Planting the Heirloom Vegetable Garden

I had a lovely, sunny Wednesday afternoon this week to plant my heirloom vegetable seeds from Baker Creek and Turtle Tree Seed Companies.  I laid out all of my supplies, brought over a comfortable chair for short breaks, and got started.

The Scarlet Runner Beans went in first, on the north side of the solar woodshed.  They do well there every year, climbing up the trellis almost to the roof of the shed.  The first raised bed had Italian Pole Beans and peas.  The second bed had two more varieties of peas, and the third bed (with rhubarb already in residence), was sown with two varieties of carrots.

The last bed was for three heirloom varieties of cucumbers.  They will make lovely pickles and salad garnishments.

 

 

 

Yellow Tulips

Here are two varieties of yellow tulips mixed in a lovely bouquet in the living room in front of my antique oak mirror.  They are a variety of tulips with fringed outer blossoms, and make a dramatic statement of color and texture. 

Preparing the New Dahlia Bed

This is my first try at growing dahlias this year, and I'm excited about the ten tubers I purchased in the last month.  I also ordered a couple of books and attended the Dahlia Show at Country Village a few weeks ago, so we set about creating an area in the pasture that would support tall, beautiful and healthy plants.

After amending the soil these last weeks, we plotted out the location of the bulbs, and bought ten five-foot supports for each tuber.  We will plant them this weekend when the weather is a little drier and the temperature is a little higher.

Susan and Alex

Alex and I will soon celebrate our 7th anniversary together with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization of Snohomish County.  We met last Sunday to get caught up before school ends, and before Alex's many summer vacations begin.  We had lunch at our favorite Thai Restaurant Noppakao in Snohomish, sharing an order of Pineapple Fried Rice and Pot Stickers.

The Big Brothers/Big Sisters will be doing an article about Alex and me in their Spring edition next month.  Here is our 2007 and 2014 pictures.  We've both changed a lot!

 

 

Pasture Pictures from a May Day

I love the month of May, when all the world is bursting forth with new life and growth!  With the spring and summer off, I've already had two weeks to get my yard in shape, and clean up areas that I've never had the time to tackle before.  All of my lovely hanging baskets are purchased and hung on their hooks, and the combination of sun and rain has brought out the best in everything.

Here are some views of the house and cabin and some of the lovely flowers already blooming.

 

 

 

 

Dinner With the Neighbors

Friday night, our neighbors John and Kelly invited us over at  6 p.m. for a spaghetti dinner.  Since their trip to Europe last September, we haven't had the opportunity to spend an evening together to get caught up on our lives in Maltby, and to hear the details of their 25th wedding anniversary trip they took with their daughters Alison and Sarah.

The dogs Gracie and (Prince) Henry greeted us at the door, and our evening was off to a great start!

The food smelled wonderful, and Kelly and Sarah had gone to the Pike Place Market in Seattle earlier in the day to buy flowers, fruit and bread for our meal.  The table was beautifully set with lovely dishes and candles, and it transported all of us to Italy, where the stories of their journey began.  We enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs, the lovely ambience of the home, and our spirited conversations.

After dinner, we looked at their lovely photos of the trip, and they showed us the two books they bought with our contribution to their trip.  Dessert was homemade apple pie from our Maltby Pie Company, topped with ice cream from (of course!) Snoqualmie Ice Cream Company.

We are so blessed to have wonderful neighbors!

 

 

Dahlia Show at Country Village

This last weekend, the Fuschia and Dahlia Shows opened on Saturday at Country Village in Bothell.  It was a chance to learn more about these flowers, and to talk with members of the Dahlia and Fuschia Societies.  We learned a lot about the dahlia bulbs we will be planting in the next few weeks.

Right now, we are busy preparing the soil for the correct pH (6.5), and need to amend the current soil at our planting site with bone meal, sand, and 4-10-10 fertilizer.  Once we get about 10 four-foot stakes to support these plants as they grow, we will be ready to put the bulbs in the ground.  It's going to be a great experiment!