garden friday | wintry, barren edition

Look who busted out her big girl camera. And look who's committing to a regular blog post (again)! Well... only time will tell. But, the thing is, after a much needed break, gardening is just now getting under way again here. And, last year I did a pretty crappy job of documenting the garden's various seasons and stages.

So, this year, I just want to get out there, shoot stuff, document stuff... both for the fun of sharing what's growing, and for the obvious benefit of record-keeping. Not all crazy Thomas Jefferson-style, but a little data from one year to the next would help. Ya know? Hopefully it'll be somewhat interesting to observe. Expect at least one garden-y photo here on Fridays.

So, right now... Winter is still in its (albeit Californian) full effect. Some beds are empty and covered with chicken wire/sticks (oh kittehs), some plants are hibernating and others are slowly getting their game on. The regular (non-espaliered) apple tree is, as usual, of two minds: it's still dropping its leaves for winterizing (it's a late one) but some of its buds are swelling for Spring too. It'll get pruned into its Year 3 shape soon... actual apples are getting closer and closer.

Gravenstein apple espalier, year 3. I'm starting to get the hang of the pruning and training. Don't you love the freckles? I adore these beauties.

Blueberry bush, one of three. Thinking of getting two more this weekend. Last year's harvest was meager, but they suffered some transplanting. They're all in the ground now, so this year looks pretty good so far. Lots of buds.

Pretty Girls Make Graves... asparagus graves, that is.
I couldn't get that band/song name out of my head while digging a few asparagus trenches. Not much going on here yet, but my IG friends will remember the crowns pre-planting? So weird.
The 8 or so crowns I planted are part of the plan to put more perennials in the garden. Also added, and even less photogenic than a trench: 5 'red heritage' raspberry roots/crowns/whatever they're called.

Another perennial addition: Kiwi vine, mostly for Jacky. He loves 'em, Toby & I can leave 'em.
It seems happy and is coming to life.

Trimming and whacking back the 40'-long perennial herb strip, containing various lavenders (including Provence, above), thymes, sages, geraniums.

A couple of weekends ago, we did a bit of exploring in the final frontier of our property: the back 8 or 10 feet. Which had been consumed by monster blackberries and the neighborhood thugs (jasmine, nasturtiums, morning glories). If you consider our yard is 25' wide, that's a lot of space to give up. We found some pottery shards (nothing ancient, unless you consider the 1950s ancient), a rotted tree stump, and lots of roots to dig and vines to bag for the friendly compost man (20 bags and counting). Sooo, the takeaway: Jacky's finally getting a long-promised Playhouse. Up here, with the best view in the garden, right by the kiwi vine and mama's veggie beds. He CANNOT wait, obviously.

And, from the dept of keepin' it painfully real... here's what my winter mess garden currently looks like, including complimentary toddler pot "rearranging."

I really do have to remind myself that Summer always comes. Those exuberant pictures shocked me the other day, when I dug them up randomly. Californians are so used to the accepted wisdom that we don't have much in the way of seasonality. But, my frigid feet and the difference in these photos tell another story.

And you, anything growing in your garden this week?