Planting Herbs

On Saturday Sandi and I walked to our local Beaverton Farmers Market.  Our mission: herb and veggie starters our garden.  We learned a lot last year from our herb garden and were ready to build on our experience.  We came back with a few treasures:

cilantro
(it only looks wimpy because I
just watered it)

basil - Sandi can't wait to make
pesto

arugula - our impulse purchase

bush beans

Sandi planting the acorn squash and green onions

This is the primary herb garden.  I just added cilantro to
the mix. It joins last years oregano, rosemary and chives. 
We had to move the mint to it's own pot as it was attempting
(actually, succeeding) in a take-over.   

We didn't have to purchase chives - it came back with a vengence.

Here are our blueberry plants.  We harvested
6 blueberries last year.  This year we are hoping for 8.

First Roses

This is one of the first roses from one of our best rose bushes.  Located in the front yard, it welcomes visitors before they reach the door.  If this is a preview, it should be a great summer.

This rose is significnt not because it is the first rose on the bush, but because it is the first season that it has actually bloomed.  I transplanted 3 bushes from a friend's yard about 5 years ago.  The other two did fairly well the first season and have since been very reliable.  This third bush never bloomed.  Every year I threatened to rip it out.  Good thing I never did.

Passing the rain test

At last, we had enough rain to test our drainage in the front yard by the roses.  Before I fixed the gutters and installed 3 gravel drains, it was pront to flooding.  The sidewalk leading up to the front door was a mess of debris from the rose bed.  Now, I am *fairly* confident that the bark dust will stay where it belongs.  It was nice to finish off the front yard.

Spring Planting

Sandi got water melon, cucumber and Hungarian tomatoe starts from someone at school.  We're fairly optimistic about the cucumbers and tomatoes, but we'll keep our expectations pretty low for the water melon. 

Sandi and I hosted her family for mother's day after lunch on Sunday afternoon.  I wanted to show off more pleasant looking garden area that what you see below.

By Saturday afternoon, I had it cleaned up and barked for guests.  I'm happy with the results.

We have more herbs and vegtibles to plant, but we are waiting for the Saturday Market in Beaverton to open before we get any. 

Landscaping Layout

Front-side yard, SE corner, south sun all day

NW corner front, south sun all day

Side yard, south sun all day

West (back yard) morning sun

Front side, south sun all day

Back yard, south sun, plants shaded by tree

Plants we like:

Ideas for Sandi's parents yard: