As you go about celebrating this 4th of July don't lose sight of why, we are celebrating.
It is not just about barbecues, and fireworks.
Have a safe, happy 4th.

On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born. Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave" so they can begin their American Dream.

The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings.


“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”


Happy Birthday, America!

Wordless Wednesday

So many strawberries

I have already picked one large bowl of strawberries and there are many, many more ripening.

A whole lot of green going on

Everything in my front garden is huge this year, must be all the rain we have had.

I'm waiting for my food

" I am waiting for my mom to bring me something tasty"

We need a break, so.....

the garden will just have to keep on growing without any sweet talking from me.

Our weather has been about 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year, with a lot of rain, so I am not going to bother hooking up the irrigation to the timers.

We will be away for just four days, and as there is more rain in the forecast  I am not at all concerned about the garden drying out.

I hope the rabbit will do a good job of keeping the grass down *grin*

It is exciting to anticipate all the fruit and veggies I will harvest

Some of the strawberries are starting to show a blush of color.

It promises to be a good year for a bumper blueberry harvest.

Perhaps this year I may have some sweet bell peppers as they are being grown within the warming

 'walls of water'

Blue Lake beans pushing up through their warming blanket of straw.

I am happy to see some tomatoes filling out. I can almost taste their sweetness already.

I have already picked some of the lettuce and the peas are about a foot tall, winding their way up the supports.

So if everything keeps growing at this rate we will have plenty of wonderful homegrown produce to enjoy over the summer months on into the winter.

This 'n' that Thursday

Pretty as a Pansy

Gee! we didn't really eat very much.

I feel sure the veggie garden will produce well this year

The weather has been fabulous and I have finally found the time to get out and get some more done in the vegetable garden. I pulled more weeds, added some good all purpose fertilizer to the raised beds and bought a few more veggie starts.

The four tomatoes planted within the 'walls of water' earlier this month, are coming along very nicely. I also decided to try growing a couple of sweet peppers within the 'walls of water' as they need plenty of heat to do much good.

Yes indeed, those are flowers on the tomato plant.

There is one tiny bud on the sweet pepper. I hope to have many more delicious peppers.

 

In this bed, is Swiss chard, teggia bush beans, blue lake pole beans, a couple of crookneck summer squash, a zucchini, and one stray strawberry plant.

The peas, lettuce and spinach planted within a recycled car tire, are all growing extremely well. In fact I will plucking a few lettuce and spinach leaves for a salad tomorrow.

It looks as though this year I will have a very good crop of strawberries. I can hardly wait to taste a sweet juicy strawberry. I should know better than to buy strawberries as I know they are usually tasteless, and once again I was proved right when I tasted some store bought berries last week. When will I ever learn? *chuckle*

 One more recycled car tire is home to red and golden beets with a few basil seeds tossed in the center.
I think I am going to rest for a day, then decide what else to plant.

Pretty in pink

Spring on Whidbey Island

Meerkirk Rhododendron gardens, Greeenbank, Whidbey Island WA

Today the rain showers went away, the sun came out, so it was perfect weather to get the tomatoes in the ground. This year I chose to grow my favorite snacking tomato,'Sun Sugar' and three new to me, varieties, which are, Brandywine, Bloody Butcher, and Siletz

I first amended the soil with a good all round fertilizer,leveled off the bed, then dug four holes. Into each hole I placed a handful of bone meal, two aspirin, some crushed eggshells then about 2 inches of soil.  

Before planting the tomatoes, I removed all but the top few leaves, then planted them so the top of the soil was about 3 inches below the leaves. A 'wall of water' was placed around each plant, a tomato cage pushed inside, and to finish, the cells in all of the 'walls of water' were topped off with water.

The 'wall of water' keep the plants warm, but to add a little more heat around the plants, I constructed a temporary 'house' over the four plants. I have a feeling we are going to have a short summer, so I figure the tomatoes need all the help they can get.  

 

As I worked on planting the tomatoes, I glanced up and saw this grey kitty, which hangs around our place and is usually very nervous around us, nonchalantly cleaning his paws. It probably figures it was quite safe considering I was fenced within my garden enclosure. I like to have the cat hang around, as it keeps the vermin population under control.

Making progress on the shade/woodland garden

For the past couple of years I have been working on creating a shade/woodland garden along the shady side of the house. I still have to move in more rocks, moss covered tree stumps (recovered from an area being logged by a friend), and there is of course, the ongoing search for more interesting plants.
I know the project is probably going to take at least another year to finish as I am not getting any younger and the going gets to be rough at times. Still it is a labor of love.

A little touch of green

Green Primrose

Tasman Tiger -  Euphorbia

Greenish Tulips

Wordless Wednesday

Awwwww!

A handsome bird indeed

A large, robin-like thrush of the Pacific Northwest, the Varied Thrush is a characteristic bird of the mature, dark coniferous forests. Wandering individuals turn up regularly far from home, wintering around feeders in the midwestern states.

At last, I can believe Spring is here

Japanese Maple unfurling it's leaves.

Potted fern showing off it's pretty fronds.

The "can't kill it" rose.

I thought I had dug all of this rose out and moved it elsewhere, obviously I missed some of it and it is growing more vigorously than ever. Well, I will give it a trellis to climb, and leave it there, as it seems so determined.

Hellebores, primroses, grape hyacinths, ferns, daffodils, a toad lily, astillbe, and a couple of other plants share this small garden spot.

Tulips almost ready to explode into a riot of color.

Every day, when I go and look at the front garden, I notice another plant pushing up out of the soil. Very soon the whole area will be filled with all kinds of plants ready to send forth pretty flowers or interesting foliage.

I am so glad I have an easy care veggie garden spot

I have not done a whole lot of gardening yet, due to a long cool Spring, but there sure is promise of a good season ahead from the little I have accomplished.

The blueberry bushes have benefited from their feeding and if all goes well, we should have a bumper crop of blueberries this year.

I had to add the arrows to at least point out that there are teeny tiny plants starting to grow. So far there is one lonely little pea plant, top of picture, a few lettuce seeds have sprouted, center, and spinach along lower edge of tire.

I am looking forward to another bumper crop of strawberries this year.