Remember when I told you we spent a weekend planting over 400 strawberry plants? Since then, we've given them a protective covering (we cut those darn birds off before they even thought about swooping in!) and scattered a mess of straw through the beds to lift the (hopeful) berries off the ground to keep them away from disease or rotting.
It seems they like their new home - the plants have greened up well and have started opening their dainty flowers!
We thought the area around the rhubarb looked pretty sad, so we decided to spruce it up.
After digging out a circle of sod around it, we enriched the soil and planted a variety of flowers for a colorful array. We had a ton of these stones (unsure what exactly they are?) and thought we would use them as a border, then covered the exposed areas in between the plants with cedar mulch.
And yes, if you spy a Disney related item in the area, I bet you can guess where that came from... Mr. Mickey Obsessed himself got that awhile ago and has been itchin' for an area to plunk it down.
Down in the vegetable garden, the spinach...
lettuce...
and peas...
are doing their thing. The birds did some damage while they were sprouting, but once we covered that area with netting, the plants started to take off.We also have tomatoes, peppers and a variety of herbs scattered all over - some in the garden and a few in pots right now... we'll see what happens as the summer mulls on!
Since Jeff had today off, we thought we would take a trip to one of the local parks and go for a walk with the pup! We ended up at Minnehaha Falls, which is such a nice place to stroll around and see the sites. What, didn't you know we had waterfalls in Minnesota?
Okay, so it may not be one of those glorious ones you would find in say, Hawaii, but it is still beautiful and inspiring!Oh, and before we go for today, I forgot to tell you we got a pool! Yeah! Too bad it's not for us *sigh*.
I'm sure some will scoff, but I was convinced by you-know-who, that Gus and Max would be the happiest pups in the world if they got a little tub to splash around in. I gave in and we stopped to pick up a kiddie pool on the way home - I know, I know... but at least it was only $6!Gus was a little apprehensive at first...
But then he jumped in and waddled around - I think he looks at it as a giant water bowl right now! He blew some bubbles with his nose, pawed at the water and then drank way more than he should have. This should be interesting!
Max took a look and decided he would be more comfortable in the shade instead... ha!
My dogs have that same pool. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Joe - All of your plants look great! You're going to have quite the bounty this season. I look forward to seeing how you use all those strawberries!
ReplyDeleteMy Ben (English Setter) has his own pool, but Kia (Lab) won't set foot in it. So my upland bird dog likes the water better than my lab - go figure.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea about putting straw down under the berries and rhubarb! I am nurturing some wild strawberries that decided to grow in my garden and I have flowers this year!
You guys have a beautiful yard - thanks for sharing your pics. :)
Awwww, a puppy pool . . . how sweet!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I wouldn't hesitate to plunk my butt down in that pool in the summer with or without Gus by my side :)
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are gorgeous!!
strawberry shortcake .... rhubarb goodies...yummmmm ...
ReplyDeleteYour yard looks great! Love the way you protected the strawberry plants - where did you get those arcs?
ReplyDeleteQuinn
Your gardens look great! It was a beautiful weekend in the cities this weekend. I'm going to remember Minehaha, that looks like a great place to visit. *sigh* So many things to do in just a few weekends a year!
ReplyDeleteJoe, you made me want to rip up my entire backyard and fill it with strawberries, rhubarb, and more. I have lots of room, but not lots of time to take care of it.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteDon't forget that the bees need to get to the flowers. I can't see how fine your netting is but you may want to reconsider if the bees can't get through.
Karen
Peanut - Where did you pick up yours?
ReplyDeleteTerri - Me too... hee hee!
Kristin - Good luck with the berries - come back and let us know what you end up with!
Nancy - it might become quite the hang out, you know!
Josie - Jeff has already done that!
BV - =)
Quinn - We made them. We plunked a couple large rods of rebar into the ground and picked up one of those small flexible PVC pipes - connected the PVC to each rod and there ya go!
Erika - Have you ever been? There is a popular dog park right there too.
Patti - Yeah, it does take a bit of time and effort to take care of this stuff!
Karen - The netting isn't very fine at all. I can fit at least 2 fingers in each square. Good point to bring up though!
Oh it's fun to see more of the gardening side of your post. And the dogs are CUTE as always. I'm not sure our Doogie would get into a pool either - he usually seems spooked by the hose (I thought dogs were supposed to LOVE the water?!).
ReplyDeleteDamn, that's alotta strawberry plants!
Thanks for sharing beautiful pictures! When do you expect your first strawberries?
ReplyDeleteExactly a year ago I received a postcard depicting Minnehaha Falls from friends touring with rented camper for a week. Looks like a place worth visiting.
Gus is too cute! And I just love that Max avoided the water. Your garden looks fabulous. I can't wait to see how those strawberries turn out!
ReplyDeleteJeph - We thought it would be too many, but they still had plenty of room once we got them in the ground!
ReplyDeleteAnon - We are hoping to see some in late June!
Elyse - Me too.
Joe - The gardens looks great! I had to giggle though - when I first saw the waterfall, I thought maybe you and Jeff had gotten really ambitious and added a water feature to your garden! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAlysha - Hee hee... although, we have talked about it! The strawberries went in its place though.
ReplyDeleteMy doxies dont like the water at all. When I pick Oliver up and walk to the edge of the lake, he starts paddling in the air. He hates it. So does Harley for that matter.
ReplyDelete