A Walk Through the Garden

I stopped by the garden this aftrnoon to see how things looked. We missed a few workdays, so I was curious about the roses. Funny thing is, they just keep on blooming even if we aren't there to see. And the show this year is just stunning! 

Of course roses aren't the only things growing like crazy right now. The hops, below, has grown about 5 feet since the photos in my last post. 

Peas are going crazy too! 

Feverfew (below)

Orach (below)

5 . 23 . 18 - A Busy Day in the Garden

We arrived this morning to a sunny day, and the roses in full bloom!  If you happen to be in the area make sure to drive by - they only bloom once a year.  You have until about mid-June before they start to fade away.  

After an hour of work, we welcomed a group of 5th graders from Vancouver to explore with us. 

We explained about saving seeds from the garden to plant next year. 

Then we moved to the hops arbor, where everyone busied themselves looking for ladybugs and their eggs on the backs of the leaves.  

This is the time of year that the aphids begin showing up in the gardens.  And right behind them, the ladybugs.  Once the eggs hatch the larvae go to work munching down that aphid population. 

A few photos of the plants in bloom right now (below). 

So many blooms! They look like stars from a distance. 

Sage blooming behind the lemon balm.

This is one of our happy volunteers, Karen.  She is planting scarlet runner beans around the bean teepee.  Stay tuned for more photos as the vines grow! 

The Garden is coming to life!

This week when we arrived in the garden we were greeted by the sunshine yellow of our Harison's Yellow rose blooming.  He is always the first to show his colors, but I am sure the rest won't be far behind. 

In my last post I mentioned that we were putting up a new teepee for the beans.  We made it from donated bamboo from a fellow Master Gardeners garden.  Thanks Terri and John! It turned out AWESOME.  (and my own hubby too, he helped us assemble the whole thing) 

We can't wait to see it in action this summer!  

If you live locally you probably know about the big sale our Master Gardener chapter has each year - the Spring Garden Fair.  We had a table at the fair with photos and seeds for sale.  Quite a few folks came by to see what we are all about and get some seeds for their garden.  If you are in the neighborhood next May check it out! www.springgardenfair.org. 

Stay tuned for more news of the gardens - and if you have the time in the next few weeks make sure you stop by the smell the roses.