“Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.”
– Helen Mirren
– Helen Mirren
4/10/18:
While I could create flowery prose about the joys of spring gardening, I'm more in a list-writing mood today.
Radishes – Black, French, White, Purple
Basil – Thai, Genovese, Mexican Spice, Lemon
Spinach
Lettuces – Red, Mizuna
Mustard
Snap Peas
Parsnips
Morning Glories – Heavenly Blue, Royal Blue Ensign
Snapdragons
(Still to be planted: wildflower mix, peppers, tomatoes, perhaps squash)
Basil – Thai, Genovese, Mexican Spice, Lemon
Spinach
Lettuces – Red, Mizuna
Mustard
Snap Peas
Parsnips
Morning Glories – Heavenly Blue, Royal Blue Ensign
Snapdragons
(Still to be planted: wildflower mix, peppers, tomatoes, perhaps squash)
Clicking on the thumbnails below will show the full photo in a new window.
Autumn fern.
Snap peas, nut tree, rhubarb.
Strongly-scented jasmine.
Pollinators are starting to show up in greater numbers. Bees were buzzing around the newly-opened jasmine blooms and the sweet pea bush that's part of the same hedge in front of our bedroom window. Occasionally I've seen little white butterflies on warm days.
The forget-me-nots are now adding a lovely note of pale blue to the area along the oldest bench. I should plant more things around the yard in this color.
My once-fragile volunteer tomato has gotten a lot bigger, and is likely developing a strong root system, thanks to doses of Early Starter fertilizer during the colder months. Steve has a fondness for this plant, since he found it as a sprout growing in the bathroom sink drain, and we are both curious to see if it's from one of the plants I grew last year, such as Beefsteak or Rugged Boy, or if the seed came from a farmer's market heirloom tomato.
A houseplant I moved outdoors last year, the autumn fern, has unfurled new leaves. I had forgotten that it can have these warm amber-red tones.
Wild tricorner leeks, usually gone once the weather gets consistently warm, are persisting in many shadier spots of the garden, such as the back patio area near a pot of robust calla lilies.
The forget-me-nots are now adding a lovely note of pale blue to the area along the oldest bench. I should plant more things around the yard in this color.
My once-fragile volunteer tomato has gotten a lot bigger, and is likely developing a strong root system, thanks to doses of Early Starter fertilizer during the colder months. Steve has a fondness for this plant, since he found it as a sprout growing in the bathroom sink drain, and we are both curious to see if it's from one of the plants I grew last year, such as Beefsteak or Rugged Boy, or if the seed came from a farmer's market heirloom tomato.
A houseplant I moved outdoors last year, the autumn fern, has unfurled new leaves. I had forgotten that it can have these warm amber-red tones.
Wild tricorner leeks, usually gone once the weather gets consistently warm, are persisting in many shadier spots of the garden, such as the back patio area near a pot of robust calla lilies.
Volunteer tomato, week before Easter.
Callas and wild leeks.
Sweet pea bush.
Over in the “vegetable patch”, my rhubarb has grown huge leaves atop healthy-looking red stalks. Snap peas are likewise doing well; getting taller every day. In long containers next to these, I planted the next round of radishes, lettuces and mustard. And since this patch is a less-noticed corner between the shed and fence, it's gotten to be the spot where I keep anything I'm not sure what to do with, such as an unidentified tree that sprung up from a nut the squirrels buried, pots of soil with extra lilies sprouting, and a scruffy-looking blackberry bush. Eventually I'll get around to transplanting the lilies around the yard, then we'll see if the other random growing things will also find appropriate homes.