2023:
Its been a few minutes since I have updated this page! Sorry! Life.... But I do have some updates now since this summer has been so grouchy with us! Some of the things that are thriving are:
The Honeyberries aka Haskaps! This year has been a banner year despite the crazy Snowpocalypse that buried them under the snow for months and - see that weird hole in the front? Snowplow guy took it a little too far! I lost the front of the tree, but still have a plethora of berries - as long as I keep the birds and Ike from them! Yes! Ike picks and eats Honeyberries!
Swiss Chard and Kale! Holy Cow! These have loved the cooler weather we have had and the rain and have taken over this bed! In the background are Cabbage and Broccoli that are also doing really well - you just cant see them for the Kale and Chard! Note to self - plant the Kale and Chard in full shade!
Potatoes in the easy empty bins! These were planted late and have just really come along nicely! These are three (see below also) bottomless tubs (two barrels that broke and one old garbage can). They have seemed to like the cool weather also and the rain.
We planted four varieties of potato this year ncluding Rose Gold, Purple Viking, Magic Molly, and Shepody (my dads favorite). We have a few tires plantd also but they were planted later and one got hit by the Mower Guy and is NOT thriving! Not sure why?
Heyer 20 apple is putting on like mad! The apples are still a little small and some are mis-shapen - most likely due to the amount of water on them all the time this summer!
Red Haralson apple is also putting on well - also has the small and the mis shapen apples as well.
Peonies are bursting with blossoms! This one is on the shadiest side of the greenhouse and it still has popped right out and bloomed beautifully!
Royal Burgundy Green Beans. Doing well despite being planted in the middle of July and being so cold and rainy until just this past weekend. These are my favorite of all time! You can read about them HERE.
Spinach and Pak Choi - Hubby's favorites. Our neighbor used to grow these and bring them over to us in wonderful dishes. When her husband passed on she moved to Achorage which is too far for bringing delicious treats most of the time. So we have to grow our own! Ill share some recipes on posts in the near future for you- she was a good sharer of recipes too.
The Lillies! So beautiful and so shortlived - must be enjoyed in the moment, that day, that week.
Clematis - the climbing kind. Its blue and yellow when it blooms ad makes very dainty fairy balls for seed heads. The Sage next to it was thriving until ths weekend! You know it is hot when the Sage wilts in one day!
Anyting Purple is thriving! This is Allheal, and two types of Pansy growing at the base of the Clematis. Beautiful and long lasting, these make me smile anytime I see them!
Thats it for this time kids - Stay tuned for some fun posts coming on the main page and also the Tomato Roundup coming at the end of the growing season.
Below is the Pasqueflower in its young glory! The colors are wonderful and it blooms for a few weeks before getting a dandelion like seed head on it which is very much like a plant that would be great in a fairy garden.
2015 - Stargazer Lilly!!! I did not think this would survive our winters here in Big Lake, but I put it in anyway next to the greenhouse, watered them and fed them and they came up beautifully and bloomed again this year! So excited. If you have not experienced Stargazers find some! They are beautiful and they smell divine as well, perfuming the whole area around where they are planted.
Elecampane - this is a wonderful plant that comes up year after year - it doesnt seem to mind dry and hot, but seems to bloom the best when it has heat and lots of water. No wet feet though! It gets about 3 feet tall and sometimes starts with really big broad leaves like Comfrey almost. This photo doesnt show that well - I have another somewhere - just cant find it! Elecampane is a respiratory support herb - asthma is one of the issues that Elecampane can be useful in treating. I have not personally tried it yet but its on the list of things to do. Ill keep you posted on how that turns out! I have used commercial preparations of the herb however and had good success with them. Please do your homework before using any herb! I also like this herb as a garden beauty - its just pretty!
Honeyberry - these are wonderful trees that grow a mellow oval shaped blueberry that are tart with a hint of honey that smooths out the tartness. They are fairly easy to grow and require mostly a good dressing of compost mulch and some good worm juice a few times a year! You have to be careful to get to the berries before the birds do - they love them as much as people do!
See Below the Tarragon for the other 2015 thrivers! Tarragon did well again but not as well as last year - I think it likes it cooler!
Tarragon (below) has always done well here at Wicked Raven and this year was no different!
It will grow just about anywhere and doesnt care if the soil is poor or wet! See the home page blog coming soon for a vinegar recipe using tarragon! The flavor is very strong but wicked good in marinades and such. 2014 update - I had at least two plants that didnt make it this winter - one was stepped on by the moose and then the print filled up with water and ice and that was the end of that! The other I have not determined what happened - Could have been just lack of good mulch - I was too worried about the grapes - which arent coming back! Im done with grapes for a while! The plant you see below is from 2013 but it is beautiful this year as well!
Celery has been going well again - I just got it into the pots and out into the world though so we are a little behind on that for 2014! Photo below is from 2013 - Ill update as soon as you can see any celery in the pictures for 2014,
Lavendar Munstead that is 4 years old and gets snow plowed onto it along with rocks and debris all winter. I would like to move it to a safer location but am terrified that it will die since it has done so well in its current location! It has bloomed every year too -Here she is;
Stay tuned for: Elecampane, Woad, and Dye Herbs! Coming soon!
Ill continue to add as we go throughout the seasons.
2015 Thriving winners are:
Coltsfoot! Also called son before the father as it blooms before the leaves come out. This is such a cool plant and makes a great ground cover. Doesn't mind poor soils or dry conditions. This plant is about 5 years old so it doesn't spread too quickly but it could take over an area if you aren't keeping an eye on it. Share with friends when you have to pull it out. Leaves and flowers dried make a tea that is good for coughs and throat soothing.
Clematis - these are Star of India on the right and Alpinus on the left. Both of these are blue/purple bloomers. I had to add a third trellis to the Alpinus as it had folded over on itself and was pulling itself off of the wall! The moose eat these off every year and it grows back bigger than ever!
Here they are with the new trellis in place. I dont have a picture of them blooming - they bloomed early this year with the heat we had and I missed it with the camera! I was busy trying to keep everything watered!
Cornflower (Centaury of some type) It comes up every year and blooms all summer as long as it gets watered well! Soil does not seem to be an issue - it doesn't care!
2014 I lost the Costmary (Tanacetum Balsamita) - I am so missing this herb - it lived for 6 years but this winter was just too weird. If you arent familiar with Costmary it is a plant that resembles a stiff daisy leaf with timy flowers and smells a little like camphor. It was used to freshen and kill germs and odor in mattress ticking and straw. It keeps away ants and is an astringint as well as being used as a "ladys herb" - do no use if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. It has been used as a great bookmark - it dries well without becoming brittle for quite a long time. I will definitely replace this herb in the garden.
Doing Great are 2014 Strawberries!!! The Strawberries have been in a Hugelkulture bed for the last 2 years and they are doing great! They don't mind the wonky weather changes and they don't care if they dry out a little bit between rainstorms. The photo below is after they had been picked twice already - every other day in July!
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