Perennials, Lazy Gardener's Best Friend

This spring has been a strange one. We had our usual freakishly warm weather in February, but then we had a 20 degree frost for the better part of a week. Since then it's been very wet and generally cold, with a sunny day sprinkled in there. For me this means, between work and school and rain, the garden isn't where I want it to be.

However, I have been getting the perennials we have planned on having at our place in the ground. We are planning on four perennial crops, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and asparagus. As of today, we only have the blackberries left. The strawberries we planted, almost a month ago, now are doing really well and all of our plugs took =].

We planted twelve blueberries last week. They are already flowering, which is a great sign. I have been picking the flowers off for now, so they put their energy into establishing, not fruiting. I can wait. By letting your perennials get well established the crop is larger for the rest of their lifetime.

The asparagus, I planted today. We planted 26 asparagus plants, two rows of 13. We won't get any this year, but next year we can harvest half and after that we can have full harvests for as long as we live here. The asparagus are going to be a great investment, because they are quite expensive at the store and they start producing around the beginning of March and keeping going through July. I'm really excited to have them part of the family.

Perennials are so nice, because they often have less maintenance and produce well for years once we invest the time for first growth period. This is one of the reasons I have planned for a good number of perennials to plant and depend on while we live here. Other than the fruit bearing ones I mentioned, many herbs are perennials and I'm planning on planting some basket willows, which are perennials as well.

(The strip between path and driveway is where we are planting blackberries)

Whether certain herbs are perennial or not depends on your location. Since we have mild winters here there are many herbs that are perennials. I have started thyme, oregano, marjoram, and chamomile for perennials. I have some lavender and a beautiful rosemary bush already. I also have a young California Bay tree that is waiting for me to decide on the perfect spot for it.

The great part of many perennials is they often produce more then you need. For example fruit trees are great, easy plants to care for and one tree often produces more than one family could eat of that fruit. This means there's plenty to trade with others that have fruit bearing perennials. I have friends with fruit trees, so I will trade my extra berries for peaches, plums, lemons, cherries and apricots. I just need to have a friend with some apple trees and I'll be set.

How are you gardens going? Planting any perennials? Hope they are growing as well as mine! Until next time!