It has been a mostly chilly and rainy April; I am hoping for a warm and sunny May so that we can get started planting our garden. My husband and I worked in the garden this past Friday evening; when we arrived and started working, it started to hail, but over the next several hours it cleared up and became a nice evening. We have in fact had hail three or four times this past week, despite having temperatures in the mid-forties. Weird weather; it seems to be chilly both here and in New York as far as I understand from my NY friends on Facebook. Go figure. The garden board had decided to cut down an old tree on our premises, so we spent Friday evening clearing away the cut tree stumps and large twigs that covered a large portion of the garden. The smaller twigs and underbrush went into the compost bin. We also turned the earth in several areas so that it is ready to be planted in a week or two, and discovered that the soil appears to be very good--there are a lot of earthworms in the earth and that's supposed to be a good sign. Today I spent several hours in the semi-sunshine raking the entire plot of land and turning the earth in two additional locations. The tree that was cut down must have been quite a large tree, because its leaves covered a large portion of the garden plot. So I had a fair amount of work in front of me, but it was enjoyable work. I enjoy the physical work; time passes without my being aware of it, and I like being outdoors in the sun and fresh air. My back muscles suffer a bit, but the pain passes and then I'm ready for the next round of work.
The pumpkin plants in our living room are now quite large and will most likely do well when planted. My spinach plants are doing well, as are the beet plants. The broccoli and cauliflower plants are taking their time, but will get there. My husband is looking to buy about ten raspberry bushes and we were at different garden centers yesterday to check out prices; I purchased some corn plants as well when we were at one of the garden centers called Plantation (Plantasjen in Norwegian).
I got a good deal on a table/two matching chairs; paid about fifty US dollars for the set. I've also purchased a birdbath online through Natur og Fritid AS; it's so beautiful and I can't wait to set it out for the birds. You can see it here if you want to see what it looks like:
https://www.naturogfritid.no/614151/Hobby_og_hage/Foringsautomater/Fuglebad/Ekko+fuglebad
Lots of photos today, just to keep you updated on what's happening with our garden. I love garden life so far.
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| ready for planting |
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| the garden entrance, with strawberry patches on either side of the path |
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| the raked garden |
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| pumpkin plants grow amazingly fast |
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| corn plants |
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| beet plants |
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| broccoli plants |
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| cauliflower plants |
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spinach plants
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