My garden is in that awkward teenage phase where there Spring flowers are mostly gone, and the deep Summer ones aren’t here yet. I decided to fill out this week’s meager bouquet with lemon balm. My son is impressed that I have flowers that smell like fruit loops!
A Lovely Weed
An arborist told us this tree isn’t a tree at all — it’s a weed allowed to get out of control. I love it so much more than all our so called respectable trees though. It shades my favorite bench, and has lovely white flowers.
My favorite part is the random rose vine that grows up the middle. You don’t see it until you get right up close, and then there it is bringing to mind a Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Wildflowers
Wildflowers are supposed to grow in the wild without help from man kind, but I’ve had a heck of a time trying to get them to grow in my yard. After 7 years, I finally have a good patch growing.
What To Do With Lemon Balm
My lemon balm plant is taking off this summer. Here are some ideas I pulled together to use it:
Hmmmm, maybe I need another plant!
Happy Happy
After a long winter, it sure feels good to be picking stuff from the yard again. This week’s harvest included azaleas, oregano and celery leaf.
Jars Vs No Jars
A couple of months ago I did an experiment to see if I could get a jump on the season by sprouting lettuce under glass jars. As you can see from the picture above, the lettuce that I planted at the normal time without jars did much better. Oh well.
All is not lost!
Mid-March I planted some swiss chard and let it sprout the normal way. But then I covered a few of the seedlings with glass jars. Much better!
Dreaming of Blueberries
You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson’s pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!
~ Blueberries by Robert Frost
Potatoes
We tried potatoes in the ground last year, and didn’t get much. After a ton of research on potato towers, I decided just to throw them in a pot instead. I saved seed potatoes from last year, so I don’t have much to lose in this experiment.
Day Off
DH & I took a date day today to visit Monticello. I, of course, rushed through the house so I could spend as much time as possible in the gardens. Thomas Jefferson considered it patriotic to grow native flowers.
