Spring at Strawbery Banke Part 3

These gardens belong to the Aldrich House which is part of Strawbery Banke.  In addition to their beauty, this property has an interesting connection to one of the most famous books in American Literature.  Click here to discover the story behind the property.

part 4 to follow soon....................

Note To Michele: Container Gardening

Michele,

I am happy to announce I finally got around to some planting. We've had a busy spring, so gardening has taken a back seat to other things. I've decided to try growing veggies on my sunny deck this year. I've mentioned before I have not had great luck in recent years with my vegetable garden.

I have two main problems- slugs and at least one woodchuck! Mr. Woodchuck has eaten all but one of my tulips this spring, and just today I noticed he ate the blossoms off all my perennial bachelor buttons as well as chewing some of the buds off my peonies!  And an army of slugs just eat any veggies I try to grow. They also attack my pansies.

Getting enough sunshine is also an issue, with all the tall trees around my property.

So I'm hoping container gardening on the deck will help with these problems. Very few slugs get on the deck, which is raised several feet up off the ground, and I can block the openings to keep the woodchuck out. The deck gets the most sun of any spot on my property.

Today I planted sweet basil, parsley and watercress, a plant I've never tried before.

Purple Cherokee and Sweet Cherry Tomatoes.

I may need to transplant into larger containers but for now these will do and what I had on hand today.

Below is a photo of what I think is a locust tree in bloom. It's on the edge of the forest and my yard. This year it's just covered with blossoms up in the tree canopy.

I'll keep you posted as to the progress of my 2018 container garden experiment. I plan to add other veggies as well.

~Caroline