Well, I guess it's officially fall - frost risk tonight, and I did a bunch of general late-season clean-up this afternoon, so here's a bit of harvest report, with focus on the long-term plants.  The perennials were kind of variable this year, but I've got high hopes for next.
2 apple trees 0
Flowers on one but not the other, no ( Read more... )

Today was great for garden progress!  The order from Raintree came in on Friday, so today was when I caught up to that.

As a lead-in, I planted strawberries (actually on Friday), and the second blueberry bush (the little one is Chippewa, planted on Saturday morning, and the larger one is Northcountry, planted with photos last week).  AND I have ( Read more... )

The backyard construction project has been ongoing since the beginning of March. It sounded so easy.  We wanted a raised bed along the fence.  Easy to build.  Get it done in a weekend, right??
BEFORE (facing back fence):

( Read more... )

Order is placed with Raintree Nursery.  Gooseberry permit was tracked down over the weekend till this morning, so now 3 bushes are requested, as well as 2 apples and some bird netting. My only ridiculous extra was a lingonberry plant.  I thought about getting blueberry bushes for the giant pots, but decided now is not the time.  (April, on the ( Read more... )

I had an appointment with my landscape architect (hahahahaha) on Saturday morning to discuss my plans for the front foundation planting... and to eat quiche and hang out.  Thanks, _meej_ !   I'm trying to walk the line between being excited about this so wanting to plan a ton of stuff, versus biting off more than I can chew or starting things I can't ( Read more... )

So, gooseberries.

The well-informed among you may know that the gooseberry, a cousin of currants, is wildly popular in Europe, especially England, and there are over a thousand varieties, thanks to gooseberry clubs. Enthusiasts grow and breed plants, and enter their berries in competitions. When I think of a gooseberry, I think of something just a ( Read more... )