1. Seedlings
Dare I say it out loud - the Rumball Tomato, the heirloom Aji Pepper and the Spicy Globe Basil all sprouted beautifully and abundantly.
Thrilled!:) because that never happens to me, especially with edibles.
The new Blue Basil and Chinese Sweet Basil seed packets arrived along with Greek Mountain Mint - I'm seeding them everywhere, hoping I'm not too late and that they will thrive in at least one spot.
Greek Mountain Mint is Mr. R's favorite - it tastes slightly sweet and flowery not really minty at all but I guess it may be in the mint family. A container of dried herb incl flowers and stalk and leaves (whole) runs $5. - so this one would definitely be a huge win to succeed in growing ourselves. We'll see.
I have high hopes for the Blue Basil based on the glowing reviews. People are making everything from liqueur to perfume and lotions, the bees and butterflies love it and there were some intriguing recipes too - definitely not your usual culinary basil - so right up my alley. 80% fell in love with the scent and couldn't get enough of it but 20% said it stank.
2. Garden Herb Surprise - yes, I'm officially a plant nerd always looking for new tastes and flavors or medicinal or other uses.
I have a Costa Rican mint bush that I acquired for ten bucks for a tiny plantling three years ago. Primarily because I reasoned that's a great deal considering that no mints really like my garden, with luck the occasional mint makes it to the following year - no matter what I do. So every year I buy different mint plantlings to the tune of around $30.
At least I've learned that they will do fine until late spring then I have to start harvesting because that's all I'll ever get - which is the reason there are bundles of mint hanging in my kitchen right now.
But I digress - having a mint bush would solve all my problems and I'd be fine with only buying one chocolate mint for culinary purposes and a pineapple mint (if I can find it) for summer drinks.
SURPRISE - the mint bush has decided it's time to branch out from one sad-looking stick and become a bush after three years! It is blooming for the first time, quite pretty, unusual lavender and yellow in an umbel form.
The leaves taste somewhat citrusy, a bit like lemon verbena but there is a hint of mint and something else too - we'll see if the tea is a success. I think this one would be great used for dessert with ice cream or in whipping cream or in a cream pie frosting.
Then I'll test it for ice tea and later try it in a mix of herb tea.
(I vaguely remember that it may have medicinal uses too I'll have to research that.)
3. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
I rarely say that when it comes to the garden but I'm feeling my age and coming to grips with the fact that I have to shut down some garden activities. Something I included in my original design plan and started to put into action in the last five years even if it doesn't look or sound like it.
THE DESIGN PLAN
I will eventually only garden in the potager and if I can't handle that anymore it is designed so that I can easily turn it into a simple formal garden with four huge pots already in place, a low stone garden wall surrounds the potager. The wall is intended to hold a window box at the right height to easily garden whether it is a box of geraniums or herbs... One can always buy a pot of spring flowers at the garden center and voila.
The entrance to the potager is a big solid archway covered in jasmine that blooms in the spring.
There is perennial greenery on three sides from the outside only. (Like flowering shrubs and bushes arching over - into the potager from the outside.)
The corner seating area is in the shade by the time the heat arrives, but I/we can enjoy the sun during late fall and spring.
Of course, the best and crucial part of the design is the interior layout.
It is a 10x10 foot square with a cross-walkway of stone all set in gravel, which creates four equal garden spaces and a spot for a center pedestal.
Each corner square holds one huge pot - plantings can be changed at will.
The ten by ten has a low wall surround of its own, but since it isn't set with mortar I can easily lower or increase the height - which I do all the time because every garden year is different and I like to play and have options.
This ten by ten layout is surrounded by gravel on all sides, about three-plus feet wide on three of the sides.
The fourth side faces a large shed and is much wider - about six feet wide.
The wider area is my potting station, a large table and a tall shelf next to it. It is mostly hidden by a big shrub.
On the other side of the table is a large pot for compost and next to it a big bush surrounded by either container planting and the odd table or chair or sometimes nothing at all - depending on the time of year.
So you see how easy it is to change it all from an overabundance of containers and decor, with plants everywhere to a serene easily managed formal garden.
BONUS you can actually convert the potager into a wheelchair-accessible garden if you needed to. Just remove a few pavers and lower or increase the height of the wall - it is only stacked, not set with mortar.
The entire garden, every other area - can be brought into shape by hiring help twice a year for about five days max.
LAST WEEKEND
We divided the peace lilies, Mr. R. took half out of each pot and planted them in the ground with the other peace lilies that have long since naturalized. I think that will be the final time I'm doing that - in essence, this area of the garden can now remain as is.
We had a monster Bougainvillea there that I couldn't keep up with the care of it any longer, too tall and vigorous for me to cut and too expensive to hire someone to do it properly.
That meant two years of changing what's growing there, standing back and observing what mother nature seemed to want to do in that space and this year it is "done" as much as one can ever say that about a garden.
I splurged on some fun garden furniture and a nice fountain last year and this spring so I'm enjoying the sound of water languishing in the swing chair.
Yes, I (actually had to) added plants to enclose and separate the space to keep most of the Secret Garden feel it once had. Mostly the gardenia bush spread into that area, the exotic looking tropical Lobster Claws were allowed to spread more and a few plants from my own propagation plus garden gifts, like a couple of wild palms.
SO
At the Saturday Morning Market I spent ten bucks on a hanging succulent that I've been wanting to try - called a string of bananas.
BUT
The fun part was the opportunity to re-design a part of the garden.
THE BEST PART: Happy accident!:)
I ended up with a lovely art project which turned into a useful, functional table.
Ollie's had a metal side table in the clearance section for like ten bucks. But after I set it up in the garden I discovered the top of the table being a tray - it filled with water every time it rained and attracted mosquitoes. So it sat in the carport until I happened to need a surface to try out a stencil.
I planned to just spray paint it white again since my intention was to test the stencil aka play with it then use that intel for the 'real' stencil project
on the bathroom wall.
Serendipity - the project turned into a multi-media project and came out beautifully, so I never used it on the wall.
Except, what to do with the tray top since now since I really couldn't use the table top without destroying my art.
Enter my stash of glass table tops (everyone has one of those n'est pas?:). Looks perfect, like it was meant to be.
The glass table top increased the size of the table which is now perfect for use and miraculously it keeps the water from the inside tray - I wasn't so sure it really would do that. I still need to spray it with a sealer but the only one who had the right kind was Walmart and it took me three weeks to go there.
I'm still planning on a couple more art projects but my priority is finishing up the important garden chores, like planting and staking, weeding, ...
Nevertheless, I have been hard at work so I may get a chance to do the column I want for a new garden border (yeah, well we're talking about using some big branches as a border-already done) and creating a column from a couple of concrete blocks to be topped by a big ceramic skull (think Day of the Dead) which is actually a small Chimnea. I will use mosaic (tile) or whatever pops in my head to decorate and then paint the concrete blocks.
Anyway - the garden smells wonderful and looks better with each passing day. Confederate Jasmin rules!:)
HAPPY GARDENING EVERYONE!
PS - I'm always so impressed and downright jealous when I see the guys using the big machines like in the pic at the top of the page - alas -
I have a body-builder garden dude that rips up everything I need to, using sheer muscle power, not a bad pic either:).
Then again, I do wield a fierce chainsaw (small electric:) that I've been told is impressive for an old lady - LOL.
Just thinking out loud...
Oh and on another note - I found a new snake in my garden - a Florida brown snake, although it looked sort of muddy orange.
Non-poisonous if you are wondering.
It seems like every year we acquire a new critter in the garden.
Oh and I just encountered a new bumblebee that is black with a beige shield on its back, strange. Wondering what kind it is.