sore and sunburned...

I wish you could smell our front yard!  Everything is blooming right now from the roses to the lavender and sage.  Most especially though, the citrus trees are all in full flower and the scent is just hypnotic.  It would seem I have just gotten well just in time from what I hope is the last flu of the season.

orange blossoming

lavender and black and white sage in full bloom

With all of the beautiful sunshine this weekend, things went into high gear here to get the last of the spring crops in the ground and growing!  We had quite a bit of work with 5 more small beds to dig, seed to set, planters to fill and seedlings to place, but finally got it all done.  Whew!

quick trip to Home Depot to get some hardware

never going to get out of here, too much cuteness

remaining greenhouse herbs and rescue tomatoes

11 varieties of tomato? of course!

radish mix of 8 heirloom varieties, just because

5 kinds of onions? why not!

5 varieties of heirloom carrots? sure!

cucumbers already blooming

rocky top and mesclun lettuce looking awesome

zuchino rampicante bed

casabanana bed

herb garden close up

garlic, chard, bay and rosemary

topsy turveys with 5 varieties of cherry tomato

strawberries yum!

oat grass for the kitty

come on tomatoes!

So, after two full days of work, Sunday night comes with sore muscles and sunburn, but it feels good really to know that a full two days work is done and we are well on our way.  Can almost taste it now.

One thing about this year is that we have really expanded to use every available corner, trellis and beam to plant something.  We probably have 3 times more crop planted this year than last.  Just to give you a bit of an idea how we have expanded, here is a very rough sketch of what the backyard now looks like with all of the crops in place.  Will there be any grass this year?  We'll see!  After all though, while edible, grass just doesn't taste as good as an heirloom tomato!

The spring/summer crop rotation