I'm startng a list of what is currently growing here, with the exception of plain old ordinary grass, as I plan to work on making our ard far more productive. As I look into better wyas of using the yard, I will look into all of these more closely.

• Raspberry - Heritage Red 
• Grape - Table Red Seedless 
• Apple - Stark Red Delicious
• Spruce - Colorado Blue
• Sycamore
• Cherry - Dwarf North Star Pie
• Pine 
• Eucalyptus
• Peppermint
• Spearmint
• Parsely - Italian Flatleaf
• Tarragon
• Stevia
• Basil
• Grape Tomatoes- Sugar Sun
• Tomatoes - Mortgage Lifters
• Yellow Onions
• Kale - regular
• Kale - Spring kale
• Corn - Ornamental
• Corn - Popcorn
• Rosemary
• Oregano - Greek
• Oregano - spicy
• Lavender
• Bleeding Heart - pink
• Bleeding Heart - white
• Catmint
• Sedum - stonecrop dragon's blood
• Purple Conflower
• Strawberries
• Bell Peppers
• Bell Pepper - Spicy
• Sage
• Salvia
• Clematis - jackmanii
• Cilantro
• Morning Glory

Growing a garden without resorting to chemical pest control can be a bit of a challenge, but there are many methods that can be used successfully. Some of the more troublesome garden pests such as slugs and numerous types of beetles can be battled with chickens and ducks - they love to feed on the pests. But even if you don't have either of these two pest warriors, many other birds will be happy to feed on the pests. Robins and bluebirds in particular love to eat Japanese beetles, though many other common birds will also help rid your garden of many pests, so providing an environment that is attractive to birds is a great start to having a healthier garden pest. Due to living in a suburban development, chickens and ducks are out of the question for me, but we do have lots and lots of robins!

My property is a hair over a third of an acre and very little of it is actually flat, but the back yard take sthe award for steepness as it goes up sharply about 20 feet behind the house. The grade is about 25% and mowing it is a chore we all dread, so the overall plan is to slowly cover the entire hill with things that don't require mowing. Near the top of the hill are a half dozen blue spruces, still under six foot tall, and about halfway down is a solitary grape vine that may someday manage to survive the mower. A bit lower down on the hill is the spot I've decided to tackle first with grondcovers, and yesterday, the battle was started with six iceplants. I know that this brightly colored succulents are considered a nuisance in some parts of the country, but here in central Maryland, they will be a welcome splash of color in my fight against the hill! Once they establish themselves a bit, I'll be taking some cuttings from these to make as many more as possible - the hill needs lots of help! Apparently, ice plants are easy to root so I'm eager to get started!

May 30th - We were fortunate to get our new garden section tilled right before the weeks of rainy days turned most of our area into a sea of mud. Finally, the sun came out again, and it appears that all the veggies we had planted loved all that moisture - they are growing great! Since both of our neighbors along the ridge are also raising veggies this year, we've been enjoying comparing notes a bit. Mike to the north has been growing veggies for several years now and limits himself to corn and squash usually, but is adding peas for the first time this year. Charlie to the south is doing veggies for the first time this year, though they have always had lots of flowers in their yard. 

Of the various herbs I planted this year, the cilantro is doing the best so far and I clipped some today to garnish black bean soup - very nice! The sage plant is also going very well and the oregano is starting to grow well after a slow start.