Lilies

I thought you might like a peek at what the lilies look like in the wild.

Resurrection Lily, Surprise Lily or Naked Lady Lily

This lily really was the most surprising thing in our yard the first Summer we moved in. We didn't see the leaves that appear in the Spring because we moved in in July. Even if we had, we'd still would have been surprised! These flowers are almost eerie, iridescent and a ghostly lavender. They send up leafless stalks about 3 ft tall and then bunches of the flowers appear soon after. Very fun and unexpected.

Tomato Harvest

They are so red! They almost look glowing. I've picked quite a few of the Juliet and we had one really early tomato but this is the first time I've been able to pick two large(ish) tomatoes at once.

Sunflower Update

They are blooming!



Just two weeks ago they looked like this.

Blackberry Harvest

Our blackberry bush is huge. Last year it was like a foot tall, now it is over 6 and very prolific. We've gotten about 1 cup of berries so far and lots more are coming ripe. We put a net over the bush to keep the birds at bay and it seems to be working well.

Coneflowers

They are doing great and attracting a lot of bees!

Mammoth Sunflowers

Now taller than us!

Blackberries!

Sorry for the lull in posting, but not much has been happening in the garden lately. A lot of growing, but not a lot of flowering or fruiting. Oddly all of the baby plums on our tree have vanished but the blackberries are going strong.

Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn Garden

Our garden is featured on AT: The Kitchn today.

Peony!

The peonies opened yesterday! I am glad they waited until after the rain.

New Plants!

We got a Home Depot gift certificate as a reward from the bank and we had coupons (one for buy one get one free shrubs, another for $5 off) so we picked up some plants yesterday. Unfortunately, we couldn't find 2 shrubs we liked (we were hoping to buy one $25 shrub with our gift certificate and then get a free one and pay nothing out of pocket) so we ended up getting another hydrangea for the backyard and some Spanish lavender. I don't like the fussy smell of English or French lavender, but I found this one to be pleasant and I think it will attract bees and butterflies.

Our pretty butterfly bush that was in front of our house was uprooted last week during one of the storms and is dying so I think we will put the lavender there, even thought it isn't going to get as big as the butterfly bush would have. We do have a spirea and a hydrangea out there now, and a few other plants (Mexican roses, I think? Maybe not.) that are doing well. It is a small space and I don't think we actually need another large plant there. The hydrangea will probably go in the backyard somewhere. It is already quite large and blooming so that's fun. It's called blushing bride and has white flowers with light pink streaks. It's also one of the "endless summer" varieties so it should have a long bloom time since it blooms on both old and new growth.

One cool plant I saw and liked but didn't get was a Pink Lemonade honeysuckle. It was really pretty but it needs a trellis or something to grow on and we just got rid off all those grapes and climbing vines and are in the process of getting rid of the shed, so I am not sure where we would put a trellis. Plus we'd have to buy a trellis and we've already spent way more than I wanted to on plants this year. So, we ended up getting a new hydrangea, the lavender, fill dirt and a tomato cage for only about $7 using the coupon and our gift certificate. Not bad! I'll post pictures once they are in the ground.

Just in bloom: Blackberries!

blackberry bush


I am excited for the harvest this year.

Rain!

Well, I should have gotten right on the rain barrel purchase because it has done nothing but rain. I worry that my tomato plants are drowning! One of them already has some yellow leaves from overwatering and I haven't had to water them once.

The blackberry bush is flowering, but a lot of the flowers are falling off because of the weight of the rain. I am so looking forward to some more seasonable weather soon!

Roll out the barrel

I really want to get a rain barrel this year. Our water bills are crazy high (so high I think they are a mistake as we rarely do laundry, shower together, have only water saving fixtures and are only 2 people) so anything to help is a good thing. Anyone have good luck making their own? Have a good source for buying one? The ones I see online are on the pricy side.

In Bloom Today

Here's a picture of most of our yard. It's actually 90% green and in bloom now.

Mock Apple

After the storms of the last few days (we even lost power for a couple of hours!) we are losing a lot of petals from our various trees. The mock apple is holding strong though, and smells great.

dogwood!

dogwood!
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

Just in bloom! It is amazing that just a few days ago they were tiny buds.

Gardening Update

The cherry blossoms are just starting to bloom. Finally! I remember when we first moved in that they bloomed around March 25th and we had no idea what kind of tree it was, so it was a big surprise to walk out one morning to a tree in full bloom. So it is blooming late but I am glad it is blooming at all, it is pretty old and there is a dead branch.

my favorites

Spring 2008
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

Finally, they bloomed! I love daffodils. I really want to plant more-maybe those pink ones I've seen?

first tulips

first tulips
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

These opened over the course of the day, this morning they were just buds!

Our Yard: Vortex of No Growth?

The most recent signs:

• Our daffodils are just leaves and no blooms while our next door neighbor's daffodils have been blooming for a week.
• The cherry trees in Washington DC are blooming. We have the same variety and it is no where near ready to bloom.

I understand that DC is probably a little warmer (due to being more urban and being slightly further South) than our yard but what is the difference between our flowers and the ones blooming not 3 feet away in the neighbor's yard? Even ones that get the same sun exposure are not blooming. Perplexing.

starting to move into spring

starting to move into spring
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

plum tree

plum tree
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

giant pussywillow

giant pussywillow
Originally uploaded by rachel is coconut&lime

This is the one thing we ordered online last year that is doing really well. Eventually it will grow to be about 14x14 feet!