From Useless to Delicious

My daughter and her family moved to Washington state for job and land reasons. They wanted to be able to plant an edible landscape and live where housing costs were lower then central California. The house they bought in an older subdivision northeast of Seattle had recently been spiffed up and landscaped to put it on the market. Not a single plant in the yard was edible, so they began a process of transition that may take them several years. With tall established trees in the back yard, and shrubs galore, there were many areas to evaluate! All the shrubs that did not produce food must GO! I was the beneficiary of the first round of removal when we went to visit two weeks after they moved in. I was able to dig out and bring home a van full of hosta, heather, barberry and other assorted perennials that I knew I could grow in Central Oregon. There were a vast number of unwanted plants that I did not have room for that had an uncertain future. The idea to call a landscaper and tell him, come-n-get-em, was put into play, but the said landscaper did not call back, (his loss) so the rest of the shrubs and plants in the front of the house were composted post haste! Also anything that resembled a juniper was also removed! In the place of the hosta dell is now a blueberry bed! Elderberries and other assorted fruiting shrubs have made their way into the yard as well as beans, tomatoes squash and corn. The transformation of their entire yard will take a number of years and much discussion but at least for them, it is a start! I was a little concerned about the opinion of the neighbors who seem to be really into ornamental shrubs and flowers! Maybe their family will pioneer a neighborhood revolution and more and more of their neighbors will follow suit! I will continue to update you as the Useless to Delicious tale unfolds.

September WHAT?

I know, really? Where did the summer go? I started out in the spring with these wild intentions of blogging my way through the summer and now that our short short summer is on the wane, I have done nothing! I have been busy building a business rather then working in my garden. Some years are like that I suppose. Right now the daylilies need to be cut back, the hollyhocks look silly because one or two of my deer buddies decided they looked better without leaves and the shasta daisies have flopped over. All the perennials need to be dead headed AND my veggie garden was mowed down by a chipmunk and his extended family. We also made a tactical error when we put the veggie bed under the eves of the shop. With no gutter the hail storms and thunder showers trenched the bed right in the center! We have a few tomato's from the greenhouse and that is about it. My energies were not in the veggie realm this year! Thankfully, not one daylily was eaten in bloom by a deer. I have no idea why they were few and far between this year but until just last week, they seemed to avoid my garden! The chipmunks on the other hand and the beetles have been busy. I do not have a single plant without bite marks, hail holes or nibble marks, but once I go at it this weekend with the clippers, most of that will be cut back!