This is the time of year where the flower gardens tend to slip into a bit of a lull. The spring bulbs are long gone, the pansies are looking a bit weather worn and the full splash of the true summer garden has yet to hit. Honestly, I don’t know that our garden ever gets quite that flashy. I tend to think that it has more of a subtle beauty, more dignified and graceful.

We now have four beds like these and another smaller one. Two are down with the fruit trees in the lower yard (we often picnic down there) and two and a half are off behind the new house. They are full of all kinds of delicacies and I am really quite pleased with them.

The fruit trees have done well this year. Thankfully, our proficiency at pruning seems to have been adequate. None of them have shown signs of any kind of irreparable harm!

The peach tree seems to be particularly productive. It was so tiny when we planted it last year! It is Galen’s placenta tree and I can remember writing in his baby book about how it was so dainty and sweet and pink all-over (in bloom) just like him. Not but a year later and it’s nearly 7 feet tall!

The plums are quite covered in fruit. We had enough cherries for everyone to have a few. Next year the cherries will be more productive. The blackberries are starting to form on the canes and we’ve started to come across a few ripe raspberries here and there.

We added four new trees this year, two mulberry and two hazel nuts. There was a very kind man in town who had a great many extra trees and donated them to any one in town who was interested.

I’ve never tasted fresh mulberries before. I’ve only ever had dried. It will be exciting when they are large enough to fruit! I’m hoping that the hazelnuts will form a hedge with the yew (also a gifted plant) I have in the lower yard to define the area and give us some added privacy from the street.

Despite all the debris created by construction and the projects of very active little boys, the garden is a peaceful, pleasant space to just be. The air is sweet and fresh, full of birdsong and sound of swaying trees. There are rainbow hued dragonflies and butterflies darting about. The whole place is full of life. We’ve been blessed by a pair of great blue herons nesting near our land this year and it’s always a delight to watch them fly over. It is a daily reminder of why I so love being here.