All That Beauty (Jazz Optional)

The garden has begun that crazy, lush, blooming green growth.  Every year it amazes me.

The irises and roses are in their glory, columbine have finished, and the holly blossoms are wafting their sweet scent through the air.

The love-in-a-mist are getting ready to pop open with their intricate star blooms.

And look at these peas!!!  If it doesn’t turn from cold to hot too soon, I’ll have a crop.

The new lettuces are thriving.

I spent most of Friday in the garden, putting in seedlings and taking down the fences around a lot of things, so I’m just showing parts of the garden that still look the same.  I hope I can remember the camera next time I go.

Rapini and carrots. I took this enclosure down, as so far the things I left out to test whether the evil rabbits were going to munch are still growing…I plopped an eggplant seedling down among the rapini.

I’m running into the issue of the long cold spring with my planting.  It is time to put in summer crops like pole beans, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, okra and other delicacies, but the carrots, peas, radishes, and rapini have been slow  and are still in the spaces those other crops would go in.  To add to the issue, I’ve decided to let the arugula and parsley go to seed, so I can save it.

Blossoming arugula and blooming thyme

Still, I put in peppers, tomatoes, and an eggplant, carefully calculating where the squash will go and where I’ll throw down some basil seed.  I put in another row of arugula, and some okra, though that was a calculated risk, given temperatures in the sixties next week.  I’m hoping the seedlings ride out the predicted cool days.  One plus is that it’s supposed to rain, so they can settle in nicely if it isn’t a gully washer.

More irises and bolting chard–I’m collecting seed from that as well.

The cold weather has really inhibited the early crops in the Plot Against Hunger Garden.  I put in pepper and tomato seedlings there and have had some tomato seeds sprouting in little mini greenhouses created with 3 liter bottles of spring water.  They’re doing okay, but still really small.

There are some carrots and beets and chard in there now as well, but we’ll likely put pole beans and plant squash and cucumbers next weekend.  The Arlington Friends Urban Agriculture have found organizations and food pantries that will take fresh produce, so I will contact the ones close to me when we have food to deliver.  That could be some time, but we’re plugging away at it.

Most of these have gone into salads at this point.

Gardening is a risky business, like life.  You never quite know what’s coming your way (evil rabbits, voles, too much rain, drought, squash bugs, stink bugs, long cold springs, brutal summer heat, rats and much much more…).

You never know when you’ll see a demonic rabbit…

Luckily, there’s usually only one or two really pesky things in a summer, so we’ll see how it goes.  Meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy all the greenery and flowers and sit close to blossoming holly trees when I can.

And for the optional jazz, If the Stars were Mine, by Melody Gardot.  I hope you have a lovely, flower scented week–and if someone offers you a jar full of stars, take it.