Put My Plantin' Hat On

During lunch on Monday, I cracked open a fortune cookie that came with the leftover take out I was eating.  The message above was inside.  I hope this one is right.  We just planted a boat load of berries at Fat Bear Farm.  

The strawberries we ordered from Johnny's arrived in the mail last Friday.  Because of all the rain and cold weather we've had this past week, I had to keep them in the fridge for a few days until the soil dried out a bit.  I put them in the ground last Sunday. We ordered the seventy-five-plant variety pack, which includes twenty-five each of "Seascape," "Jewel," and "Earliglow."

 The strawberries arrived in great condition.

 The strawberry bed prepped, and ready to plant.

Ben's lovely father gave us a dozen raspberry canes last Saturday.  He had received a duplicate order from J.E. Miller Nurseries and gifted them to us.  The package included three each of "Latham," "Heritage," "Fall," and "Killarney."  All are red varieties.  I got them in the ground yesterday.  I planted them a little more closely than desirable.  I did this so that we can build just one support system this year, and I'll relocate about half of them next year when we have the side garden all figured out.

Raspberry babies, all in a bundle.

Raspberries tucked into bed, covered with mulch.

Just as I was planting the raspberries, the UPS truck pulled up, and our elderberry order arrived from Burnt Ridge Nursery.  This project was a huge undertaking.  First, I had to remove the mulch and plastic.  Then, I had to dig up eight horrible bushes from right in front of our house.  The roots were at least three or four feet deep.  It took me a few days to get it all done.  Luckily, I had all of the bushes removed before the elderberries arrived, so I all I had to do was prep the holes with some manure and add mulch.  We ordered one "Variegated," one "Thundercloud," and one "Emerald Lace."  We plan on making elderberry beer and wine several years from now.

 Evil roots fro the orignal bushes, finally all dug up.

After I removed the original bushes, I was able to put in this doo-hicky.  It will finally allow us to hook up a hose to water the front yard!

The elderberries arrived looking very much alive and well.

I hope the little jails I built them will keep the deer from destroying all my work.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but I have sad news.  We lost one of our chicks last night.  I don't know what happened, but we found her dead this morning.  The others seem to be just fine.  I'm going to bury her today beside the butterfly garden.  Rest in peace, feathered friend.

 The lilacs are blooming.

 And the irises!