An Early Summer Garden Update
Happy Summer, my friends! As of a few weeks ago, it’s officially the summer season and I must say…I don’t know if I’ve ever looked forward to a summer more than this one. That largely has to do with the fact that I (like most of you, I’m sure!) have been indoors a disproportionate amount these past few months. My excitement for this summer also has a lot to do with the fact that my work calendar, which is normally filled with weddings to photograph, is VERY light this year. I’ll be enjoying more summer goodness this year than I have for the past ten years! I’m THRILLED! I don’t even much mind that we’ll mostly be at home, and I’ve never been so thankful for our backyard (a mini escape!). If you need me this summer, I’ll be in my backyard on a lounge chair with an iced coffee or elbow-deep in dirt with a shovel in hand (we’ve got big landscaping plans for this summer). More on that later!
Garden Update
We've had some really beautiful, sunny weather this past month and my garden has been exploding with growth. You honestly never know what the weather is going to do here in Minnesota—we barely had a spring season last year and I feel like my garden really struggled because of it. This year is a totally different story and I also was much more on top of my seed starting game, so I feel like I’m having one of my most successful gardens to-date! I’ve been much better about staying on top of watering this year too. Unless it rains, I’m out there every morning giving everyone a quick drink. Adequate sunshine and water can work wonders…case in point, there’s only about two weeks between these two photos below!
For the past month we’ve been consistently harvesting radishes, spinach, lettuce, arugula, chives, and rhubarb. As we welcomed June we started harvesting lots of basil and mint as well (Ethan’s big on mojitos!). I harvested the first berries from our black raspberry patch yesterday, which means daily berry harvests. My favorite part of the summer! There’s many batches of raspberry crumble bars in our near future.
As of today, we’re starting to see the first fruits on a few tomato plants and just picked the first of the sugar snap peas too (a new crop for this year!). We purchased so many bags of sugar snap peas from the grocery last year, that it made me want to add some plants to this year’s garden (that’s one of the best ways to determine what crops to grow…just look in the fridge for what you love to eat!). Same story for zucchini, too. We’ve bought so much from the grocery recently and so it was time to try growing some ourselves!
Other Updates
Given that I have more time at home than usual this summer, I’ve really hit the landscaping plans hard for both our front and backyard. There is essentially zero hardscaping and structure at our house and oh my goodness…we need it. We’ve been talking about doing some updates like this for YEARS. Edging, rock, stepping stones, sidewalk updates, and lots of moving around of plants/bushes/flowers. It’s all happening! There’s been many hours of research and many, many little sketches and mockups scribbled in my notebook. And. Surprisingly…slightly embarrassingly…what’s actually been the most helpful is using the game The Sims to help visualize all of these landscaping changes. Real talk, you guys. I was completely and utterly obsessed with that game for the majority of my adolescence so it feels a little funny to return to it as a 30 year old woman. Honestly though, given how helpful it’s been I can’t recommend it enough! $6 well spent.
With all of the new landscaping, there will be plenty of room made for new plants and flowers too! Every year I spot new plants I want to include in my gardens and add them to my “Plants to Purchase” list that I’ve been growing for years. This fall I plan to finally add some white peonies to our front yard, and hopefully some white Drift roses as well if I can find them. I’ve love to plant some daffodil bulbs this fall as well, since they’re just so happy and some of the first flowers to greet us in the spring. It’s basically like doing my future self a kind favor!
We’ve had visitors! The deer have been coming into our yard almost daily from the woods (including a tiny fawn!). Truthfully, I adore deer—they’re so beautiful and I don’t even care that they eat my raspberries (we have plenty to share). For some reason, they haven’t ever bothered my actual raised beds of vegetables…I don’t get it, but I’m glad for it!
Lastly, spirea season came and went. It was gorgeous as always. This is bridal veil spirea and I highly encourage you to add a bush to your yard if you don’t already have one! They’re relatively common and easy to find here in MN, and the cascading blooms that come in late May are just so beautiful.
Well, that’s where things are at around here! Everyday new things bloom and ripen, so I’ll be back with another update soon. Please feel very welcome to send me your garden updates/questions or any plants you’ve been enjoying this season too! Enjoy the summer sun, and be good to one another!
