So, I'm still working on planting up the new large bed in the backyard. Still have a way to go, but it's shaping up. I can't quite get a good photo of the entire bed due to it's size, but you get the idea. I've added some new Heuchera 'Georgia Peach', Tiarella 'Iron Butterfly', Hosta 'Krossa Regal' and some fabulous Agapanthus. I also transplanted a small 'Crimson Queen' Japanese Maple from another part of the yard.

Happy Earth Day! OH...and this is my 100th blog post...so happy 100th post day! I'm home sick today, so what better time to update the blog? Here are a few shots of what's going on in the veggie garden.

I've been harvesting fava beans - bucket loads of them. This photo shows about the third of three large buckets I picked this past weekend. I've since pulled up all the plants, and they'll now make a great addition to the compost. Sugar snap peas are popping up all of a sudden. Yum...

We've had oodles of strawberries this year, both in pots and beds. Hopefully, we'll be able to eat enough of them before the birds get to them! They taste absolutely wonderful. There's nothing like homegrown strawberries...

We still have plenty of salad greens coming on, and the pole beans and bush beans are popping up...

I was a little worried about capturing these somewhat stubborn leghorns this morning for their journey back to East Texas. But, somehow, I managed to catch two of them at once, then rounded up the third in short order. My stealth chicken wrangling skills are improving...so anyway, thanks gals!

We had a wonderful visit with Dan Probst out at his farm in Poetry, Texas near Terrell. Of course, like a dufus I left the recorder and camera in the car so I didn't get any photos of his place. He has a great assortment of chicken breeds, impressive turkeys, bossy geese and some of the sweetest great Pyrenees dogs I've ever met. Oh, and we can't forget the two donkeys that pretty much screamed at me until they got some hay! Overals = food...Lol...We got to see some baby chicks and ducks hatching out of their eggs in the incubator...babies babies everywhere.

My New Babies

I brought home 3 Ameraucanas, one about 12 weeks old and the others about 9 weeks, and 2 Polish hens that are about 9 weeks or maybe a little less. What a hoot. The little black and white Polish hen seems to be the odd girl out. She prefers to be held and spent much of the afternoon riding around on my shoulder. I guess I have a new bud...The "blue" is the prettiest of the bunch, but also seems to be the most persnickety...those pretty girls, always such a pain!

The Polish...Aren't they Beeeutiful?

The Ameraucanas...wouldn't hold quite as still!

The oldest is a beautiful mix of orange/rust and white...like a creamcicle...the inbetweener is a brown and black striped mix, like the look of an Araucana and the little one is a lovely blue and tan mix.

So all right folks...I need names...help me out!

Sometimes it can be difficult to recognize when your root-hardy perennials are emerging....it's it what you planted or something else! In case you wonder what peonies look like when they are emerging from their winter sleep, here is a Peony 'Bowl of Cream' emerging to greet spring.

Emerging Peony
PC: Leslie F. Halleck

I've been having some nice chats lately with Michael Tortorello who is writing a series of articles and blogging on the adventures of a gardening newbie for the New York Times. Our lengthiest conversations have been those about garden poop, or manure if you want to be technically proper. This time around he's posted on his trials and tribulations on starting seeds...it's a fun read.

http://topics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/when-seedlings-slouch/

Just thought I'd post a closer shot of the new Japanese Maple I planted the other day. It's called 'Oshi Beni'. What lovely color...This variety can grow up to 20-25 feet, although I expect this one to max out about about 20...but that's a long way off. I find this variety to be much prettier than the more commonly planted 'Bloodgood', but it does get a bit larger. So pretty when the light shines through the leaves...

Ok so I got some partial planting done yesterday. The large weeping tree that hasn't leafed out yet is a weeping mulberry that I pulled out of the front yard a couple of weeks ago. It was so established and well rooted in that by the time I got it out (quite the sight) I pretty much had to butcher the root system. Figured it was a lost cause. But after looking at it yesterday, I noticed it was trying to leaf out and all the wood is still green. So what the heck...mulberrys are tough so I'm going to see if I can't get it to root back out. It would look pretty cool there if it did. Think happy thoughts for the mulberry, lol.

Also planted a few groups of background shrubs, some Japanese Aralia, Variegated Pittosporum and some 'Spring Bouquet' Viburnum. Also a wonderful Sweet Olive at the end of the bed and an Oakleaf Hydrangea. I'll be planting another right next to the patio. Dropped a handful of perennials in the ground, some 'So Sweet' Hosta, Autumn Fern, Heuchera, Dwarf Acanthus and a few transplanted Iris. Planted a beautiful Japanese Maple 'Oshi Beni'. There will be lots more planting to do in the next couple of weeks...

Ok, so I know I'm crazy, and it's completely masochistic, but I agreed to be on the White Rock Lake garden tour on May 17th...sigh. This means killing oneself in the garden for the next 6 weeks. This is a crazy time of year for me at work, so it's doubly hard in that regard. BUT, I knew if I said yes it would kick me in the pants to get all sorts of long awaited garden projects done.

Yesterday, thew new ornamental shade bed in the back yard:

The bed runs the length of the West side of the yard, but is shade or dappled sun most of the day. Now I've got to fill this sucker up! Which will be no small feat, because it's huge. A couple of Japanese maples will make their way into the planting as well as a sweet olive. We also used some of our leftover flagstone to built a pad around the shed so I have a nice place for my potting bench. Now, I'm off to work to hunt some plants...