Fresh Friday, May 14

5/3/2021 10:17 am

It's been a busy week in both veggie and pollinator gardens and it is so exciting to see what's growing on!

Our Pollinator Garden got a fresh layer of mulch along the paths, which had been washed away by so much spring rain. All the bright yellow Squaw Weed (also called Groundsel or Golden Ragwort) was trimmed down to leave hollow stalks. Many of our native bees and other helpful insects use the hollow tubes to lay their eggs! We can help them thrive by leaving 12-14" on the stems for them to use. The blue star is still blooming and beautiful and the bee balm (look for SQUARE STEMS!!) are on the verge of blooming too. 

If you'd like to bring some of these flowers and pollinators to your yard, come by the garden next Friday, May 21 for the FREE Native Plant Giveaway! 

In the veggie garden, our greens are still going bonkers. Peas have gotten strong and started blooming just this week. Pretty soon we'll be able to pick our sugar snaps.

Several of our broccoli plants have started creating baby broccoli! Not quite a bushy head like you get at the grocery store but still tasty and already to go in a salad, or stir fry! 

On the other side of the garden, the strawberries are going crazy with berries! The squirrels haven't found them yet and we're covering our bushes with wire baskets to keep out the pests. Strawberries are hard to keep from going moldy or eaten, so grab them when you see a ripe one... but only pick when they're red.

The honeysuckle bush that grows over the garden shed is super happy right now. Did you notice how the flowers grow right out of the middle of the leaf?! Isn't that strange? This variety of honeysuckle isn't like the invasive bush that has taken over our neighborhoods. This is a native version that is easy to trellis and grown on fences. Plus, hummingbirds LOVE these guys! Keep your eyes open for little birds zipping around collecting their tasty nectar. 

Don't forget to sign up for a week of garden tending here and share your garden pix on Instagram or Facebook by using #OBPTO #OBEaglesGarden #OBGardenDirt