June 9, 2012

Welcome to Poland!  18 countries viewing our garden now :)

Deer fencing is installed!  

We have had a lot of problems with wildlife.  Sometimes you can see  a whole herd of deer in the field next to our garden, patiently waiting for us to finish what we are doing, waiting for us to leave. now. please.  I know the minute we are gone it is dinner time in the vegetable garden.  Our first crop of corn was doing just fine and then one morning it was just gone.  We have deer, rabbits, groundhogs and geese living in or next to the garden.

Extra small mesh to keep rabbits out.

ground hog hole

family of geese

The fencing and towers are gone.  Yeah.

In the Children's garden:

A very large pit to play in.  Sand or small pebbles will be added.  We are still deciding what to add.

In the Native and Hedgerow gardens:

Butterfly weed - Asclepias tuberosa and Purple coneflower - Echinacea purpurea

Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca

Bottlebrush grass - Elymus hystrix

Vegetable Garden:

Asian garden 

Potatoes in front - lots of straw used as mulch

Pumpkins

Different types of tomato supports

Different types of trellises. The one on the left was from a large maple branch that came down during a wind storm.

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.

Big changes in the Children's Garden

Lots of eye popping changes!  Primary colors, green plants, walking paths made from a tree trunk, and an invitation to "Touch."

In the Vegetable Garden:


Peas are almost ready to climb, lettuce is almost ready to be thinned.  Spinach coming along nicely.  In a couple of weeks Malabar Spinach will be added to the spinach bed.  It is not really a spinach, it is native to tropical Asia and grows very well in hot, humid weather. Malabar spinach is high in vitamins A and C, iron and calcium.  It is also high in protein per calorie.

Lettuce and Peas

Lettuce

Onions

Spinach

Red, White and Blue Potatoes in this patch

Potato plants

Soon we will have to add soil to "mound up" the plants.  The growing potatoes need to be covered completely.

In the Native and Hedgerow Gardens:

iris

Milkweed

This is part of our Milkweed Patch.  This is a very important plant.   It is a host plant of the Monarch Butterfly.  The Monarch eggs are laid on these plants.  When the larvae hatch, they only eat plants in the milkweed family, nothing else.  When the Monarch emerges from its chrysalis, it receives nourishment from many other plants.  

Perennials:

Allium

Patio Garden:

Strawberries

Salad Table

Lots of welcome rain tonight and tomorrow!

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.