The vegetable garden is going to be all over the yard this year, although the vegetable garden proper will still have lots going on. I took down the wires strung between the 2 posts, which supported a black raspberry and a Sombreuil rose that have been moved elsewhere. The black raspberry needs to go entirely since it's thorny and the berries basically have no taste. Corn and squash have been planted in their place. We've never tried corn before but the squash is sure to produce.
Next to the corn are Chinese cabbage, a lettuce mixture, and broccoli. Sugar Snap Peas are growing up the wood pole teepee and there is a stand of fingerling potatoes beyond those.
The lettuce and cabbage are as beautiful as any ornamental.
The strawberries next to the driveway have had ripening berries for a few weeks now and are they ever sweet. I've been eating the lettuce, strawberries and broccoli and they're all about a 1000 times better than what's available at the grocery store. Since they don't have to travel anywhere they can just be grown for taste!
I have been pleased with the border next to the vegetable garden. The Rosa palustris scandens has gotten huge in the last four years.
The 2 Veilchenblaus have gotten pretty big too. There's another one on the other side of the Rosa palustris. Smells so sweet too, when all of the flowers are open! Not rose-like though. The spot of blue beneath the Rosa palustris is the Louisiana Iris 'Sinfonietta'.
The flowers of Veilchenblau open purple-pink but
darken to purple once they've been open a few days.
darken to purple once they've been open a few days.
Belinda's Dream is blooming for the first time in 2 years.
Worth the wait as it's such a romantic-looking rose. The flowers smell like tea.
such a wonderful garden! and you are rigth lettuce and cabagge looks so nice!
ReplyDeleteThose roses are amazing, I love when the vegatable garden and the ornamental garden are togueder, like in the old cottages.
kisses!
Carola
Wonderful vegtable-garden!!! And beautiful, beautiful roses!!! Green leafs and purple petals...Even the light in your photos is beautiful...
ReplyDeleteYour vegetable garden is incredible! I love the lushness of it and yes, that cabbage sure stands out beautifully.
ReplyDeleteWow, you are such an accomplished gardener. I grow a few vegetables here and there, but I don't have the kind of space that you do :(. Your roses are stunning, you really caught Veilchenblau's color well. Why did your Belinda's Dream not bloom?
ReplyDeleteGreat garden! Just look at that rich soil! Lovely flowers, too!
ReplyDeleteIt must be wonderful to eat your own fresh berries. I really like the way you have intermingled the vegetables and flowers. I will have to keep it in mind when I plant my own vegetables.
ReplyDeleteMasha I think Belinda's Dream didn't bloom because it was too busy fighting for space with other plants, or perhaps just getting established. All of a sudden I noticed this year that it has two 4-5' long canes. It should do well here. I know it was tested in Texas and designated an Earthkind rose. I hope it does because the flowers are so nice.
ReplyDeleteYour veggie garden looks wonderful! I am going to try and figure out a place to put a Veilchenblau, who wouldn't want a purple rosebush?
ReplyDeleteDear Sweetbay ~ Your gardens never cease to amaze me. Not only beautiful flowers but wonderful edibles too.
ReplyDeleteFlowerLady
I think all vegetables are as beautiful as any perennial, especially lettuce. I grow all my tomatoes and peppers mixed into my ornamental beds, cages and all.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of mixing vegetables in with the perennial border. I was thinking of trying that myself (but it's too darn cold here to plant much yet). I agree the taste of anything homegrown is SO much better than store bought. I am salivating at the thought of your strawberries. Yum.
ReplyDelete'Belinda's Dream' is a gorgeous rose ~ I'd wait for her too. Love the full petals ~ that's my favorite kind of rose.
How wonderful to have such lush veggies already, and yes, the cabbage and lettuce are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'll just have to enjoy roses vicariously through gardens like yours because I don't seem to have much luck with them here. Your roses take my breath away. Belinda's Dream is a beauty with her pink blush on the paler pink, and such beautifully structured blooms.
We've had a cloudy, wet spring but at least last week's weather was beautiful. I'm glad your weather has been just right.
What a beautiful vegetable garden, Sweetbay! The Veilchanblaus and 'Belinda's Dream' are simply gorgeous. I agree--produce from the store tastes like cardboard after you've eaten your own fresh veggies from the garden. Plus, I'm sure they're much more nutritious, not having been transported or sitting on a shelf for a week.
ReplyDeleteDear Sweetbay, Your garden feels so romantic and lush. I love your veggie garden! I cannot get over how large everything is . . . I know you are ahead of us by a great deal, but I am sure your Prince has something to do with the robust and gorgeous plants. Absolutely lovely and yummy too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful veggie garden!! I thought Veilchamblau were kind of a greyish purple color. I've only ever seen them in catalogs. Try 'Chester Thornless' blackberries. I have a stand of them that keep my birds happy during the summer. They are very easy to grow and have a great taste.
ReplyDeleteEvery spring I see Veilchenblau making the rounds of the blogging world, and I say every year that I have to find a place for one. Your photos only make me want one that much more.
ReplyDeleteA very decorative, productive garden.
ReplyDeleteIt's very much like a potager over here.
I really like the way you've incorporated the veggies in with the flowers.
ReplyDeleteEven your vegetable plot is gorgeous! I tried several times to grow strawberries and failed miserably. I wish I knew the secret, as I love strawberries!
ReplyDeleteYour roses are fabulous. You have created a beautiful place, so romantic and tranquil looking.
Hi, Sweetbay;
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely setting in your garden. Makes me want to curl up on a bench with a glass of sweet tea. :) Be sure to call me when the fingerling potatoes are ready for harvest. I'll happily gobble them all!
Your vegetables look gorgeous and I know how delicious fresh from the garden tastes. I love my garden suppers too.
ReplyDeleteI think the edible garden is beautiful.
I love the way herbs and vegetables and berries grow with flowers...food for the bees, butterflies, birds and the humans.
Happy eating!
Sherry
Sweetbay, Your garden looks scrumptious~The edibles and the non-edibles! gail PS Just had to share that the Rosa carolina is blooming sweetly for me!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your comments!
ReplyDeleteCasa Mariopsa, I do need to try the thornless berries. We have so many wild blackberries around here and if I had a ha'penny for everytime I've been stuck I'd be very very rich! Veilchenblau does eventually turn a slate purple color, once the flowers have aged. Before then they are purple purple.
Deb, we don't really do anything with the strawberries. They are everbearing (on both attempts the alpine strawberries have died on me) and mostly we've just stuck them in various places that had just been amended and were bare, with a soil pH of 5.5-6. Maybe that's the secret - put them somewhere and then forget about them. lol
The Veichenblau and Belinda's Dream are absolutely gorgeous together!
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