Strawberries are winning

And the strawberries are winning...
At least for now....

But the ivy is lurking in the back, and I hate that bright green on the new ivy....

Strawberries for ivy.

So spring came and I went back to battle the ivy. When you remove the ivy there is the question - "What to plant???". I'd like to keep native plants as much as possible, but I 'd like to have useful plants too. This spring I started with strawberries, let's see how they take....

Daffodils came and went.....

They finally started blooming even though nights were cold and the sun was pale. And some of them were really cute and yellow, and many were white with golden harts. Their life was not easy and the ivy was creeping up and creeping me out.

But they stood their ground in rain in shine. And occasional snow shower.
But now they are gone......

The daffodils are coming!

The daffodils are back! At least most of them . They look green and healthy. I want to mark the bald spots and plant some more this fall, but so far so good.

And now that they are out there is another thing to worry about. Or actually two things. Slugs and snails. They live in the ivy (yet another reason to get he ivy out) and come out during nights and feast on my plants.



When I look through my bedroom window I can see that they are going to bloom soon. The tips are getting fat and yellow. I wish I could help them. I look at them like an expecting father and whisper "push little one, push".....

When I am not there....

When I am away from my garden I read. I read a lot about the ivy and how to get it out. I have a favorite starter site . I like reading about other people struggling with same problem. It does not look that bad any more. I don't feel like such a wimp when others report thorn rotator cuffs and such. So far I only can report blackberry thorns stuck in my fingers and some swet dripping down my spine.....

Ivy and me

I did not realize it would be so hard. I never blogged before, but here I want to document my quest to create my dream garden and my struggle with ivy that wants to take over the universe.

I am a farmer's daughter, but I left the land long time ago. Now my genes are calling and I need to garden. So I have found a place that I can call my own. Or almost mine. The ivy is there too. Actually the ivy was there first. Lurking in the bushes, climbing the trees, suffocating ferns. Experts claim that it's easy to rid your property of it, I am not so sure, but I will try.

I also started planting. In the fall of 2006 I got 50 daffodil bulbs and planted them at the edge of the woods. Last spring they bloomed beautifully. This year they are coming back, but far fewer than a year ago. It's still early. I can see strong dark-green leaves peaking through the grass and brown leaves. I still hope that these are the early starters, that others will join soon, the the slowpokes will change their mind and come through.