tiny flower

My citronella geranium flowered!

I think it's the first time ever.

it's been a while

I kind of lost interest in keeping this blog going- I don't seem to have many readers, and nobody to talk about plants with. Didn't feel the need to track when things get started for the right timing to go in the ground and such (as reminders to myself) anymore. And then I had a setback, minor car accident, sprained ankle, on crutches for three weeks- so things got shoddy out there. Overgrown, neglected. 

However today I finally was able to go out again (my ankle strapped, I'm allowed to do "light walking" now) And there are things to note.

First, here's a picture from months ago. After our spring heat wave, it cooled off again and I actually got a decent amount of lettuce. We had fresh salads for weeks, plus I gave some away. The heads were beautiful thick green rosettes in the garden.

Where the lettuces came out, I planted the tomatoes. They had waited too long, some lower leaves were wilting so I pulled those off. And then remembering a tip from a gardener I read, removed more lower leaf petioles, planted the tomatoes deeply, burying half the stem. Watered on planting, then left them alone for ten days. This encourages stronger root system and what do you know, I think it worked. I have only been out to water once since (due to being laid up) and the rain has been enough- the tomaoto plants look fantastic. I tied them up once to some poles, they are sturdier than usual too. Either the deep planting and witholding water at the start helped, or the soil was richer than usual.

My turnips are also doing great. We've been eating them- made a new dish just last night. Turnips simmered until tender, mashed with onions and a bit of sugar, stirred w/eggs and baked in the oven. Surprisingly good. It's the first year I've actually had good turnips- not dry or tough. Even the bigger ones I pull are tender when I slice them up, almost buttery. And they're still not bothered by much, out in the garden!

Can't say the same for other things. I went out to cut greens for dinner and instead cut and heaped most of the entire bed of chard into the compost pile. It was all mottled pale sickly from leaf hoppers. (Why are such aggravating pests so darn cute? This year they're dark grayish purple with bright blue or red eyes). I could only keep the youngest unblemished leaves to cook with, but hope that a lot of the leaf hoppers got removed with the mass of chard foliage, smothered under leaf mulch and grass clippings in the hot compost pile!

My beets are swarming with whitefly. I cleaned up the worst pale and dead foliage, doused them with soapy water, but need to go get some actual insecticide. In the next bed over, garlics have all fallen over, and scapes are reaching tall. But I don't think they're ready to pull yet. Not enough watering? Too much heat? 

I removed all the pea plants- saving some for next year's seed. Of the shelling peas, there was only enough for one meal. However, they were really good! Into those empty beds today I planted out the cowpeas (to grow up the trellis), bush beans (only two, the rest succumbed to heat and neglect while still in pots), two yellow summer squash, and a third of the amaranth 'calaloo' seedlings. The rest are still too small for transplanting. 

Then planted out on the sunny sideyard my few tithonias for the year. And I only have three cardinal climbers, which is sad. A few weeks ago my husband saw a hummingbird come by and scout around the deck. But my cardinal climbers weren't planted out, and I think the black and blue salvia isn't flowering yet either, so there was nothing here for it.

It is nice to still see the wrens, robins, sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds and grey catbirds busy around the yard and garden. And the skinks! They come upon the deck. I only have one cucumber plant that survived the period of neglect, it's in a deck pot. My carrots aren't doing too great in pots, they keep drying out if I am not able to get out and water. My sweet peas died. 

But I am glad that the rosemary and stevia survived the winter, and this year the fenugreek I planted is doing well. I have it by the sliding door to the deck and often bend to catch its scent when going in or out. Summer savory in the deck planters is doing great, and parsley- have been using both. Most of the herbs have come back well- thyme came through the winter indoors, sculpit and tarragon out in the garden have grown, I did plant one new sage because the old two didn't survive the transplant when I added broken rock to the perennial bed. And my green onions all failed. The older ones never regrew this year, I started a few new but they died.

I like the catmint (not same as catnip) in the garden, so this spring when I had to trim it back (sprawling all over into the space where collards grow) I stuck a bunch of cuttings into little water jars to try for new plants. I had over a dozen cuttings, but only three actually grew roots. The rest just got moldy. (I did change the water out, but probably not often enough). Those three got planted today too- two against the fence between the patch of joe pye weed and the row of shiso (which is looking nice). At least I think it's shiso. Maybe this year I'll get brave enough to try eating it. The third one I put also against the fence but in the back, between the yarrow (tall and floweirng now!) and my kinda sad camellia. 

It was nice to see a bright glitter of blue skittering around- the small brilliantly colored wasps that frequent my joe pye weed, and are predators of japanese beetles.

One of my jacob's ladder plants has grown so much, doubled in height! and it had the most beautiful sky-blue/violet flowers. But the other one is overshadowed by yellow salvia spreading out from under the skirts of hydrangea nearby. I thought it had died but found it getting smothered. Pulled out some of the salvia to give it room. I'm going to have to start thinning that stuff more.

That's my update.