Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

I know I promised that I would post pictures from our garden once it started growing. Well, it's growing now, but the camera's battery-charger won't charge so we're back to square one. Daniel willingly let me borrow his iPhone [again] to take these pictures. Thanks, ducky-luv. I can't imagine what in tarnation I'll do when he gets married and goes off! :D Hopefully I'll have a working camera by then.

So today we went out to pound in pea-stakes [lah-dee-dah...can't stand that job :P] but lo and behold the awesomeness of the Perennial! ;) The mint that had done absolutely nothing last year was apparently stimulated by Dad's tilling it up and strewing it every which-way. It has taken residence across several beds of peas. I couldn't bear to just pull it up like weeds, so Abby and I set ourselves the task of rummaging it all out and potting it. Oh Happy Day! I love distracting-and-entirely-worthwhile jobs! :D We filled up the empty spots in our herb bed, planted a ring of it around a tree in the woods, (woodland garden, anyone? I'll let you know how it grows) and put the rest of it in little pots. We'll end up selling it, I'm sure. Entrepreneurial endeavors you know. We were already planning on selling our extras of other herbs. 

These were such a great blessing! I had given up all hope of mint and now (after the woodland garden and the herb bed) we have 40-some plants each of spearmint and peppermint! Sing ho for the life-cycle of a perennial plant! What a lot of joy it is to find something that doesn't need coaxing along! :D 

Not only that, but in the midst of all our rummaging, Aunt Christy brought Mama a Bunch of Happiness from her garden--all the perennial cutting-flowers she planted over there last year have bloomed and flourished! 

At the very base of the vase, see the claret-colored snapdragons? Those smell exactly like cranberry juice. No kidding. And I was bemoaning the fact that we hadn't planted any this year! I forgot they were perennials and that Aunt Christy probably had some over at her house. Thank you, Jesus! My nose was longing for a great snuff of it and I really felt slightly panicked that I wasn't going to get my fill of that regal fragrance.

The Pomegranate Yarrow--the most gorgeous stuff! And though ours hasn't bloomed fully yet, it's growing swimmingly at the bottom of the herb-garden. It gets to be 3 feet round and ours are already about a foot-and-a-half across. I also transplanted some misplaced yarrow into its proper arena so we'll have a fresh bed of it next year! Aren't country flower bouquets the best? I'm also loving that campulana (bellflower) up at the top of the picture. At least that's what I think it is. Not certain on that point. I love dark red flowers...not roses, necessarily, but other dark red flowers. There is something so mysterious and regal and...lasting about them. They give me delighted little shivers. :)

My lovely, wind-blown assistant, Abby, preparing to feed the baby goats. :)

So what about you? What's blooming/growing/budding/harvesting over in your plots?

"Oh there's greenbeans in the garden, clean clothes on the line..."

Have no clue where this is from--I just saw it on pinterest and thought it was pretty. :)

We're a tad late planting our garden, but that doesn't matter too much. :) Over the past few days I've rescued my oregano, thyme, and fennel, we've transplanted scads of baby flower and herb seedlings, we've planted "mastershulums" (nasturtiums, according the Pooh) sugar snap peas, red onions, white onions, yellow onions, sweet onions (what's up with the onions? ;) and about 100 baby strawberry plants!

I am especially excited about the strawberries--they were a gift from the old fellow at the nursery where Dad often buys plants for the business. I can't wait to see how they do! :) I'm getting excited over the garden this year--since we aren't doing markets I'll actually have a chance to put up some of our own fruit/veggies! Last year I wasn't able to make a single pickle and the year before I made 120 quarts! The nerve! ;)

My herb bed is waiting with open arms for all the teensy babies we've been carefully cultivating on the propagating bed--I'm in love with the purple basil--it's so cute!

courtesy of pinterest

Have any of you used the egg-shell method for starting seedlings? It looks so adorable I want to try it at some point. :)

Courtesy of pinterest

But the biggest bee in my bonnet at present is getting a hammock put up--I finally found a spot that would be good for one and I can't wait to see if we even have a hammock to put up. :D

courtesy of pinterest

I know I will have reached the final stage of lunacy if I ever attempt it, but I have a book from the 1800's that shows you how to knot your own hammock...I've always wanted to try that. :D I think it'd be difficult though, and probably expensive with all that string. But ever since laying in the ship's hammocks on the U.S.S. Constitution when I went to Boston, I've been in love with hammocks and consider them the single most comfortable...(chair?) in the world.

But what about you girls? Have you started a garden yet?