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Not Quite What I Intended…

It’s time for Licorice to be with the hens and Buttercup (our rooster). The hens seem interested but Buttercup keeps charging/chasing my sweet little chick. I figure there’s something I’m doing wrong to introduce the chick to the rest of the flock (three chickens).

Before today I had Licorice in the coop with the rest of the chickens but she was in the elevated hen house alone. To help everyone get used to each other I put a wall of hardware cloth in the middle of the little hen house so the hens and Buttercup can sleep in the same area as Licorice and get used to each other.

I left the area so everyone can get used to the new setup and when I got back, this is what I found:

Licorice & Mazie

Not quite what I had in mind…

What’s Blooming April 15

Mount Tacoma Tulip

Candytuft

Apple Blossoms

Blueberries

Strawberries

Alpine Strawberries

Vibernum

Daphne Summer Ice

Native NW Bleeding Heart

Bleeding Heart

Bluebells

Bluebells

Lilac

Iris

Hens & Chicks

Euphorbia

Euphorbia

Ok. These aren’t quite blooming YET but wanted to share anyway.

Tree Peony

Double Peony

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day takes place on the 15th of every month and all started with May Dreams Gardens.

Apple Trees are Blooming – Wordless Wednesday

My Apple Trees are Blooming!

Today is National Licorice Day – Who Knew?

We knew our chick Licorice was pretty great but didn’t know she had her own national holiday! That’s right, today is National Licorice Day! I didn’t even know until Elayne from Annie’s Annuals mentioned it this morning (she’s also the one who came up with the name). In honor of Licorice’s big day I made her a crown – she was still attacking it when I left.

Here’s the big crowning ceremony:

My Backyard Inspiration Picture

As some of you know, we’re in the process of remodeling our front and back yards. I already shared my front yard inspiration picture (source unknown) but I haven’t yet shown you my back yard inspiration picture and progress.  In short, we’re removing the grass and adding a stone patio with more flower beds.

Here’s my inspiration picture from Valerie Easton’s book The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden.

Back Yard Inspiration Picture (the water is a dream - don't focus too much attention there)

What I like about this picture/garden/patio: 1. the different shapes of the stones 2. the shape of the patio 3. the gaps between the stones 4. the different colors and textures of the ground covers 5. how the patio flows into the garden 6. it looks natural and not cold

Tumbled Pennsylvania Bluestone

Now that you know what has inspired us. I wanted to share what we’re doing to our space to pull off this look. Just a couple days ago we purchased a tumbled Pennsylvania Bluestone that comes in many different shapes and sizes. It’s sitting in our back parking spot until we get the prep and front walkway finished.

We really like the natural tumbled look of the stones.

Here’s how the spot looks right now. As you can see we still need to remove the rest of the lawn, level the space, add gravel & sand and plan the shape of the patio before we can set out the stones.

I also need to find ground covers that the chickens won’t eat! Those little rascals love to eat/kill all my ground covers…

Lots of work ahead... can you visualize the finished patio?

And in case you’re interested, here’s what the space looked like last summer with the patio furniture and paths – taken by the garage and facing the house.

Why we need a patio - I'm sick & tired of moving all the furniture to mow the lawn.