Garden Walk

Our first three summers on the homestead we planted a huge garden similar to what we'd both grown up with. I'm talking about a 100'x30' area. We planted everything in rows far enough apart for a tiller to go between. By the end of the second month the weeds had won. Our vegetable plants were sprawling into the walk ways and there was no way you could get a tiller in there without destroying the vegetables. It was just too much space to keep weeds under control, especially in a previously unestablished garden. Last year I said, "That's it! I'm growing a micro-garden." I only used the flower bed that surrounds our back patio. I combined the methods of intensive gardening and square foot gardening to determine the layout. We harvested a lot of food from that little space! There were lots of tomatoes and peppers along with herbs and other things I've now forgotten.

This year we added two raised beds to our garden space. I really like having them close to the house. It's great to pause as you walk by to pluck a stray weed or two. I did my best to use square foot gardening to determine the layout of these beds.

I was weeding in the garden last night when something caught my eye. It was a cicada emerging from his exoskeleton. It was transitioning from the creepy beetle-like larvae to the beautiful winged insect we recognize. When I first discovered it, it's head was only about 1/2" out of the exoskeleton. In the time it took to get my camera it had already emerged as much as you see below. I took the pictures in the order shown, and he was completely emerged in about an hour's time. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

 

 The camera wanted to focus on everything BUT the bug! This at least lets you see how much he'd emerged.

 He was hanging on the underside of a moon and stars watermelon leaf.

 Finally! I got the camera to actually focus on the bug!

 Coming out a little more!

 Here is a shot of my east raised bed. It has pole beans, tomatoes, swiss chard, kale, cucumber, beets, and calendula. The flower bed surrounding the patio contains peppermint, ginger, cock's comb, Egyptian walking onions, calla lilies, lemon balm, honey suckle, violet, iris, and surprise lilies.

 This is my west raised bed. As you can see it has escaped! We don't have any cattle panels available and are trying to figure out a low cost solution to this problem. We are going to have to get these vines up out of the yard before the next mowing! This bed contains garden huckleberries, tomatillos, yellow squash, carrots, and water melon.

 Here are my tomatillos. I can hardly wait to taste their fabulous flavor!

This is chicken graffiti. It says, "Hen wuz here." This was created by using my flower bed as a dusting bowl, stepping up onto the patio, and shaking. Keeping the hens out of my garden is a constant war. There is a gap under our gate that they escape through, but if I fill it in the gate won't swing properly. At least they are keeping most of the bugs at bay.

 This is a ginger plant. My health food store was running a great sale on organic ginger. The piece I bought was huge, and started getting these sprout-like growths on it. They were similar to the hens-n-chicks plant, but white. I decided to plant a piece and see what happens. Time will tell if this is a worthwhile project, or just a little novelty.

 My cilantro bolted. It is an heirloom variety, so I am saving seed from it. I plan to use some of the seed for my spice collection, too. I adore the flavor of coriander!

A peppermint blossom. I am thrilled to have some flowers to attract the beneficial pollinators, especially honey bees.

 Here's our cicada still working hard to emerge. I was fascinated by the yellow-green appendages. They reminded me of frog's feet. I wondered if they could be his wings.

 Eeeek! At this point it looked like he could simply fall out! Would he plop to the ground once he had cleared his shell?

 A black oil sunflower that volunteered. We feed these to our goats. I let it grow to see if planting them ourselves would be a worthwhile endeavor. It would be SO great to be able to grow some of our own livestock feed!

 Lemon balm in bloom. This little herb makes me so happy. I love it's bright citrus aroma. I've repotted a bit of it to take to my classroom in the fall. I think it will make a delightful addition.

 Five color silver beet. Can't wait to enjoy these as well. I wish whatever is eating them would lay off. I can't ever catch anything on them.

 The first squash of summer.

 Calendula blossoms ready to break forth!

 Still pushing it's way out of that tough exoskeleton!

 A great shot of those yellow-green appendages. They are definitely his wings. It's hard to believe they are all crumpled up like that at first.

 What on earth is holding him in that shell?

 Ahhh!!! Free at last! Isn't it beautiful? I love how his wings are tinted green.

 Just hanging out.He stayed like this of a long time, with his wings blowing in the breeze. I tried to take a video, but it was so blurry you really couldn't tell anything about it. They were soft and flowy.

 

Simply perfect!

Night has fallen. He is all free of the exoskeleton, but still staying put. I have a feeling this is where he will spend the night.