Living Simply - Living Well

Surprise of the Month

While picking raspberries, I walked around the corner, and found this:

Marionberries

Ripe Marionberries!  weeks early - so I checked around the other side and found even more!  The new archway is dripping with berries:

What a great view!

In just a few days, we have been able to pick about a 1 1/2 gallons of marionberries, with many more on the way.  Raspberries are starting to taper off a bit, while the new growth that will start bearing in July and August is taking off.  Tomatoes are growing well, and I am almost ready to start putting up the bamboo supports.

The front Rock Garden area is doing well also - all the plants I harvested for free at a friends house are doing really well - and the bees are really happy!

So far I have Rosa Rugosa, yarrow, snapdragon, cone-flower, dahlia, zinnia, lupines, 5 varieties of dianathus, pansies, the transplanted roses from the front of the house, and some mystery plants that I have not identified yet! 

And I finally finished covering the front yard with sheet mulching, and planting the good bug blend for the orchard area:

Unfortunatly, seeding this area coincided with 90 degree weather here in the Willamette Valley, so I am watering every 12 hours.  And chasing off the birds that think I spread seed here for them!  In the foreground is the one dwarf fruit tree that didn't make it through the winter, so will have to replant that this fall.

And my newest project, for my granddaughter Amaya, is the beginning of the Green Dragon.  Stay tuned for that!

Beginning of the Green Dragon

 

 

 

Hmm, taking advantage of those bumps in the sweet gum tree

Stay cool out there - summer is definitely here!