~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
{pretty}
First we walked on the hill.
And then it rained.
{happy}
I had the bright idea to plant strawberries with the asparagus. I read in one place that they are good companion plants, because the asparagus has deep roots and the strawberries have shallow ones.
It's not super comforting when you can only find a bit of advice in one place on the internet, but I thought I'd give it a try, because the weeds in this bed were terrible. Since asparagus is perennial, it's not easy to cultivate the ground around them. You are supposed to get the bed weed free to start with, which seems rather optimistic to say the least.
This spring is the first one with the weeds under control!
Now I have to convince the birds that the strawberries are not for them!
My last little handful of asparagus…
{funny}
So my desk is messy (and yes, there will apparently ALWAYS be a crayon on a mother's desk!) and I promise to tidy it up, but note the warm fingerless mitts. That is how chilly it was earlier this week. FunnyNotFunny.
{real}
Things are still looking mighty puny out there. I think now that it's finally gotten hot, maybe they will grow? And did you know that even though we had literally eighty-twelve feet of snow this winter, it didn't amount to that much water? HOW CAN THAT EVEN BE.
A couple of notes for you:
Don't miss Deirdre's latest installment in the {pretty, happy, real WEDDING} series! There is so much collective memory contained in these posts! This one is all about being a bridesmaid.
Many new readers and even not that new have told me that they haven't realized how much material there is on the blog. Do poke around the archives and the menu bar at the top.
This Saturday I will be at a World Meeting of Families workshop in Manchester, CT. Any Hartford-area readers out there? I'd love to see you! I will be speaking at the panel discussion later in the day, but will be there earlier to sell and sign books. Come say hi and ask me your Auntie Leila questions!
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Tacy Williams Beck says
I just have to say—-I love that from-a-distance picture of your garden with the wheelbarrow. So lovely!
Annie says
That first photo is like a Wyeth painting! Wow, beautiful. The misty one, too, is stunning. The asparagus + strawberries is a good idea.
Laura says
Your garden is so beautiful! Really enjoyed your pictures today!
chere mama says
Love your big kettle on the back porch!! And I can almost smell the rain when I look at your pictures.
mamabearjd(Michelle) says
We have quickly ripening pumpkins that grew from one we tossed into the garden. Pumpkins! I have to find a way to store them until fall.
Can you freeze whole pumpkins if you only want to use them for decoration? Anyone?
Also three tomatoes that I am checking hourly for ripeness.
Annalisa says
I’m almost certain that a thawed pumpkin would be a mushy mess. The water in the cells would expand and break the cell walls so that when it thawed the cells would no longer be intact. (Right? I’m only remembering something vaguely here) Perhaps you could dry the pumpkins – maybe after removing most of the flesh as well as seeds and pulp.
Leila says
Mamabearjd,
Yes, Annalisa is right.
I think they would store if you could put them in a place that was 50 degrees and low humidity (you can look up storing winter squash for the exact conditions). Do you have a root cellar perchance? No, me either.
mamabearjd(Michelle) says
I was thinking that the freezer was a bad idea. I sort of have a root cellar – we are building a house with a basement (rare in Texas) across the street, and I’m wondering if I could take all the pumpkins over there and stash them in the dark corner of the storage part of the basement. I’m a little scared that would invite “punkin chunkin” as we are a neighborhood curiosity at the moment – seems like everyone in the county thinks it is ok to trespass for a self guided tour! But I might try to hide them. Absurd, right? Maybe we should just eat them or process and freeze for eating.
Leila says
Well, then why not try? If they are decorating pumpkins (like, you got them to decorate for Halloween and then threw them in the compost) they will not be good to eat. You need sugar pumpkins (or really butternut squash for truly good “pumpkin” taste).
But maybe now is the time to do some quick reading on a cold cellar and maybe make a corner of your basement into the real thing, with shelves… try looking on Mother Earth News.
For now, you could get some straw and maybe put a pallet or two in front of the corner.
mamabearjd(Michelle) says
You have me thinking now! We had to go really deep with the well, because although there has been lots of rain lately, when we drilled we were in a severe drought. Our water treatment will discharge water every day, and I’m working with my contractor to channel that to some large garden beds. I should start thinking about where I am going to put all of what we grow.
Mrs. B. says
Leila, a desk with one book on it isn’t messy, it’s a miracle of orderliness – at least in my house! Is that a good book?
Leila says
Mrs. B — YES!!! Read immediately.
Mrs. B. says
Great! I’ll feel slightly weird reading such a book in summer 🙂
Kim from Philadelphia says
Leila- are you coming to the World Meeting of Families in September?
Christine says
I’m gobsmacked right now. We planted our asparagus with our strawberries three (maybe four?) years ago, never having heard about the connection you read about! Of course, ours were next to each other, not all mixed together, so it didn’t work so well. Thankfully, the weeds haven’t hurt the asparagus much. For the first time, we have asparagus this year. Enough for at least 6 or 7 meals. We’re happy.
Your property is beautiful!
Leila says
Christine, if they are “next to each other” in the same bed, I guarantee that with a little help with weeding, the strawberries will go to the asparagus bed. I can’t tell you what the long-term consequences will be, but the short-term ones are that weeding gets easier!
Lucy Armstrong says
Something I’ve been wondering from reading blog posts of yours – what exactly does collective memory mean? By the way, I’ve posted my third {p,h,f,r} on my blog and I’m really enjoying it!
Leila says
Ah, Lucy, that is a complex question 🙂
It started out as “let’s share things we’ve done while we’re far away from each other (the girls and I) so that we remember” and became “let’s share the things that mustn’t get lost — the memory of good things, sacred things, and common sense — the things that can’t be taught in a book very easily.”
Thanks for joining in on {phfr}! Glad to have you!
Jessica says
Beautiful pictures!
Jennifer says
I think I need to visit for some gardening lessons. I like the strawberry and asparagus idea. We planted sage and thyme with the strawberries and so far they are growing well with no pests. I tried a lot of companion gardening at my friend’s garden (I don’t have my own, yet) and everything seems very happy. I don’t know if I actually did something right or it is just dumb luck…lol!
Do you grow any other perennial vegetables? I’m a big fan of perennials. 🙂
Jennie Cooper says
I’m going to try that whole strawberries and asparagus thing next year, because weeding is definitely not something we’re good at keeping up with!
Woman of the House says
Your garden is looking good! I sympathize about the weeds. We have had so much rain that the weeds are worse than ever and I’m having trouble keeping up with it!
Enjoy having Bridget home for the summer! 🙂
Dyan Schisler says
I enjoyed your description of how much snow you had last winter. Eighty-twelve might just be my new favorite number.