds...the last time I'd been out there, the weed fabric on the ground was still showing. I think I didn't notice the gravel right away because it just looked "right" with it there. Needless to say I was excited, the garden is looking sharp, my anticipation for the garden this summer is growing...Below are the rows that the husband formed with his tractor. That is where I will plant corn, zucchini, cucumbers and possibly a few other vine-growing, space-taking crops.
Along the lines of trying to eat more locally and becoming more self-sufficient, it is exciting to see the trees in the orchard getting bigger and (hopefully) giving us a nice harvest this year. In the last three years since we first planted trees in the orchard, the number of trees has fluctuated quite a bit - I'm told this is pretty normal. We have lost a few during winter freezes, a few have been lost because they didn't root properly so they choked out in the summer. A couple others were possibly affected by tree diseases and a lack of sunshine because they were situated near a grouping of alder trees that have since been removed. I have been talking about making an orchard map for a few months now, so I finally went out with my garden journal to do so...there are now 16 trees in the orchard...it was getting hard to remember what we had out there. When we go to a nursery to look at trees, it is tough to know what would be a good addition to what we already have. We want to have a good selection of fruit. Right now we're heavy on plum trees (that's my fault, I love plums). We are a little shy on cherries, we've lost a couple and right now have just one bing cherry tree left...once the map was made we were able to make a list of what we still want to plant in the orchard. The husband would like another apple variety, I'd like another nectarine because they are of course delicous and also incredibly easy to can. 
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Beautiful! I love LOVE your greenhouse.
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