Garden season now underway

This time last year (that being Memorial Day weekend) found us making (with great thanks to Jon's parents for their help) much needed improvements to the outside of our home, such as the grading around our foundation.  It wasn't until several weeks later that we were able to do much work on the gardening aspect of our outdoor area, and that meant several things went into the ground late.  This year we were able to plan a little more appropriately and we spent most of yesterday putting in new and improved garden boxes, replacing the soil, and planting our own little patch of summer goodness.  Calvin helped with every step of the way, from measuring the boards at Lowe's to picking out plants at Dexter Gardens, and even helped to plant them, stake them, mark them, and water them.  What do we have in our garden this year?  In the first box we have two kinds of red tomatoes, one orange tomato, one green tomato, four bean plants, one sweet pepper plant, and eight onions;  In the second box we have one pumpkin mound, two zucchini mounds, one yellow squash mound, one cantaloupe mound, and one watermelon mound.  We do have plans to put in one more box, for radishes, etc., in the next two weeks, and we also plan to start four herb pots on our deck, including basil, oregano, parsley, and cilantro.  Then, once we have all the yummy planting out of the way, we'll go on to our next projects for the summer - we have lots of things planned for our space but have yet to decide what we'll have the time, energy, and finances to complete this year.  Regardless, I love the feeling of action that comes with the summer months!

Tadpoles

Gardening days are here!  At least for the hardier plants.  We started with a nearly blank slate last year, added several gardens, and planted nearly all perennials, so even before entering the dirty phase of gardening we have been enjoying little sprouts of green all around our yard.  The best surprises have been plants that we thought were gone or had not made it, and yet here they are making a grandiose comeback!  On Sunday, after a very lazy, chilly morning, we made our first trip to our local nursery to pick up some plants to make a hanging basket (about the only annual plants we'll buy), and were treated to a very different kind of nursery;  there, in the decorative pond near the driveway, was a collection of tadpoles.  We watched them for quite some time, and this morning Calvin and I went back to see how they were doing (and to see if they had gotten any new hanging bags for our butterfly and hummingbird garden).  What a very interesting world we live in.

Our new addition...

...to the yard.  Christmas came to our house early this year in the form of a beautiful Eastern Redbud.  We picked him out last week, after much searching and disappointment from various Ann Arbor area tree hot spots, at Fraleigh's Nursery and they brought him home to us this morning and planted him in the back yard by the butterfly garden.  We are all very excited to welcome him to our terrain, but Calvin especially is absorbed in his presence.  Yesterday we stopped by the nursery to finalize the delivery details and to take some pictures, and during our grocery stop on the way home Calvin told everyone who would listen about his new tree and its yellow leaves (his grasp of language  is such a joy, and I mean that without a single ounce of sarcasm).  His jubilation at the arrival of the "planting men" this morning was equally as uncontainable and we spent the entire half hour outside in the barely above freezing weather watching them dig a whole, mix in dirt and mulch, and plant our new addition; our beautiful new tree.  Thank you Gram and Grandpa!  And kudos to Fraleigh's, where everyone was knowledgeable and helpful.

They're ready

We were zucchinied while we were gone.  A lot.  We picked these today, and there are still several "in process" veggies on the plants.  Our tomatoes look pretty good, too!

A complimentary toad.

 Having a toad visit your garden can be a sign of a healthy, chemical free garden.  We take it as a compliment, then, that we found this toad, about the size of a silver dollar, hanigng out in our front garden after lights out tonight.  Come back anytime, Mr Toad!