Pictured: Forget-me-nots in the swamp 5/24/26.
| I managed a quick solo woods walk on Sunday as my other half, Shane, was camping with his daughter and my daughter, Ember, was at her dad’s. Just mom and I over Memorial weekend. Pretty quiet! Enjoy! Amy | Table of Contents: ~ Garden Guides! ~ ~ Phenology: The Seasons Through Blooms! ~ ~ Spying on Nature! ~ ~ Livestock News & More Blog Info ~ ~ Thank You! ~ |
~ Garden Guides! ~
The waxing gibbous moon (First Quarter moon through the Full Moon) is a good time to plant fruiting crop annuals/vegetables. The waning gibbous moon (Full moon through Last Quarter moon) is good for planting root crops and perennials.
I’ve compiled a list of planting dates for 2026 based on the moon phases:
2026 Planting Guide – Zones 7/8
Here is the advice for this week:
After 4:12pm May 23rd to before 1:45pm May 30th (waxing gibbous moon)
Sow Outdoors: beans, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash
Transplant: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes
After 1:45pm May 31st to before 3:01pm Jun 7th (waning gibbous moon)
Sow Outdoors: chives, dahlias, gladioli, tuberous begonias
Prune lilacs, rhododendrons and azaleas after bloom.
~ Phenology: The Seasons Through Blooms! ~
The Sweet Williams are blooming like crazy! They were a gift from an older gentleman that Shane helps out with cutting trees and such. Just love all the blooms!
5/24/26 Blooms in the Woods: The very invasive Easter US native Bur Cucumber (Sicyos angulatus), Panicled Bulrush (Scirpus microcarpus), Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium idahoense), Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), Pacific Snakeroot (Sanicula crassicaulis), and Fringecups (Tellima grandiflora). Thought for a minute there we were going with all the genus starting with the letter “S”!
~ Spying on Nature! ~
No new trail-cam or nature sounds videos this week. Just too busy!
Saw this cute little Bumble Bee on the Lavender flowers. So hard to get a picture that isn’t blurry!
Some special creek finds on my solo woods walk 5/24/26
~ Livestock News & More Blog Info ~
Don’t forget the monthly Homestead Happenings: Livestock Edition that goes out the first of each month!
Here’s the latest:
Homestead Happenings April 2026: Livestock Edition
The next Homestead Happenings: Livestock Edition for May will come out June 1st, where lambs will get their final evaluations before finding new homes!
We’ll also see you all again June 1st for the next Homestead Happenings: Flowers & Nature, where there will be even more garden guidance and we check out what else is blooming in the woods and gardens!
June 1st is a DOUBLE FEATURE blog day!
The blog is a sampling of all the photos I’ve taken this month.
Please head over to our social media to see the photo dumps!
~ Thank You! ~
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Hollow Hills Ranch 