The Yearly Beginning Of New Life

So here where I am, spring is in full-swing, finally. Later than last year, but I am still greatful. Grass is starting to green up, our maple and poplar trees have beautiful baby leaves, and daffodils are showing all of their beauty to the world.

The apricot tree has almost finished blooming actually, as it started when the weather wasn't the greatest outside. The boys love being able to go pick their own, and I love that they are getting their fruit. Theres nothing better than fresh picked fruit.

The family garden is coming along very well so far with lots of prep and planning.

Our two types of raspberries are growing so fast, you can practically watch. One is a white/peach type, and the other is a super sweet red type. When we first started, it was just one row, but our oldest pretty much devoured EVERY SINGLE ONE.

We knew we needed more. Now with my youngest following in his footsteps, I can only imagine. Last year, they were his morning breakfast all summer.

The rest of the beds have been prepped with a good helping of broken down maneur (thank you cows!), which always gives everything a big boost when I plant our veggies in it. And the best part is, it's all natural.

Now, we had a slight problem with our tarragon. As most of you might already know, it tends to take over whatever space it is planted in. So it is good practice to keep it trimmed down by pulling off-shoots out regularly when doing weeding in your garden. Keep it trimmed and dry the excess you don't use up fresh. It also goes well in a large pot with rich, well drained soil, and doesn't need lots of watering.

Our plants ended up being taller than me, and I am 5'5"! We also have sage, oregano, chives (garlic and regular), dill and parsley sprouting from last year.

Dill and parsley are not typical perennial plants here, but the seeds have survived the winter in the ground and are coming up. Can't say that I am complaining. The dill is absolutely beautiful with salmon.

Also this year, we are putting in a trellis for growing peas. They are my oldest son's favourite, straight off the vines. Who can say no to that!

Garlic has been planted in between our Excelsa cedar tree hedge and next to the onions that will be going in later this month. We have a fantastic family-owned nursery just a few minutes down from us, that we are able to pick up the starter plants we need, at reasonable prices (TheGreenery.com). We typically grow two kinds, the Red and White. I find the red to be much stronger so you can use less. I typically use it with oven-made meals like roasts, as it deepens the taste of the meat. The white is a mild variety, which I roast on the bbq, with or without veggies.

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