Mountain of mulch

A few days ago, my 3-year-old and I had a blast moving wood chips to the back planter.  Yard work is really fun for me, and I'm constantly working toward the goal of my outdoor areas looking cared for and attractive. Being in an environment like that makes me feel like I'm on vacation while at home! Currently, most areas around the house are full of big, yucky WEEDS. But that's okay, because once Mike gets around to moving rock mulch and building planting beds, we will be able to mulch and plant those areas and they will look nice. These things just take time. 

We were so blessed to obtain all this FREE wood mulch. It's good stuff, too! The trick is following the sound of the wood chipper in your neighborhood, and asking the wood-chipping company to drop the mulch in your yard instead of a landfill. Or having nice neighbors that will convince them for you. Mike used both strategies to obtain the impressive pile above, which would have been a few hundred to purchase. 

Once we get some of the areas around the house ready for planting, I can put in plants like this fountain grass that I have in a planter of annuals this summer:

Below is our freshly stained deck-- such an improvement!

And the beds around it that are now nicely mulched:

 

 

I know the pictures aren't that interesting, but I need them for reference when deciding what to plant next year. I have a couple perennial fruits here (a grape and a raspberry), and I'm planning to continue some annual vegetable and herbs so that I have easy access to them when cooking. Because when you're in the middle of watching small children and working in the kitchen, walking an extra 50 feet out to the garden really is too cumbersome!

A couple more updates:

Mike mowing his garden aisles- he had to get a new push mower because the old one broke, and in the meantime things got a little out of hand (as bountiful gardens usually do by the time August hits!):

 

 

 

And my delightful little perennial garden. My mum has tiny buds that are looking to bloom. The coneflowers are very short but still flowering. And I found another heuchera and a couple asters to add. Now I'm looking to expand the bed to other areas in front of the house.

Tonight we went for a walk and the weather was absolutely perfect. Warm evenings after hot days are the best. Right now, I would be happy if summer lasted forever!

Farmer's Market

Well, I've been too preoccupied with life to blog, but it's been a great summer with beautiful hot weather and lots of sun. Here is a shot of Mike's table at the market today. Hot sellers this time were sweet corn, sour gherkins (which he finds to be a helpful attention getter for passersby wondering what they are), strawberry-raspberry jam, and cucumbers.

He's had some pest and disease issues this year: tomato and onion blight, voles chowing down on large, otherwise perfect sweet peppers, and Japanese beetles swarming the raspberries. But he's still getting a good harvest, and looking for new ways to fight the pests. He kept discovering dead beetles around my geranium, which apparently causes a paralysis to beetles when they ingest it, so I anticipate he will be planting a lot of geraniums next year. He has some traps and natural repellent for the voles. He will replace all of his tomato stakes to help prevent the spread of blight to next year's crop. 

It is really exciting to see all of the stuff going on in his garden, like the mini orchard planted in the corner of our yard and the beautifully ripening clusters of grapes. I don't get a chance to get out there very often, but when I do I am really overwhelmed by just how productive his garden is, despite all of the weeds!

There are always things we wished we had done differently every year, things we should have planted, or planted earlier, or watered more, or weeded or fertilized more faithfully. But considering how full our plates are with my full time job and Mike caring full time for the kids, I think we are doing really well, and I'm very proud of the fruits of his labor!