Snowy Backyard

Late Bloomer

We have a lot of buds and blooming roses on the bushes right now. More than we had in the spring or summer this year, I think!

Late Summer Harvest

Tomato, ToMAHto

So, tomatoes are my favorite food. As such, I only eat them in their prime. Which, here in B to the more is August. Namely nearly my birthday (August 19th. I will be 30. Am scared) week. So, why are all of my tomato plants full of GREEN tomatoes? We have some flowers and some tiny tomatoes but nothing ripe. Well. We have had 2 ripe tomatoes since June (both now in quotes "Early" Girls) and one in June (yellow pear) and nothing else. For all of June/July we pretty much had zero flowers so at least these flowers speak of potential but we are going to Belgium for a little over a week in early September and I have horrible thoughts that they are all going to ripen then. Is it in bad taste to ask the neighbors to pick my tomatoes and then hold them for me? We have like 10 heirloom varieties I am dying to eat. This summer was supposed to be the summer of tomatoes, not the summer of suck. Le sigh.

Blackberry Season!

It is harvest time! We've been harvesting nearly 2 cups a day from our single bush. Matt bought a net meant for ponds to cover the bush and it worked better than the tree/bush net we had last year at keeping out birds.

Figs!

Figs are growing on the tiny (under 2 ft) fig tree that we planted this May. Very surprising.

In bloom!

The front yard is looking good! This was tiny (and pink!) last year but it has really grown and is now sort of pinky-purple.

Planting

Planted fairytale eggplant, a Rugters tomato and habanero, jalapeno, scotch bonnet, poblano and carmen peppers today in the space near the house where the pond used to be. I hope they do well! I am also hoping that the fairytale eggplant's small size will prevent it from doing what has happened to every other eggplant we've planted: flopping over with the fruit ending up sitting on the ground after a storm or big wind. Then they never ripen properly and I at most get 1 eggplant per plant.

In other news, the blackberry bush continues to double in bulk every week. By next year I think I will be able to pick blackberries from our bedroom in the second floor.

Blackberry Bush Blooming!

I thought it was May flowers?

I'd take a picture of how tremendously overgrown our yard is but I don't want to shock or alarm any children who might come across this. It has gone way beyond dachshund height and is creeping up to whippet height in most places. But! It isn't our fault. There has been nary a day without rain in over 2 weeks and the few patches of sunshine we have were not enough to dry out our swampy backyard. Even one rain storm takes a few days to recover from, much less weeks of rain. It has been sunny today but now it looks like rain again so who knows when the lawn will be cut.

In good news, we went to Market Day and picked up several varieties of hot peppers, tomatoes and fairy tale eggplants. I am hoping the eggplants diminutive size will be an asset. Perhaps they will ripen more quickly than their larger relatives? Whenever we would grow regular sized eggplants they'd get big then we'd have a big storm or heatwave and they'd droop and never recover. Tomatoes we've had mixed luck with in the past but I have hopes for some new locations this year. Hot peppers grow wonderfully in the yard, we end up with more than we know what to do with.

Dogwood Blooms!

I was happy to get a break from the rain that was long enough to snap a quick picture of our dogwood. I think it is really doing well!

Composting

Matt went and picked up a Earth Machine compost bin for only $36 at a Baltimore County-sponsored event at Ikea this morning (they are supposed to be there until 3pm)and it looks pretty good. We've never composted before-the bins are normally about $100 and with the dogs we can't exactly have an open pile compost heap.

Anyone have any composting tips? What container do you use in your kitchen for scraps?

Trees

Today Matt bought two tiny fig trees. This past weekend we bought two pawpaws. I got to thinking about all of the other trees we have and realized that we have quite a lot of trees! Two dogwoods, a redbud, two crape myrtles, a Japanese cherry, the two pawpaw and two figs, one (or is it two?) mock apples, a fruiting plum (pictured above), a large oak and what I think is an ornamental plum tree, all of which are in the backyard with the exception of one of dogwoods. Today marks the end of our tree purchasing!

Compost Bin Sale

For the first time ever, Baltimore County will host a two-day truckload compost bin sale on Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19, from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. The Saturday sale will be held on the parking lot of IKEA Baltimore in White Marsh, 8352 Honeygo Boulevard (across from White Marsh Town Center). The Sunday sale will be held on the parking lot of Franklin High School in Reisterstown, 12000 Reisterstown Road. Both sales are rain or shine.

Compost bins, valued at $100, will be available for the low price of $35 including tax. There is no limit on the amount of bins you may purchase at this event and bins will be sold on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. Both cash and checks are accepted (no credit or debit cards) and you do not need to be a Baltimore County resident to purchase a bin. The bins come in two pieces and can fit in almost any vehicle. When assembled, the bins are 33 inches in diameter and 33 inches tall.

For more information, please visit www.baltimorecountymd.gov/recycling OR call 410-887-2000.

Native Plants Sale

American Native Plants, a wholesale only nursery, recently announced that it will be open to the public for retail sales on Sunday April 5th from 9am-3pm.
The nursery carries about 200 species of only native plants. The vast majority of plants are woody plants: trees and shrubs and some vines, however there are a few groundcovers, ferns, perennials, and wetland plants (in the hoophouse) as well. They do not carry cultivars except for a few species which are diocious and readily available, such as Winterberry. Unfortunately for the Inkberry and Spicebush, you must visit the nursery during bloomtime to tell the difference and take your chances, just like nature.



The nursery is located at 4812 E. Joppa Road, Perry Hall, Md 21228