A good gardening weekend.

An unplanned and sport free weekend turned into a very fun one with friend and family time.  The weather was okay, at least Sunday was dry although breezy, cloudy and cold; I still managed to spend several hours outside doing some gardening.  Saturday a friend and I went to a talk at our local nursery on culinary herbs.  It was so interesting and I learned quite a bit.  Did you know that oregano (Origanum vulgare) is the culinary herb highest in antioxidants?  Many times higher than blueberries?  Or that Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) tea is helpful with anxiety or insomnia?  Or how about that Sage (Salvia officinalis) leaves can substitute for a toothbrush if you're without one?  Needless to say my friend and I went herb shopping right after the talk ended.
It seems that more and more nurseries are offering free seminars and now that I've been to one I can't wait to attend more.  Most nurseries have email newsletters that are free and let you know about upcoming classes.
When I returned home my husband and I decided to take our girls on the ferry to Whidbey Island to the town of Langley.  If you live around here and haven't taken a trip there yet it's definitely worth the drive, just over an hour from Seattle.  

I took one picture of Mukilteo from the ferry as we were leaving, and then forgot to take anymore pictures.  Next time I visit I'll share more.  There are several very nice nurseries there and we had time to stop at one called Bayview Farm and Garden.  We found a lot of nice plants with really great prices.  I expected it to be pricey since it's on the island, but found it to be cheaper than the nursery by us.

Sunday was spent planting the plants that have been accumulating in the front yard.  I've been reading books and blogs for ideas on how to plant our new front raised beds.  I don't really want rows of vegetables since it's our front yard, but more of a cottage looking garden with all edibles growing in it.  It's difficult to see what's going on in this big bed but so far there are several herbs, bush sugar snap peas and beets (neither sprouted yet), two types of lettuce and mustard greens (all sprouted this weekend), dahlia tubers are in the ground (I read that dahlias are edible!), garlic, onions, Violas, a blueberry bush, and more.  Lots more will be planted as the weather warms.

I planted Hyssop, Purple Sage and Pineapple Sage together.

We already have 6 Blueberry bushes, but why not have more?  The berries freeze very well.  We added one 'Sunshine Blue' in each raised bed.  They only get to about 3 feet tall, are evergreen, are self fertile, have pretty fall color and are supposed to bear quite a bit of fruit.

I'm using terra cotta pots for herbs like mint and lemon balm which like to take over a garden if given a chance.

In this bed are more herbs, dahlias, Violas and a Blueberry Bush.  I've also planted Sweet Peas (not edible) on the trellis but will replace them with Scarlet Runner Beans when the weather warms.

I've planted an artichoke plant in the container on the right.  It will eventually need a bigger space.

Things are beginning to fill in around the rest of the front yard.  Every day I find more surprises, today I found poppy seeds finally sprouting!

We had hoped to make Mason Bee homes today, but ran out of time.  That will be something to do on one of the rainy days coming up.  It sounds like we will have lots more rain this week.   I can't wait for a sunny warm week, but at least we were able to get out for awhile today.  I'm hoping that sometime this month we'll be able to get the fence painted.

Hope you all have some time to garden this weekend.

All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.