In the garden

Here are oodles of garden pictures after the run to Molbaks yesterday. I managed to come home with 30-odd plants, but they’re all planted, watered, and lovely.

Here are the front planters. The plants in the red solo cups are Sun Gold tomatoes from our neighbor up the street David — he set up a green house this spring and had extras. A great gift, I need to get them in soil.

Meanwhile, the beans, peas and carrots are doing well. I companion-planted two pretty pink petunias. I’d planted a second row of peas and beans about two weeks ago now when the first didn’t seem to take, and those all seem really happy now, but the different planting dates explains the different heights. The carrots are still tiny but they’re producing more leaves steadily.

I MUST get trellises in soon. The peas are picking up spare pieces of dirt as they try to climb.

The scarlet runner beans and squash are looking hopeful. (Even some squash blossoms! For all of the stories of people being crushed by zucchini, I’ve never had luck, there’s always some marauding squirrel who nibbles up all of the blossoms.)

Our beets and scallions box is a thing of glory — golden beets in back, red in the middle, scallions (a huge favorite with the kids, and us) in front. The leeks and chives haven’t really taken off yet. Maybe they will later?

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The side yard is just lovely right now. Roses like mad, lavender blooming, Crocosmia and Black-eyed Susans on the verge of budding, and everything else is green, growing, and lovely.

I planted a whole set of zinnias (Profusion Fire and Scarlet Magellan), plus some lovely lemon-scented marigolds, and pineapple sage and tangerine sage. So now we’re living in color. My seedlings are still growing but so slowly I wasn’t sure they would ever flower.

Lovely, on the verge of lovelier.

The sage x2, lavender, and thyme x2 border is starting to really look great and filled out. I think I’ll need to cut it back soon if I don’t want things to sprawl. I should have oregano in here too — it’s growing in pots, I’m up to three leaf sets. It needs to get bigger before it’s big enough to hold its own. One year makes a huge difference.

Love that the yellow rose is quietly, beautifully blooming.

I’d bought these pots meaning them to go in the side yard, but they were too hot there and the plants fried. On top of the table is so much better. The cilantro looks delighted, and the dill is trying its best. I bought a $2 bunch of dill at the farmers market three weeks ago, and it still had roots. I used about half of it, and rather than composting the rest of it, I decided to try to plant it. It’s not 100% happy, but it’s alive and trying, and I think that’s awesome.

New planter arrangements — the first time I think I’ve ever gone all pink. This photo didn’t pink up the salmon/orange centers in the tall flowers — they do tie the other two together well. 🙂

In the garden

So many things in our yard are interesting or wonderful right now. The irises are blooming!

I divided them last summer and gave half to Bob and moved the rest much further away from the house, but I was pretty sure that I’d planted them too deep. But lo, lots of blooms! They’re so lovely, I’m glad I didn’t kill them.

The lilacs are beautiful.

And the apple tree is covered in blossoms! A surprise, I don’t think of them as being prolific with flowers generally. Maybe they like their mulch and companion-planted foxgloves?


The rhododendron outside our window is starting to bloom! I thought it wouldn’t this year (the camellia didn’t, after being transplanted), but I think it’s just running a little late.

MAJOR excitement: the seeds in the planters are starting to really grow!! The back row is golden beets, the middle row is leeks on the left and red beets on the right, and the front row is scallions. You can also see the tubing from Kevin’s amazing automated watering system – he did the three planting beds, the new large plants (rhodies and azaleas) in front, and the front lawn. It is GREAT not to have to be out there watering!!

Scarlet runner beans! The bunnies ate a lot of them, I may have to replant.

Carrots starting to sprout! Some peas behind them.

And beans!

And, shockingly, grass!

I’m still utterly amazed by the magic of this: start with nice packed topsoil, add seed, cover thinly with peat moss, water, and suddenly we have a LAWN. I didn’t think it would work! I can’t wait until these plants are a year or two more established, it will look so pretty.

Thin little baby grass, but it really worked!

Bonus tulip photos

After the massive garden post yesterday, I realized there were a few more stunning tulip photos on Kevin’s camera, and they’re so much better than the ones I took that they deserve their own bonus post. This is what the flowers look like in person, glowing in the sun with such vivid colors.

The round orange ones with red stripes are Elite and supposed to be early-season. The yellow and pink fluted ones are Fidelio and supposed to be late season. If these bloom together again next year, I’ll separate them – they were too similar when they first started to bloom, and now they clash. I love the Fidelio especially – their leaves have a blueish undertone, and their stems rise to lavender – they are such a lovely flower.


These tall orange ones are Orange Emperor, the yellow/orange short many-layered ones are Freeman.

Glowing Orange Emporers.

Hello, daffodil.