Bamf!

Thought I would add an update about some of the projects I've been working on and some unexpected blooms.

When I was a little kid, we had an elderly neighbor who had massive peony bushes that grew just on the other side of the fence between our lawns. I remember being so completely fascinated by the buds and the ants that crawled over them that I used to beg to visit Margaret just to get a better view of the plants. I absolutely adore these flowers and I had no idea that the previous owner had planted a bush right in the front yard. Almost as nice of a surprise as the army of daffodils that sprung up in April.

And then there's the rose bush which looked so unruly and sickly when we moved here in September that I was planning to cut it back to nothing. So glad that I gave it a shot and let it bloom to see what it could do. It smells just amazing with these gorgeous pink-toned flowers. Definitely going to have fresh rosehip tea in the fall.

What I'm really proud of right now is my set of raised beds that I threw together last week. They were pretty simple to make and only used 3 2x4x8 boards. The first one was just planted with a flat of spices. I can't get enough fresh basil and cilantro when I'm cooking.

The second bed was seeded with echinacea, chamomile and spearmint with some small sunflowers around the border that I'll transplant very soon. The withered looking bush in the front of the bed is my poor lemon thyme that miraculously came back after spending a winter on the porch step. Looks like it won't be long before it comes back to good health. Planning to use these for some herbal teas to get me through the winter.

I had a bit of an issue with my poor grapes and blueberries and a mixture I slapped together with Dawn dish soap to kill some bugs I had crawling around. I mixed the concentrate too strong and wound up burning the edges of my grape leaves. We haven't had a good rain in about 10 days, so I've been rinsing the plants everyday, hoping to wash off the soap. Don't seem to have hurt the fruits, but I feel pretty dumb about it anyway.

And finally, the reason why I'm so excited about my new blooms and my sprouting chamomile, echinacea, and sunflowers: a natural honeybee hive!! Hard to make out anything in the picture, but this little hive is thriving. I've never found a hive in nature. I think it's so cool.

And that's all for now. :)