In the end, I could not carry off the pea brush.

In theory, I like the idea of pea brush. Overlapping birch saplings thrust into the ground behind your peas, so they will twine around it as they grow. But I think to carry off pea brush properly, you need to be either an elderly and crotchety Scottish gardener, or better yet, a grand lady who employs one. My pea brush was ridiculous from the beginning. It wasn't tall enough or sturdy enough and we don't have any birch trimmings.

So I took it down and put up some netting strung between two bamboo poles. It seems to be working fine. The peas are growing, and in the foreground the radishes and arugula planted from seed are popping up. Back toward the peas, there is spinach/mustard and some mesclun, chives and sorrel and ruby chard.

Spinach/mustard and peas.

Looking the opposite direction, from the bed in the back of the yard. The bed in the foreground has, left to right: space for the bok choi seedlings I am hardening off; rainbow chard; Texas sweet onions; and bunching onions. The bed in the middle has butter and salad bowl lettuces, and some cress, Japanese mitsuba and carrot, spinach and radish seedlings just coming up.

Mesclun from transplants I grew under lights indoors. It made it through two deep snows and freezes.

So beautiful. I wonder why the rabbits aren't bothering it. We see wild rabbits in the yard every day, and so far, I haven't seen any trace of them in the garden.

Under the bushes all around the backyard is this shade-loving vinca groundcover.

Red tulips pop up here and there. I wonder how long ago they were planted. It's been so long since anyone took care of this yard. We did find a long-handled bulb planter under all the leaf debris last summer.

Peony buds ready to open.