Last Day of May

I don't have much patience when it comes to waiting for my seeds to germinate. So today I stopped by Linder's to get some plants. After I put them in and watered them I sprinkled red pepper all around them in hopes that it would keep the squirrels out. I put in six eggplants in the back behind the walkway. I put in a Thai basil, chocolate mint, orange mint, and five different kinds of hot peppers. It doesn't look much different than last time.

My dill has been going crazy and I'm excited for it to get bigger. My cilantro and basil have also been doing well. I've been pinching it back so it'll bush out more. I put a pepper plant in there, too. I'm all about an over-crowded garden. I MUST use all my space!

I also bought some ornamental grass I've been pining for; Variegated Silver Japanese Grass. I put them right up front by the sidewalk. Earlier this spring I put a few Selvia plants in there as well. The hostas and Jacob's Ladders and everything else was in there from the previous owner. Sorry for the off-color in these pictures. I'll do better next time.

Along the side of the house not much has been growing. There was a big hosta and a couple of small ones. When I weeded I found some Morning Glories so I put up this trellis the neighbor gave me. I haven't decided if I like it or if it looks a little corny. I'm going to wait to pull it out until I see the flowers growing up it. I transplanted some ferns in there just so it wasn't so bare. I left the dark purplish clovers in there because I like them. I also transplanted an Alpine Current bush in there that I had received in my Hort. class last spring. This picture is kinda dark, but you get the idea...not much to look at yet.

The perennials along the side of our yard and fence have been doing great. I found out from the neighbor, Karen, that the previous owner had a thing for purple. I can't believe I didn't realize this before she said it since almost ALL the flowers in this area are purple. And then I went and planted Selvia in there as well - which are purple. I must have known on some level.
Here's just a couple pictures of the flowers that are blooming now.

How It Began

I started my seeds indoors many weeks ago. When I transplanted them I was more than a little wary of what the squirrels and rabbits would do. The rabbits left my garden alone, while the squirrels didn't touch the plants for two whole days. Whereupon, they dug up more than half of my seedlings. So I pretty much had to start over. {BEFORE}

In the cage to the left in my garden I have my potatoes. I started these from potatoes that had sprouted over the winter (it's not recommended to plant your own sprouts because of diseases but I decided that it was worth the garden space and the risk). Not on purpose, we just didn't eat them and they sat out in our cold porch. Way to the right are all the perennial, native flowers that were in the garden when I moved here. So today I weeded and mulched and reseeded everything. I also put in a couple new things. {AFTER}

So, along the front by the rocks I seeded marigolds to, hopefully, ward off the rabbits. Behind the marigolds are some jalapeños. Behind the peppers are Thai basil and then green onions. Potatoes still in the back, all different colors, in mounds. To your left, you'll see a gap highlighted by mulch between the jalapeños and basil, I decided to plant some kohl rabi there. It didn't fruit at all for me last year, it just seeded. I decided to give it a second chance this year. In the way back behind the walkway I have eggplants and another hot pepper variety. To the right of the walkway, where you can't see, I have another hot pepper variety. All along the walkway, to your right, there's Love in a Mist flowers that reseeded themselves from last year.

My herb garden has pretty much taken care of itself this year. The chives came back, as they always do. I educated my upstairs neighbors, the Landlords, about chive flowers and how they're edible. He was skeptical at first but after he saw me eat one, he had to, too. I was surprised to see many dill and cilantro volunteers. I seeded a couple more cilantro, just in case. Also, last fall I didn't pull all my sage plants and one of those has been thriving thus far. A couple of my sweet basil seedlings have survived, but I seeded a few more today. The picture is before I weeded the bed, but I've tried not to weed TOO much as I'm afraid it would make my herbs the center of attention as far as the rabbits who live under my porch are concerned.

Tomorrow I'm having a BBQ for some friends and I want to have my gardens cleaned up a little more. But today I spent over four hours in both the gardens and don't feel like I got a lot done. We'll see how tomorrow goes!