This Week in the Garden: June 22, 2025
So much goes on in the garden (or should I say gardens?) as we continue to create, evolve and plant all of the different garden areas within our broader Shortmeadow garden. Here are a few highlights from the past few weeks.
The Green House Build Continues
I’m finally getting to the point where the polycarbonate panels are being installed. This whole build/assembly has been quite a ‘fiddle’ (perhaps as expected) with a ton of parts and lots of small hardware. The fact that it’s 26 feet long has certainly made the process longer than if it was the 6.5 foot version, but still… Just the doors alone were enough to make you want to toss something against the wall and walk away — the instructions/drawings are impressively vague on some key points. Oh well, it’s coming together and it’ll be great once complete.
Planting a Load of Clearance Shrubs in the Cottage Garden
One of our local garden centers is in the clearance phase of the season and I was able to get about $500 worth of shrubs for $120. Love the deal and while most were looking a bit stressed there was enough good foliage on each that I knew I could bring them home, given them each a good drink of water mixed with Thrive and then get them planted so they can settle into their new homes. Getting them dotted into the various areas is really helping to ‘bulk out’ the beds and things are slowly looking more and more full (as opposed to lots of open bare ground waiting for a higher purpose).
Harvesting Peas, Raspberries, and Lots of Lettuce!
The peas and lettuce have been standouts so far in the vegetable garden. The potatoes are looking promising (fingers crossed) and the raspberry plants are doing great with a reasonable amount of berries coming on. I’m quite greedy when it comes to raspberries and would prefer a higher quantity, but I guess there’s still plenty of season left and the autumn bearing will do their thing eventually.
The lettuce didn’t really get going last year but this year has been fantastic! I almost don’t want to say anything and jinx myself but the quality, quantity, and lack of insect damage has been phenomenal. We’ve been eating lots of salads, wraps, etc. and I’m very glad that this season is much improved from last year.
The peas have also been doing and yielding very well. I think the way and place that I like to eat peas the most is standing out in the garden and easting them fresh out of the pods. See a previous blog post I wrote on growing peas and sweet peas (link below).
A Guide to Growing Peas and Sweet Peas for New Gardeners
