10 years of blogging (with big time lapses...)

I was thinking the other day about this blog.  I haven't posted in 4 years, but I was reminded of how many people I've met through blogging.  I mostly frequent Facebook these days and have continued my friendships with many of the people from all over the world that I first met right here on blogger. I thought I would at least do a 10 year anniversary post, the first trick was remembering how to sign in to my blog. 

The Littlest Gardener baked a Vasilopita - a Greek New Year's Cake

Since I first started gardening in this yard (almost 21 years ago) up until I started blogging 10 years ago my style of gardening has changed.  I first started gardening by just planting pretty flowers.  After a few seasons I understood why more experienced gardeners say to start with the "bones".  So I started working backwards and added more trees and shrubs as well as hardscape. Then, I went back to just planting flowers because I think they are pretty.  I truly love perennial gardening more than any other type.

Our garden late summer 2018.

Over the past few years I've had issues with my neck and back which has again changed my style of gardening to a more low maintenance style.  Gardens are fun but they require a lot of hard work.  I realized I realistically couldn't keep up the type of gardening that I was doing forever.  So back to the "bones" of gardening I'm heading and using more containers for the flowers.

Signs of life in the winter

What's changed around here?  Well, first off Sweet Pea is now a junior in college majoring in astronomy and physics.  She has continued in her passion for the outdoors and now is very into hiking, rock climbing and backpacking.
The Littlest Gardener is now 12 and in 6th grade.  She loves soccer, basketball and baking.
The Muscle (aka my husband) is still getting nervous every time I mention that I have an idea, and he still is the best vegetable garden waterer there is.  That has become his favorite part of the yard.
Stella, our labradoodle, is still around and driving us crazy 🤣.  We love her, but she does have a never ending supply of energy and loves running laps around the front and backyard kicking up gravel and everything else while she does.

Sadly our "little white dog" Gracie died in February.  During the summer we added a tiny little puppy named Maizy to our family.

 We made the pond about half the size.  It has been much easier to clean and take care of.

The pond is about half the original size.

 We still have chickens, they are currently in two different coops, but I'm working on combining them into one so it'll be less work. One of our original chickens Sunny is still around and even lays eggs once in a while.

We gave one of our Silkies fertile eggs, she hatched all but one!  It was so much fun to watch.

After a long hot summer, followed by smoke and poor air quality, followed by my back going out I'm more than ready for spring to arrive.  For now I'll keep wandering around the yard looking for flowers and and signs of spring.

Mason bee house.  All tucked in for the winter.

Maybe I'll even get to posting on this blog a little more often.  What's been going on with YOU?

PS I have no idea where the green word press box came from.  Any suggestions on how to remove it?

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

I'm still here!

Every so often I get an email or a message on Facebook wondering if everything is okay.  It's nice to know people still check here!  I'm still here and things have been good.  Blogging seems to have dropped to the bottom of my list of things I have time for.
Since I last posted in March I was very busy trying to finish my first years worth of volunteer hours for the Master Gardener program.  So, I have spent many hours helping at the Bothell Children's Garden both working in the garden and helping with the preschool program, helping with the Bothell High Culinary Arts program, clinic hours at the Home Depot, potting up tomato seedlings for the Master Gardener Sale and working at the Master Gardener Sale.  Then there are the post graduate tests and other various things that needed to be finished for the MG program.  I will have to do that all again for 2015, after that I will no longer be considered an intern and then the mandatory hours are much less.
So, as you can see I barely had time to work in my own garden after all of that on top of the usual busyness here.   I do try to look at blogs, but usually don't have time to comment, although I hope I can try and do more of that soon.
Our summer was very hot, I spent a lot of time watering trying to keep plants alive.  The upside is we have tons of tomatoes still in the freezer.

Since I last posted the Littlest Gardener turned 8 and Sweet Pea turned 16!! 

 We added a few Silkies and built them their very own coop.  They are great egg layers, but all three went broody at the same time and crowded into one tiny nesting box.  At this time of year they are laying much better than our regular sized chickens.

 And just when I thought we couldn't get any busier we decided to get a puppy.  She is a miniature Labradoodle.  She is now 14 weeks old and named Stella.  I forgot just how much work puppies are.  Luckily Sweet Pea had taken on a big chunk of the time she needs spent with her.  Sweet Pea has already taught her quite a few tricks.  Now, I just look forward to the jumping, biting, chewing phase to be over.  I can tell she is a smart girl and she can be very sweet when she's just about to fall asleep. ☺ 

Since fall I've been cutting down and digging up and moving things in the garden.  I'm anxious for it to warm a bit so I can get back out and do more work out there.
Hopefully 2015 will be a good year for all us gardeners.  May we all have time to find some therapy out in our garden!
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

March sun!

 After record breaking rain in February and the first part of March (in the first week we got more than double the monthly average), we have finally had a break in the rain and clouds and have seen the sun!  Everything seems to be better when the sun comes out, at least that's how I feel, especially after so much rain.
One good thing about the ground being wet was that the weeds and other plants I wanted to dig up came out very easily!

The fish are much more active now.  Lots of bulbs poking up.

Golden Mock Orange leaves are so pretty when the sun shines through them.

Hellebore 'Cotton Candy'

Old fashioned Bleeding Hearts have really taken off growing.

The path garden.

Gracie liked the sun too.  

The Littlest Gardener got a new rabbit, she named him Huckleberry.  He is a Holland Lop, but his ears never lopped so the breeder sold him as a pet.  Apparently his father is the "top Lop" in the country.  He is very small and very sweet.

Rainbow the Brahma chicken has been hanging out in the nesting box lately.  I think she may be broody, which means she wants to hatch some eggs.  We have no rooster so that won't happen.

Lots of plants coming up.

I don't have good luck with daffodils, this is one of two.  Not sure why they never return the next year.

Last week I couldn't wait any longer and started some seeds.  I put row covers on and now a week later I already see some spinach sprouts!  My biggest gardening goal this year is to grow a good and productive vegetable garden.

The copper tape around the bed is to hopefully keep the slugs out.  I learned in the master gardener program that copper will repel the slugs, but you have to be sure there are no plants or anything else to make a bridge over the copper.  It will be a good experiment to see how well it really works this year.

Lots of fresh soil waiting for plants!

Cherry and plum trees are starting to bloom around here.

The new little pond with a glass float I bought at the Northwest Flower and Garden show.

Tiny tulips that add a lot of color!

The front porch.

We are trying something new this spring, a project that Sweet Pea wanted to do.  Once we get started I'll share what it is.
My sister, who moved to Vermont this winter, told us they got 19 inches of snow overnight!!   I can't even imagine, and that is just from last night.  I keep seeing on the news about all the snow and cold in the Midwest and back east.  Hopefully spring is on its way there soon too!
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

Even more neglected!

Well I thought after my last post that it had been awhile between posts, but I think it was even longer in between this time.  This last summer, fall and winter have been pretty tough and quite busy making the blog absolutely last on the list of things to be able to do.  I had mentioned in some recent posts that my Dad had been sick with melanoma and sadly he passed away in September.  That was and has been very hard for my mom and sisters and the rest of our family.
Sweet Pea started high school (high school here starts in 10th grade) and the Littlest Gardener is now in first grade!!  Sweet Pea had a very busy season of playing both school soccer and rec soccer and the Littlest Gardener also played soccer and I coached her team.  Then Sweet Pea started driver's ed!  It's hard to believe she is old enough to drive now!
Three weeks ago I started the WSU extension Master Gardener program.  It has been so fun and I can't believe how much we learn each class.  The speakers have been so interesting and it is great being in a room with 80 something other people that love gardening as much as I do.
Our winter has been pretty mild (I better knock on wood).  We had a week of very cold weather and a light dusting of snow, but otherwise it hasn't been bad at all.
As soon as Christmas was over I couldn't wait to try and find some time to get outside and work in the garden.  It is so therapeutic and I always hope that everyone has found their own form of therapy to take their mind off things.  Whether it's baking or sewing or quilting or crafting or running or doing yoga.  I think it's so important to have something to do during hard times.

 The flowering currant I was concerned might have died from the lack of water and care last summer did die.  But, of course I've already replaced it with this Cryptomeria 'Black Dragon'.  I think it will actually look better than the currant did in this spot.

 During the freeze the pond froze so much that the pump quit working and I was really worried that both the pump and all the fish would be dead.  Luckily the pump still works and we only lost one fish.

 The rabbit hutch was moved to the other side of the rhododendron and that meant open planting space!!

 I put up another birdhouse and planted a rose called 'Gruss An Aachen'.  It is supposedly the first floribunda, bred in 1909.  I'm hoping it really is as pretty as it looks on the tag!  It's also supposed to do pretty well in shade.

  

A look back down the path.  The Sarcococcas on the left have such a great scent!  It is so worth planting one of these for something that smells and looks good in winter.

The chickens have been laying all winter and we have been keeping my mom and neighbors stocked on eggs!

As every experienced chicken owner told me, they do destroy your yard.  So these girls get to have free run on this side yard (that is until I net the blueberry bushes very soon).  Only one can fly over the fence, but she quickly gets lonesome and goes back to where her friends are.

Hellebores are starting to bloom.  They are another plant that I highly recommend.  They aren't cheap, but worth every penny in my book so you can have some color this time of year.

For Christmas Sweet Pea got me this cute frog spitter.  I have wanted one for a long time.  My husband and I used a barrel liner and stones we already had to make a mini pond.  I don't plan to put fish in here, it's much too shallow.

We have had two very nice trees die here, the drainage is not good enough for them, so instead a birdhouse went in!  Once the plants start to fill in I think it's going to look even better.

I got the vegetable beds cleaned out and am going to put some of my new vegetable knowledge to use here.  I am determined to have a productive garden.  Our master gardener speaker told us that copper tape does work to keep slugs out as long as they don't have a bridge over it.  I'm going to work on putting in traps to get the ones hiding and hopefully then I won't have them mowing all my seedlings down.

Some violas.

Another pretty Hellebore.

The only ornamental kale that didn't turn to mush after the freeze.

My friend brought my girls some fairy garden decorations and plants to make a garden in memory of their grandpa (who all the grandkids called Bompa).  Santa left a few more things in the Littlest Gardener's stocking and I think it looks very sweet.

Hopefully this wasn't too depressing of a blog post after months of not blogging.  Knowing that spring is around the corner has made me feel very hopeful for some better times coming up.  I'm very lucky to have such a good husband and kids and the greatest friends who gave me so much support during the down times. 
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

Neglected

Neglected, that's how a lot of things have gotten over this summer.  My garden being one and my blog has been getting more and more neglected too.
Family things going on, as well as kid activities have given me very little time to be out and take care of the garden.  What free time I've had has been spent on watering.  It has been an unusually dry and warm summer.  I'm not complaining and neither are the tomatoes though!
I thought I would give the blog a little attention today with some of what the garden looks like right now.  Luckily weeds are smaller than the plants, although there are many, many of them.  There are wilted things and crispy things, but luckily for the most part neglect hasn't bothered the garden too much.

 The pond was refilled yesterday so it looks nice right now.

 With the pine tree now gone the plants in the garden and on the deck have gone crazy!

 The arbor has filled out more, with three different types of Clematis and a climbing rose it should be!

 Lots more sunny perennials have been added to the backyard.  They have attracted more bees, butterflies and birds than ever.

 A new Aster.

 The sun is very bright which makes the colors very washed out, but believe me there is a lot of bright color.

 With full sun here now the window boxes are overflowing.

 Lots more sun has made everything explode (and I also credit all the chicken manure from the coop that I spread here last fall).

 Sadly the neglect and lack of water has caused my Flowering Currant to completely dry up.  It didn't seem to matter how much I tried to water, it's still crisp.  I do think I see a bit of green though where new leaves might be trying to grow.

 The blueberries, raspberries and figs are having a very productive summer.  They have really been neglected and luckily don't need too much water.

The chickens are doing great.  You can see the three new ones here that we got as chicks in April.  They all three are laying eggs now.

                           

 Containers on the back deck.

 There's a wagon under those flowers!

 We've seen so many more butterflies than usual this summer.

 Lots of pears getting ready to be picked.

 One of the raised vegetable beds.  We've had tomatoes, carrots, beets, turnips, garlic, chard and Kale already.

Spinach, squash, basil, blueberries and even eggplants!

 Lots of color!

 From the street.

The driveway bed.  It has gotten actually more attention than usual because it's getting some water.  I get very lazy dragging hoses around even in an uneventful summer, but this year I'm making sure that this part doesn't get ignored.

 This baby wren is from mid-July.  It's the first time we've ever seen the babies leave their next.  We had several birdhouses that hosted not one, but two different families this year which is very unusual.

Maybe once the girls start school in September the blog won't be so neglected?  Maybe I'll have more time to spend in the garden?  Well, one thing I've learned this summer is that the garden will go on despite the neglect it's gotten which has been something that makes me happy.  Nothing like a tough day when I can still look out the window and see flowers and birds and butterflies still going on without any help from me.  Another gift from the garden.  It doesn't need me, I need it.

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