Don’t these look yummy?
They were!
I went out to work in the garden today (it was 80 degrees), and stumbled upon a handful of these ripe, red, shiny, glorious strawberries. I left them there until Kallie came home, so she could come to the garden and be surprised. And then we ate them for our dessert tonight. I can’t even begin to describe how sweet and juicy they were. NOTHING like a grocery store strawberry. Even Kallie said so. Too bad we never have more than one little handful at a time!
But there are more coming, soon!
But there are more coming, soon!
Sadly, one of my chores today was to cover the new daylilies in the SAFE back yard. It is safe from deer, but not safe from bunnies or dogs. sigh.
This fencing goes around the yard on 3 sides. But the back of the yard is wrought iron with wide posts – wide enough for an entire family of bunnies to come crashing through. Which I am assuming they did as they ate the lilies down to the nubs.
Here’s Mr. Burpee Big Boy tomato – growing like a …. oops, tomato!
See Mr. Radish, who popped his head up yesterday to see the sunshine?
See the lovely HOLE that Dakota dug in the back yard? I think she wanted me to plant something there and thought she’d be helpful.
Helpful, scattering little clods of clay dirt all over my rock and granite path, so that I could sweep and hand pick clods out of the granite.
So helpful!
Alas, we just can’t grow strawberries very well over here in Houston once it gets warm. I tried one year and there is no substitute for a fresh strawberry.
I love your berries, you have such an awesome garden. Thanks for posting, I can imagine how great that tasted.
Strawberries, already, I am green with envy.
Homegrown strawberries in January. You must be living a charmed life! Come around to my garden in June or thereabouts, and I should have some extra berries to share with you!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
that strawberry looks so gooooood.
Dakota was probably trying to get to one of those bunnies.
Isaac – They didn’t produce much for me – 1 or 2 at a time and only a handful over the summer. But they are liking our cooler weather now, that’s for sure.
Getgrounded — I was so excited to discover them. Love those little surprises — better than finding the chomped lilies!
Debbi – well, it’s gonna be 82 here today. Crazy — and then people say there is no global warming – HA!
Carol — Thanks for the offer. We will come to Indy this summer and I’d love to come have strawberries with you — I’m gonna hold you to it!
Lisa — Hadn’t thought about that. Or a lizard or a bug or … who knows? She’s just a digger and she’s slowly getting me used to that fact! This was the biggest mess she’s made so far. I don’t know what to do — I can’t cayenne the whole dang yard!
Strawberries are on my list for next year to go with the rhubarb. You are right strawberries no longer have any taste unless they are home grown.
We also have a rabbit that has come through the wrought iron. D barricaded it out by putting up plywood! Now I can’t get out either.
Lancashire Rose – that’s ironic, I’d love to put Rhubarb on my list! My mom used to grow it when I was a little girl and I loved eating the stalks straight from the garden. That’s funny about your fence. I am thinking we need a short run of chicken wire about 1 foot up along the bottom of the fence. You wouldn’t be able to see it against the backdrop of the woods and it would keep a few more things out.
Those strawberries look amazingly tasty as only a non-grocery store strawberry can be, and now I’m hungry. The Natural Gardener has strawberry starts in little 4″ pots right now, but my impression from Twitter is that it’s far too late to plant them. If only they carried strawberry and rhubarb starts earlier in the winter, I’d be over the moon!
Do you think if I planted strawberry starts in an area that would get full sun in the winter and part shade in the summer, they’d summer over?
Lori – I had my strawberries all summer in full sun – just go get some and plant ’em. They will be sad in the hottest part of the summer, but mine survived just fine with lots of watering. I do water the veggie garden religiously. And since mine have been growing year-long, I don’t think it’s too late at all. In fact, I am planting all sorts of things “out of season” because we seem to not have any season here other that Spring and Summer these days!
Diana, I can almost taste the berries…they are perfect picked from the garden and warm from the sun. I had to rush to the refrig and get a California berry after looking at your photos! gail
Gail — I knew I’d make everyone hungry for strawberries with that picture. Wait til you see the other surprise I found in my garden last week — I’m just about to post that now. You’ll be in the vegetable crisper this time!