outside

There's a funny thing about the tokyo bekana. When I cut leaves the other day for a stir-fry with rice, noticed one plant (left here) is different. It's leaves are slightly darker green, have small prickly hairs, thinner midribs, and are lobed on the lower stem. More characteristic of turnips. And guess what, I read that tokyo bekana readily crosses with turnip. So I bet the seed I bought, got unintentionally crossed!

It's still edible in the same manner, just not as crisp and sweet. I pulled that one tokyo/turnip plant, and reseeded a half dozen tokyo bekana- one in that spot, the rest between some collards. Overhead- that's the bed of collards and other greens on the far right. Bed in center has slo-bolt lettuce surrounding the blue collard plant gone to seed (I've been cutting off new flowers that form now, as I want it to put all its energy into making nice seed and don't need more than it's already producing!), leaf beet chard on one side, young swiss chard on the other. Bed on the far left is the perennial herbs with- top to bottom left to right: green onions, lemon balm, sage, sorrel, nepitella, sculpit, winter savory and lavender (not visible, leaves from the clematis on the deck post obscure it)

Also a picture taken from the deck- view of one of the perennial beds in the yard. Either side of the tree my pannicle hydrangeas, right against the trunk the bunches of yellow salvia, front of that several nice variegated hostas. The aguja is filling in very well, and on the outskirts against the lawn, area where I removed grass between tree roots is (hopefully) my new permanent borage bed.

I finally got around to adding leaf mulch to that, so it looks somewhat tidier.

garden in the rain

Things are growing and changing so fast now. Already I've pulled lettuces out from between the collards here

They had all started bolting, so put them to chill in the fridge. Slo-bolt simpson is still fine in the other bed with leaf chard for a little longer:

Glaze collards are also starting to get leggy-

while the yellow collards are holding up much better to warmer temperatures

more yellow

The tatsoi bloomed- yellow also. Looks so different from its earlier flat rosette.

I read more about my newer greens- they're related, so would cross if I let them all set seed. Tokyo bekana especially is known to bolt early. I really want to try and do succession planting this year and put more in late summer. But- you can eat the flowers! of these plants in the same family as chinese cabbages. I cut the tokyo bekana and mizuna flowers today.

Going to try them in a stir-fry.

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

am enjoying the garden so much

of course, I took a ton of pictures! The heat is getting to some things. Tokyo bekana is flowering-

and getting a bit damaged by slugs (who get tossed into the back perennial bed)

simpson lettuce among the collards is bolting- they will come out soon

the other lettuces are fine to eat still, even though we're having eighty-degree days-

Haven't eaten much of the arugula-

But already this one is going to flower

and so is the Mizuna

Need to eat more of this stuff! Making salad tonight.

I had almost forgotten I'd planted swiss chard- here they are

Started pulling maple seedlings out of the root bed, and mulched the turnips with grass clippings-

Also the beets, red and golden-

The tatsoi did so much better this year, started early (have I said this already?) It's got a very nice spinach-like flavor. I'm actually eating it more often than the leaf-beet chard.

It's time to cut and eat kale again-

the ones in pots on the deck, too.

One plant not doing so well in the garden so far, is the sweet peas. I think it got hot too soon for them.

Sugar snap peas are climbing and climbing! I have to tie some more support for them. Behind the row are bamboo for the pole beans (no the poles are not ten feet high. Not even eight. I'm going to trim the bean plants this year so they're not further up than I can reach. I don't want to haul a ladder back here).

Found this seedling in the bed and hesitated to pull it- have a nagging feeling I should recognize it, but I don't yet.

There's more, but this post is long enough.

work before rain

Borage in the edge of my pea bed has more and more flowers, while those out front still just hug the ground. I wonder if they grow slower because crowded- so did some more thinning, and the ones that came up with roots intact

I moved to another spread between maple roots, in place of grass.

Trying more measures in the garden, to both attract pollinators and control pests. This one just a whim of my own- planted all the little cuban oregano cuttings along a few edges of the garden bed walls. In case the squirrel dislikes their scent as much as I do, haha.

Set out two alyssum into the greens beds- reserving the other two in case I loose these to a cold snap, it might be too early. See the holly?

This was something my mother suggested- put prickly leaves in the garden. I trimmed the holly shrub where it was growing through the fence, and laid small branches criss-cross through the beds of greens, where the squirrels have been making holes and holes and holes. Above between lettuces and tatsoi, here lettuces and leaf beet chard-

Arugula and mizuna-

Lettuces and collards (which we've started eating). I don't care for how it makes the garden look cluttered but maybe soon the cuttings will turn brown and I won't notice it as much. I put these in yesterday, too soon to tell if they're working yet- but this morning so far no squirrel holes!

Planted out my young leeks. On either end of the bed where tomatoes will go. Scent of alliums supposedly repels some tomato pests.

I still have one leek in the other spot from last season- and look behind it how the turtlehead has grown! Nearly as tall as the stump.

Planted out the hyssop- on either end of the new beds- the perennial ought to end up with a foot spread, but is hardly noticeable now, so I set a rock by it to prevent getting stepped on.

Here's one at the other end-

With twig mulch.

Third hyssop went into a planter near the garden. Although I'm reconsidering- I think nasturtiums would look nice in this spot too.