Farm and Garden Report - June 16

In just the ten days since I last wrote, flowers have gone by and others have come into their yearly spotlight. Every single day is a marvel, a once-in-a-seaon event. I go outside to view the beauty, or gaze out the windows as I go about my day. I like the surprising views I get from different vantage points. The maple hides most of the poppies from one window while from another that color dominates the whole scene. The bunches of iris everywhere look so amazing. When the rain topples some of the bleeding heart, I suddenly see a bit of pink among the daylily leaves, a promise of July color.

I have two William Baffin roses, bought because they were deemed good for my climate. They've lived up to the promise. They bloom and bloom and survive whatever the winter months offer them. I like the different colors.




I wondered if my iris was Japanese or Siberian, and so I looked it up and found:

Siberian iris have no beards and typical bloom in New England begins in late May or June. They have smooth, thin, grass-like leaves without the distinct rib that runs lengthwise down the middle of Japanese iris leaves.

Mine have no rib so are Siberian. We have them all over and they are such a beautiful color.


The Korean lilacs came and faded quickly with days of rain. They are not my favorite flower in looks or fragrance, but I grow them in honor of my South Korean born children.


Rosa rugosas by the barn - these are my favorites. They grow free here and live cozily beside honeysuckles and lilacs. I love this rather wild area.


The others on the hill near the kitchen door are slowly being overtaken by lupines which is what we wanted when Tom cut them all back. And the third area by the fence is slowly growing back. Tom had to cut them down after some snow and plow damage this winter. I think what we'll do is cut them back every fall, and let them grow up again in the spring.

The peonies are equally sublime and ephemeral. They change from day to day. I read a tip in the Old Farmer's Almanac Calendar:

A lit tea candle inside a peony blossom floating in a shallow bowl of water will release the flower's fragrance.

I can smell the sweet fragrance but only when I put my face quite close to the flowers. Later I saw the tips of the flowers had burned so I probably won't be trying this again. If you do, let me know if it worked.

There has this week been a wild turkey in the far north pasture where the animals rarely go to graze. The grass out there just isn't very good. And so this meadow grows - filled with wildflowers. And wild turkeys. First the strutting toms with their harems. And then the hens alone. And at last the hens and their babies. We began noticing this a few years ago. In fact those mothers were the first wild turkeys we had on our land. It was fascinating to watch the babies behaving much like human children. I remember a mother with three. Two hung close by her while the third was dashing off onto a rock. Tom's garden journal notes that last year at this time was the first spotting of babies. So far I've just seen two mothers, or the one alone, eating their way along for most of the day. Then they disappear, without me seeing them go, into the woods which are just the other side of the stone wall. In these woods for much of the spring, we would hear the gobble gobble (yes that really is the sound) of what we think is part of the mating ritual.

And speaking of babies, I wonder if there are any in the bluebird nest. I haven't heard any little peeps so I'm guessing they haven't hatched yet. That pair is so different from last year's. They are much calmer. I wonder if it is because they chose to nest in the box under the eaves rather than out on the telephone pole. Their home is much more protected, less exposed to weather and various activities. We still see them out a couple times a day, just sitting on the wire. We are quite sure now that there is just one nesting pair. No one is using the box on the pole. And we wonder where did the swallows go who used to come year after year and nest there.

As for the new 'farm' down the road, Margaret and Matthew have already picked radishes! The grass has begun growing. When I walk down, I hear robin song so my guess is there is a nest or two near their house. They are heading to Bar Harbor, Maine for a week and we get to take care of the adorable duckies!

As for the vegetable garden - check out this blur of color from the panolas (a hybrid mix of pansy and viola)!


Tom's mother gave me a few plants last spring and I soon took them out of the pots, and planted them in one of the raised beds in the vegetable garden. They spread last summer, lived through the winter, and are thriving! Great plant which I highly recommend.

We've had quite a bit of rain so every single thing is up, from potatoes to peas to beans. It is so exciting. The garlic scapes are just about ready for picking.

Poppies are impossible to photograph, at least for me. The photos make them look otherworldly, as if they are suspended in the air with no connection to their stems or the earth underneath.

And this one even shows a yellow color which is not there in real, as opposed to photographic, life.

Less than a month ago, the crabapple we bought last year was in full blossom,

and now there are little crabapples.

This most amazing time of year is about to draw to a close. We welcome summer, but really it can't compete with the diversity, lushness, green, and constant change of the springtime. Since March 20, we have gone from snow to mud to today's temperatures in the low-eighties. So much happens in the spring. We have to keep our eyes and hearts open so as not to miss a minute.