growth

Garden is in full swing. Picked and ate fresh sugar snap peas yesterday. Not a lot, but soon there will be more!

Pole beans are planted behind the peas. 

I like standing in shade behind the row, imagining the bean vines winding up their poles beside me. They've just started to climb.

Still have lots of lovely collards.

Sweet peas are starting to climb the fencing behind them.

Rue is flowering. Floating above the blue.

Photo of one side of the garden- the bed on left was supposed to have peppers, but my one pepper plant keeled over. Damping off? or cutworms? don't know.

So instead now that space has marigolds, cosmos, the one sunberry 

and row of amaranth 'callaloo'. Which isn't doing great. Looks pale and splotchy. I doused with soap and pinched off the sickly leaves, not a lot of improvement. (I ate one leaf fresh to try it).

Lentils aren't doing too well either. I think slugs ate most of the plants. Three or four left:

Here's one of the new beds with cucumber, zucchini and cantaloupe (which will probably sprawl across the grass) in front; and brick-edged bed in the rear with beets, carrots and turnips.

Tomato bed:

Already some tomatoes coming on:

The new tokyo bekana I tried to sow where glaze collards got cut down, didn't sprout well. Or the squirrel dug up/disturbed the baby plants. I only got two seedlings. So started more in a tray indoors, will set out when they're a bit bigger:

Herb bed in full sun. Recently cut sage to dry; just after this photo taken cut lemon balm back to freeze some fresh leaves, and it's nearly time to eat more green onions!

yellows are same

I didn't know this until I saw them blooming, but mizuna flowers

look a lot like tokyo bekana

Tatsoi is bolting now. I don't know why I thought these asian greens (new to me) would last longer into summer. Oh well. There's leaf beet chard to eat now, and plenty of collards.

The turnips make me happy just because they fill in so fast

My carrots are just big enough to get a picture now!

the clematis is still an amazing purple pillar

next to the garden

Pink clematis has all faded now, but the swirly gold tassels left behind are pretty too

Look how curly this pair!

My little lentils are growing and growing!

Of course, this could be too much effort for the end result (like the hickory nuts) but it's fun to try something new

I've already cut some summer savory and parsley to hang and dry-

Next will be this thyme because it's already flowering. I'll cut it back to encourage more bushy growth.

I'm very happy with the rue! Look how wonderfully it's filled in

collard pods and lentil seedlings

My blue collard plant from last year has gone all lanky

and has a very different look as most of the flowers have turned into thin seed pods

here's a different view with fence backdrop

If just a handful of these develop nice seed, I'll have enough for years!

A few are starting to plump up in little lumps- the seed forming inside

Garden helper- I've startled quite a few skinks the past few days, hear them scurry away; this is the first one I caught a photo of. Little guy.

He was on the edge of stump supporting the bench of lentil pots. Which are unfolding leaves now!

Ten of the dozen seed I sowed germinated, so I think that's pretty good.

young and green

Look- my lentils actually sprouted!

Finally a seedling has come up in the sunberry tray. Only one. Same with the peppers- still only have one.

Here's the first zucchini seedling!

Lots more purple pole beans sprouting. I marked the pots to differentiate between my saved seed and the bought seed. Saved seed germinated first.

Half unfolded

True leaves on beans:

Update on basil seedlings- the purple amaratto basil and sweet basil are showing their characteristics

'Mrihani' basil- with the slightly ruffled or scalloped edges on the leaves

Also new-to-me lemon basil is behind the others in growth-

Fenugreek is starting to grow too

And sculpit is a little further along-