I love critters. (Especially when they don’t eat my tomatoes.) And I’ve been wanting to invite some chickens to live here at Bumblebee Garden for some time. So I’m just tickled pink that I finally worked up enough nerve to place my order for an Omlet Eglu house and three white leghorn chickens.
I’m already thinking about names. Maxine, after my 90-year-old great aunt? Minnie Ruth, after my grandmother? Olivia or Outa (as in “oh you’da died”) after other family members? Let the games begin!
Despite the fact that the temperatures here in August have been humid and hot, the garden is still looking fairly good, although the inevitable decline is just around the corner.
The malabar spinach is just beautiful. It’s wonderful in cooking, but you don’t really want to eat it raw. Imaging picking some leaves from your front landscaping. Hummm. Very green tasting.
Those are some zinnias that the butterflies just adore. And behind them are some Fordhook lima beans. My teenage son adores lima beans. In fact, he may be the only teenager in the world who adores lima beans. So, by God, I am growing him some lima beans.
The container plantings are just coming into their own. Well, after all, I did hang on to those pansies from last fall a bit longer than I should have.
Good grief. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I’ll be planting fall containers again so soon.
Where does the time go?
Hi! I'm Robin Ripley author of Wisdom for Home Preservers, published by Taunton Press. I am also co-author of Grocery Gardening. Bumblebee is about my life in rural Maryland, my garden and my love of food, my little dogs and pet chickens. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for visiting!
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Aack! Is it time to think about fall containers already? I see no decline in your beautiful gardens, but I’ll take your word for it…
Now, about names for your chickens…
I have to agree with Carol, your garden looks gorgeous. I would love to have chickens, but my dogs would give them anxiety. lol
Have fun with your new girls. Show us the chicken house once you have it in place. We’d love to see it.~~Dee
We do fall containers, too? Oh yeah, pansies;-) Can’t wait to see the chickens and their roost!
Now you’ll have some great manure for your gardens!
How have you managed to make Malabar spinach tasty? I’ve added onions, garlic, and balsamic vinegar and still ended up with something pretty darn interesting to us. But it is pretty and prolific in our hot climates!
Hope you have fabulous success with your chickens… our dog would not be a happy companion to them, I’m afraid, but I’d have them in a minute otherwise.
P.S — I should have said the Malabar spinach was UNinteresting…when cooked with delicious amendments.
You are going to LOVE those chickens. I have one leghorn (Pauline) and she’s the only Houdini in the bunch, mainly because she flies–to the top of the garage, natch–to escape the run. She’s a good layer though. All our girls are named after great grandmothers, which is the only way I could’ve ever come up with Verloe and Letha. Have fun, Robin.
How about hosting a chicken-naming contest, with you as the judge, for one of the girls? My suggestion: Nelda Raye. (There’s a story behind that … choose that name & you get the story!)
I can’t remember how I came to find these sites for some friends who own chickens … check out http://www.savagechickens.com/ and
http://www.offthemark.com/search-results/key/chicken/
I also have a dog that’s preventing me from getting chickens- I just couldn’t torture her that much. But I love reading about others’ chickens so I look forward to hearing more!
What a cool idea, Robin! Down in the Zanthan area of Austin you can keep chickens, but the HOA’s have laws against them in many other parts of town.
No funny names like “Fricasee” or “Dumpling”? I think we saw them on the coop at a children’s zoo. But if you’re in it for the eggs…well, they should have nice old biddy names!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I just discovered your blog. COOL. Your garden is lovely. We have some free range chickens at our small organic farm in northern Alabama. When it starts to get dark, they sort of round themselves up. Still very hot here.
Hey – good luck with the chickens! How fun. We adopted a dog yesterday from a shelter and her only downside is that she eats chickens! Oops. Well, we don’t have any so that’s ok. I have the malabar spinach – I sautee it with toasted pine nuts and garlic and olive oil, but I have a TON of it – seems it loves the broiler here. What else do you do with yours?
I would love to raise chickens but I have no idea how many you would need to have enough eggs for two people. I will use about a dozen a week, for breakfast and cooking. Would three chickens produce a dozen a week? Don’t laugh, I don’t know these things? LOL
Hi Robin this is the first time that I’ve been to your blog…and I love it and your gardens! I am so jealous that you are getting chickens. Although we live on a farm my husband is not a fan of chickens so I’ve decided that in order for me to have all of the farm animals that I’d like I plan to do them in topiary all around the house. So far I’ve made Henrietta the Hen and Rocco the Rooster in boxwood (the kids helped me name them). Maurice and Geraldine the ducks have their own little bird bath “pond”. After seeing those Omlet Eglu houses I’m so tempted!
I’m envious of you getting chickens. I wonder if I could get away with them in Columbia? I doubt Garden Man would indulge me this, and we’d be forever trying to outwit the foxes. I’ll enjoy them vicariously through yours. Can’t wait to see them.
Just found your blog by random googling at end of long week. Surprise! I lived in a lovely old house a few miles north of you 10 years ago. Your photos bring it all back to me. We had a HUGE veggie garden, much too big for three people, that I will always miss.
Calvert County feels like an “out of the way” place, but it’s got hidden treasures and some pretty interesting characters.
Nice to meet you.
I am new to your lovely blog and I love your garden. I’m sure your chickens will live in grandure. One of my friends named all of her hens after first ladies. I am partial to Maxine though. Have fun with all of your planning!
i have looked all year for a large piece of pottery which looks like an olive jar, similar to the one in your photograph and have been unable to find one anywhere in the seattle area. where did you find that beautiful piece?
Robin-
When do the hens and the coop arrive? Guess you should not un-subscribe to Backyard Poultry. Ha!
I don’t know where the time goes. But if you figure it out, please clue me in! I haven’t had lima beans in ages. Have no idea why not… Your gardens, per usual, are lovely and lush. I admire your gardening talent.
Brenda
Your garden looks so good. I have always wanted a few chickens. Who knows? It could happen.
Love the Fordhook Limas, too! Robin, your place is so pretty. Your garden is healthy and lush. I look forward to mine looking as nice one day.
Summer escapes too quickly.
What a beautiful garden!! Can you tell me what the size of it is? We are currently building a home and I can’t wait to start gardening again. I have a section set aside to start with. I always have grand plans, but hope to start small at first.
I am in love with your garden!! You don’t mind if I live vicariously through you, do you?
My parents have chickens on their hobby farm–BEST. Eggs. Ever.
I love your name choices! I think they will do just fine =)
It’s amazing to think about the Fall to-do list already. I mean, my tomatoes are still green!
I read about your recent acquisition of new chicks. Good for you – you’ll have great fun coming up with names for them. Your garden is beautiful. It is hard to believe that fall is just around the corner.
[…] called the Omlet company to see if they had any leads on my chickens. Sadly, it turned out that my much anticipated chickens would be be delayed for two to four […]
You have a beautiful garden! Wow!
I think I need to have more containers in my garden.