Spring in the New Yard + Garden

Now that spring is fully under way, plants seem to be popping up right and left in our new yard. It's so fun to check every day and see what's new. When we moved into the house, it was mid October. Everything was going to sleep for the winter, and it didn't look like anything was growing in this yard besides grass and privacy trees. 

One of the best surprises has been that there are bulbs popping up everywhere. Daffodils, and tulips are in the main beds along the fences. Something that looks like grass but isn't, and seems to be ridiculously invasive is popping up all over the yard. I thought it was Star of Bethlehem, but it turns out it's Grape Hyacinth. Lily of the Valley has it's own patch in the front flower bed, and is just starting to pop up in a dense patch. 

Sedum and periwinkle are waking up in some of the beds, and I'll try to manage them as a beautiful ground cover. Our grass is starting to grow like gangbusters, and we'll be investing in a lawnmower right away. As soon as those spring rains and warmer days kicked in, the grass seems to grow inches every day!

I planted White Icicle and Cherry Belle radishes back a few weeks ago, and they've started popping up now that the days are warming up. The snap peas have somewhat survived the wrath of the quails that live in our yard, and have started sprouting as well. Every morning I'd come outside and find that they had dug up some of the peas before they could sprout, so I'm happy some have survived! 

I planted golden beet seeds, but have yet to see any sprouts. Yellow onion bulbs went into the ground, as well as spinach and lettuce seeds. German chamomile is also starting to sprout, and we planted some starts of kale, pak choi, and broccoli. 

I bought a bare root red raspberry as a companion to the fall gold raspberry that was already here, and planted them by each other. I also planted Ozark Beauty and Seascape strawberries in a small patch. Half are bare-root, half are not. 

There were two rosebushes in full shade in my backyard, and I dug them up and moved them to the sunny front yard. However, I'm not sure they'll survive the move. Most of their roots didn't come with them, and broke off while being dug up. We'll see what comes of it, but it's been a month and they haven't sprouted a single leaf bud. 

Also, I've scattered wildflower seeds around some of the beds to liven things up a little come summer time. 

I finally got the grass dug up for my summer veggie garden plot, and I am so happy with it! Over the summer I'll continue digging up the surrounding grass and making a border of perennial flowers. I've got Iceland Poppies, Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) in the germination station indoors under the growlight. I hope to scatter them throughout the yard and the veggie garden. 

I've started my tomatoes and peppers inside, as well. This year we'll be doing the Hot Banana, Jalapeño, and Sweet Sublime peppers, and Roma, Cherokee Purple and Black Cherry tomatoes. Most of the tomatoes and peppers have leveled-up to 16 oz cups, and are living on the window sill in my office for constant daytime sun. (Someday, I'll invest in a larger grow light setup.) 

I made a little video of the garden and have included it below. Feel free to follow my Youtube page for regular video updates on the garden.

Things are kicking into high gear for the growing season and I can't wait to see what comes of my veggies now that they won't be getting cooked by the heat radiating off my cement patio. I'm also really excited to see what happens when my plants can grow in the ground and aren't restricted to pots. 

Stay tuned for my summer garden updates this year. I'm planning to add a LOT of veggies/fruits to my garden that I've never had success growing before, and am really excited. 

++ What's growing your way right now? 

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