Late summer garden update

We didn't plant much this year, and so the updates haven't been very exciting.  We did finish one more small area with succulent plantings and a new patio and put in an arch to train the mystery tree to cover (A bird was in there yesterday and flew out right at Mr. IM's head...it was funny....)
The first frost is possible this week (forecast says low of 35...but that is pretty close to 32...) so it is time to start wrapping up this year.

I think the only crops this year were:
Cherry Tree planted this year--two cherries total
Peach Tree-3rd or 4th year since we planted--4-5 peaches (they were yummy)
Potatoes in a trash can--not harvested yet
Potatoes in the garden--planted for spring harvest, per internet advice...we'll see
Early lettuce--we ate it....
Scallions, onions, chives--harvested and eaten periodically.  All volunteer plants from earlier years..yummy
garlic--some volunteer and some planted using garlic that was sprouting in the kitchen.
Basil--Morrison keeps trying to kill it...but I did use quite a bit during the summer.  We'll see if it gets to come in for the winter.
Lavender--none harvested, because Morrison keeps pulling it up.  We'll see in the next few weeks if there is anything worth saving
Oregano--inside, on the kitchen window sill--will let it keep growing, use it occasionally
Sage--didn't use it much, also in kitchen window sill.  Will probably freeze what is left.
Asparagus--didn't get to eat any of it--it came in and flowered before I realized it was ready
Peas--rodents ate them all :(
Cucumbers--had quite a few--not as many as some years, but enough for a couple new jars of pickles and lots of eating.
Cilantro-planted it in the garden, it has gone crazy. Used it a lot this summer and will let it re-seed itself for next year
Mint:  As always it is going. nuts.  I need to harvest and preserve some before it frosts
Catnip:  Had a slow start, but is going nuts now...should harvest and preserve it as well!
Tomatoes--had a lot--many are still green, so we may have green tomato relish this year if it does freeze soon
Peppers--I think we planted green peppers and jalapenos, but I think they cross pollinated.  There could be some habaneros, too.  All the peppers seem hot.  We haven't had a ton, but have had steady production most of the summer.

I recently saw kale growing in flower pots as an ornamental object, so I think I might try that next year!

The Boy in his natural habitat

So I tried to take pictures of the backyard and here's what I saw through the lens..

 Ah, there are my pretty flowers

 New planter--not quite done yet--more photos to show later

 And....he's back

 Well, I tried...good night, mountains...

Fall nights in the yard

We don't use our yard half as much as we should--the other night we cooked dinner outside (brats) and then had a fire and marshmallows (ok, s,mores)-it reminded us to spend more time on the patio this fall!

 This is what happens when the dog is an idiot and rips the screen (again) and the cat is too dumb to not go out...luckily Alice the Cat has gained weight and won't fit through the baby gate slats anymore.

Ooooh...it looks so pretty (well, if you ignore the pieces of pallet).

 I can't remember if I blogged about this or posted it on Facebook, but in any case, we had a bunch of pallets left from various yard projects.  Mr IM tore up a couple for firewood (that, along with last year's Christmas tree should hold us for a few nights) and built a bar/buffet as well as this project on the left.  We're going to plant in it come spring and probably try to train the roses to climb it--it covers up one of the electrical boxes.  Box #2 will probably get its own fake rock cover some day.

 This shows off not only the new patio, but my wildflowers (not weeds!) and my clearance rack umbrella for the bistro set.  As Mr. IM says, "there were reasons it was in the clearance rack"...but it is pretty here!

 Waiting for dinner...

 Watching the sunset...ahhh...

 Mmmmm...brats and homemade potato salad.  I need to make potato salad more often.  Yum!

 Is it starting to cool off or is she showing off her new GoLite jacket?  Hard to tell...

Indy Dog stayed inside, happily taking a nap.

 Dinner is over, fire going...final bits of sunset in distance, pretty lights on.

 Must be time for S'mores!

Ahhh.....We should do this more often!






In related news, the (Sub) Urban Ranch is currently taking reservations for the Fall/Thanksgiving/Christmas season!

Good-bye to sod!

Well, good-bye to all of it in the backyard at least...

When we built this house in 2007 we had the option to put $3000 cash into an escrow fund that the builder would return to us when we were done landscaping the yard (to their requirements) or for $1500, rolled into our mortgage, they would landscape our lawn, including two trees, several shrubs, some decorative grasses, and a lot of sod and river rock.  We opted for the roll-in option, deciding that at least it would be "done" and that we could fix it later.  Which is what we've been doing for seven years...hauling out river rock, digging up sod...and other fun landscaping activities.  We've focused mostly on the backyard, although we did put in a flower garden and some additional plants in the front yard.  At the moment the side yard is kind of in a holding pattern--full of extra river rock, dug up dirt, old flower pots, extra stepping stones, etc.  The side yard is on the list for "some day".  I think the backyard is pretty much done though!

This is the yard in July 2010, pretty much as it was when we moved in--river rock around the edge, sod everywhere else, furniture on the most level spots

Behind the (very little) Boy (with very short hair) you can see the garden---we had a small garden in 2008, a little bigger in 2009, and a little bigger in 2010.  No fence yet, but we only had Indy Dog and she (usually) listens when told to stay out of an area.
For a few years, the kids bought me a rose bush or other plant, which we planted in the river rock area (by hauling out rock and dirt and adding good dirt and mulch)




In 2012, we added the patio, followed by some fencing, an expanded garden, three more trees, and new flower/plant/herb beds, leaving only one 9x6 foot patch of sod for the dogs.

 However, this spot of sod was not without issues, as shown below.  It was a pain to mow, and a pain to keep grass in...then the dogs started refusing to use it (if you know what I mean).  I threatened to "just dump a couple bags of mulch on it", but IM had a better idea--another (smaller) stone patio.  So, while the kids and I were on vacation, he started the project.  He was foiled by constant rain and wasn't able to finish it while we were gone, but he had managed to at least dig up most of the sod and dirt.



This weekend, he added a sand base and got all the stones in and grouted--it looks good!  Now we just have to decide what gets to live there--we've discussed moving the bistro set (from the "secret" garden) or adding nice flower pots with some "fluffy grasses".  Right now we're on a search for something "moss-like" that can survive in the afternoon sun that hits this spot to fill in the gaps. We'll keep you posted on what we do!

Nice, eh?

Mother's Day in a winter wonderland

Saturday we went on a lovely hike with the Cub Scouts (more on that later) and then came home to prepare for a spring storm.  Hard to believe, but up to 20 inches of snow was predicted for the Denver area by Monday morning.  I was kind of skeptical that we really would have snow, but I'm not taking any chances with my tiny plants.

The tarp covers the lettuce, spinach, and asparagus quite nicely (the peas and radishes haven't come up yet)

The various buckets cover up the plants in the side yard--lilac bushes, hostas, and a couple others we weren't sure were hardy enough to handle a snow storm.

Sure enough, Sunday morning brought a dusting of snow/sleet.

The kids helped make a mother's day breakfast--I'd be a little worried if Alice was looking at me like that...

But it didn't keep The Girl from her task of chopping strawberries!



Creepy cat...

Yummy--crepes!

Tigger wanted some, too!

As the day went on, we had a little more than a sprinkling...in fact, the last time I checked, despite the melting, we had almost four inches on parts of the patio.

Mr. Ranch went out a couple times to brush snow off the apple tree--we were a little worried about the branches holding up to a few inches of heavy snow.  He also spent an hour or so in the garage putting snow tires back on his car--it's not accumulating too much on the roads, but enough that snow tires may be useful tomorrow morning!

It seems like every time I look out we have more snow--reminds me of the May snow storm in "The Long Winter" (Wilder) book--just when they thought winter was over, they had one more storm.  Hopefully, this is it for us!  The moisture is great though--add some sunshine, and this yard should go nuts!