If there’s one thing that can be said about Mother Nature, it is that when she’s ready to bloom, she does, and in so many many ways. We have seen a number of new volunteer plants seed themselves here this year, some of them even welcome! Like hollyhocks, which used to be here, and then went away (more on that later). Also, whereas we thought the frogs had gone, due to lack of enough water, they’re back, due to enough water! And there are at least two of them, judging by the croaks, so we hope they are  male and female.

The profusion is so elaborate that our neighbor Devon suggested he come over here with his pruning shears. Great idea! “You know I was trained in that,” he says. GOOD!

Here’s the garden entrance that particularly concerned him, looking from the first DeKist house, through a tunnel made of curly willow . . .

 Back up a few feet, and it’s even more formidable. Rebecca that tunnel effect has only been there for a few days . . .

And voila! You’ve gone through the tunnel to the garden, brassicas protected by cover cloth from cabbage moths.

Here’s another entrance, that we managed to cut back a bit of just the other evening, noting that we hope the primrose takes hold. (You can’t see it, but it’s there, on the fence above the day lilies.)

Here’s a view, through the fence, with massive horserdish leaves in left forefront. Me: “I remember when I bought the horseradish from a farmer at the Saturday market maybe five years ago. He smirked as he was selling it to me.” We all laughed. Of course, I had no idea how prolific that single plant would prove.

Four of us happened to be on a walk-about, around the outside of the fence, checking on plants we’d forgotten about, like this little one:

And noticing especially what volunteer plants were appearing. For example, what’s this?

Again, massive leaves, but not horseradish, not comfrey, not dock(?).

Of course the place we stopped the longest was to admire the new poppy plant, flowering now, after Rebecca planted it last year.

Here’s an even cooler picture, contrasted with whatever that spikey starburst-looking thingie is right above it.

The poppies’ pink matched almost exactly the color of another volunteer plant, the pink hollyhock, mentioned above. (There’s also a new white-flowered hollyhock nearby.)

Stories abound. Like this one: Maynard, an old friend of Dan’s, was here for a few days leading up to Mother’s Day, and happened to buy two “Sagittaria Latifolia” plants, one for Rebecca and one for me. He did not realize: we are both Sagittarians! Another name for this plant: broadleaf arrowroot. Here they are, in their watery habitat and flowering.

Then there are the various day lilies, so beautiful that we applaud them when they spread.

Oh and there’s our famous queen elderberry bush, which would take over the entire front yard of the first DeKist house if given its way. We hope to beat the birds to the berries, and will harvest some of the flowers for tea.

And there’s this amazing purple plant, that has come up periodically all along. Some say it’s a  Japanese plant that’s good for tea. Others say it’s orach, and can be eaten like sorrel or spinach. Haven’t tried it yet, either way.

Meanwhile, amidst all this profusion, Rebecca keeps designing. Here she is, outside the fence, in the latest bed she is communing with.

While I was out there she told me about a gigantic, glorious rock that she spotted on someone’s curb in Indianapolis. The lady who lived there was happy to get rid of it, and helped Rebecca put it in her car. She and Shy decided right then and there to move it into the new bed right where she wants it.

So yes, amidst all this profusion, we do have some projects going, mostly plant based, like this one, drying herbs on a clothes rack.

Or this, Solan’s new experimental mushroom growing project.

Then there’s the project to build a tiny new pond, this one to replace an extremely gross water catcher from the DeKist 2 house roof:

The hole had been dug. Now the liner. Rebecca: “I sure wish I had attended that pond building workshop last winter . . .” So who knows if this will work, but it’s an old swimming pool liner that Solan’s dad was getting rid of. Here goes:

Not sure what we’re waiting for to finish it, but it’s obviously not done yet.

Meanwhile, you’d never even know the pond is there beyond, by the property line. Here’s the view from the path to the house:And meanwhile, our regularly scheduled activities proceed apace. CSA harvest, every Friday evening:

And Community Dinners every Thursday evening.

Here’s last week.

This week, tomorrow, will happen to fall on Summer Solstice, so we have planned a wonderful ceremony for after dinner. YES!