My Gardens are beginning to take shape now that Summer is here. I’ve been lazy about getting things planted, but I wanted to share with you a few of my plants that seem to be off to a good start.
Flowers…
This year, I added a small raised bed that extends the length of the side of my back patio. It’s attached to a fence that also runs alongside the patio. I decided to add some flowers to my landscape… specifically, Salmon-colored Four O’Clocks.
My late Grandmother always had these growing in her flower beds. When I was a small kid she’d have me collect the grenade-shaped seeds from the dried flowers so that she could package them up and give them to friends for their gardens. I seriously can’t wait for these plants to fill out and start blooming!
Let’s Talk Beans…
In the main garden I have two rows of the “Beurre de Rocquencourt” French wax beans growing. I’m planting a row of these every two weeks so that I have a constant supply of fresh beans to pick all summer.
I also have some Asparagus Yard-long Beans. Several years ago, a co-worker gave me some of his beans to try. I thought they were delicious, so I saved a few beans, let them dry out, and had seeds to plant the following year. I’ve been growing them ever since.
The Roma tomatoes and a few other varieties are in the ground. I feel like my tomatoes are behind this year, but many other people’s seem to be as well.
Another thing that has me really excited with anticipation are these Ground Cherries that I mentioned way back in February. My fruit trees haven’t done well with the erratic weather changes this past Spring, so I’m really counting on these ground cherries to produce and give me the chance to make some pies and preserves.
This year I’m using the “no-till” method of gardening in the main garden. So far it’s working okay, aside from having to use the weed-wacker twice now to keep things under control. Next year I will cover the entire Garden in tarps so that I have a fresh start with bare earth to work with when it’s time to plant again. ~A
