April Mid Month Meanderings

This post was cross-posted over on the Urban Farm Hub. Definitely stop by the site and look around.  It is chock full of interesting, useful & inspiring information! 

April in the Pacific Northwest!   The daffodils are gone.  The tulips are blooming.  The trees have all budded.  The aspens have opened up.  The damp air is starting to warm slightly.  There are so many changes and yet they are often hard to capture in a photo as they are still small.  Small changes that can go individually unnoticed but together pack a powerful punch.   The Collective Awesomeness of April!

Native Plant Area

I haven’t showed you this part of the yard yet.  I haven’t done any clean up here yet this year but it is quickly coming to life!    When we designed our yard we chose to surround the deck & patio area of our yard with native plants.   We wanted low maintenance and a calming, natural setting.  There was an existing very large and old Madrone tree in the corner of the area and we added in Vine Maples, (beach) Strawberries, Columbine, Bleeding Heart, Nodding Onion, Sea Thrift, Red Osier Dogwood, Red-Flowering Currant, Serviceberry, Kinnikinnik, Salal, Oregon Grape, Evergreen Huckleberry, Bald Hip Rose, Fringecup, Sword Fern, Mock Orange, Maidenhair Fern, and Deer Fern.  The plantings are still young, but filling in.

The patio we had made from recycled bricks that we got off Craigslist from an old building in Ballard neighborhood (of Seattle) that was torn down. The Ladyfriend dutifully removed the mortar using all kinds of sharp instruments (and only needed to make one ER visit for stitches!)   The patio installation was done by Scott, owner of Sea to Sky Landscaping.  It turned out stunning don’t you think?

Well, that is it for this month!   I transplanted a lot of starts outside this week and am hoping they take off.   Stay tuned for next month when I’m sure the edible landscape will start perking up!