A Sampling of Summer at Peaceacre Farm

We promised to post some pictures of our various gardens, so here it is December and we're finally getting around to it... Looking at the pictures from last summer, I'm already missing the sunshine and warm temperatures! Our vegetable gardens weren't nearly as elaborate as they have been in previous years. Toward August, they had become seriously neglected. Which just goes to show, you can't do it all... I focused more on my flowers and herbs this year than I did on vegetables. Our first year participating in the Farmers Market taught us a lot. The biggest lesson we learned is that it takes a lot more time preparing, packaging, setting up, selling, than you can possibly imagine before you actually join a Farmer's Market. As my daughter so wisely phrased it, "you really do sell things" -- which means that you have to replace them frequently. The experience was 100% positive, though. And we'll learn a little bit more every year that we remain members of the 10th St. Community Farmers Market! Fortunately, even though our vegetable garden suffered a bit this year, we had plenty of fabulous organic produce to choose from every Saturday morning from the other vendors, and that made it all worthwhile!

OUR HERB GARDENS

One of our shady herb beds

Anise-Hyssop. This is one of the indredients in Peaceacre Peaceful Blend Herb Tea. Not only is it a wonderful tea herb, it attracts humingbirds and bees. Perfect!

Dill

Speedwell

Yarrow, Lambs-Ear, Catnip

Holy Basil

Chocolate Mint

These are just a few pictures of some of my favorite herbs. As you can see, I'm not into formal beds. I plant my herbs, to quote Paul McCartney, "here, there and everywhere..."

GARDEN PICUTRES

Green Beans (looks like they need thinning... I never did, though, and we had a bumper crop like you wouldn't believe!)

Working in the garden. In the front is a beautiful patch of boarge that self-sows like crazy everywhere, every year.

More green beans!

I put this arbor together using branches that were knocked down in an ice storm a couple of years ago. The innocent looking plant you see growing in profusion is called "Chia." A friend of mine gave me one tiny seedling. Chia seeds are an ancient food used for energy, endurance and well-being. But watch out! One seedling can take over an entire garden... Talk about energy!

Working to create a perrenial flower bed in the front yard. Our goal is to have this bed cover the entire front yard, to eliminate the need for mowing... This was my husband's idea!

CUTTING FLOWERS

I'm already thinking about next spring!