A buzzing in the garden

Taking a few moments in the garden this morning, I heard a gentle and general buzzing throughout. It seems the large ash tree in the back garden is flowering and the bees are taking great advantage of this bright sunny day after all our rain. More rain is expect tomorrow, so it is good they are so industrious. They may be stuck in their hives for a few more days.

I have been following a lot of beekeeping info these days and seriously thinking of getting a hive of my own. I think it would be simpler than trying to keep chickens, the other big backyard farm animal, and fit better in my smallish garden.

What do you think? Are you interested in keeping bees? Let me know in the comments!

Time to find some shade vegetables

Image via Wikipedia

Although I didn't really believe it at first, there are some vegetables that will grow in part sun. I am going to head the the nursery this weekend and find some that will not only grow in the little bed outside the kitchen window, but also be something that we will actually eat.

I am a fussy eater, so that could be a challenge, but after doing a bit of research on the Net I find that kale, oregano (I know, a spice, not a vegetable), broccoli, cauliflower and a few others might do OK here. I plan on pulling out the little electric cultivator and perhaps working in some more of our homemade compost.

I also plan on putting in some salad mixes. According to some sites, growing this in partial shade, especially here in the hot San Fernando Valley might help to keep the lettuce from bolting as the days start to heat up.

This little project will help me complete a long list of to-do items so I am looking forward to it. Too often, I can come to dread various gardening projects, but this one holds a lot of interest for me.

Here is my list of things to accomplish fairly soon, if not this weekend:

• Visit nursery for transplants and seeds
• Empty mature compost from both compost bins
• Work compost into the bed using electric cultivator
• Plants seeds and transplants
• Adjust/fix soaker irrigation system to minimize leaks