Well, this is a long overdue post about my garden. Not to say I’ve been neglecting the garden, I just forgot to post about it. To begin with, I had a late start at planting this year – I didn’t plant any seeds until we returned from our vacation late April. Then the weather was topsy-turvy, with some excessively warm days (great for germination) followed by cool ones (poor confused plants), including some late spring weeks where I turned on the air-conditioning and the heat in the same week.
We’re solidly into summer now, a surprisingly dry one according to my somewhat brown grass. It’s been just wet enough that I’ve gotten by with minimal plant watering (and I never water the lawn). We’re already harvesting peas, strawberries, mulberries, and blackberries, and the volunteer tomatoes have started producing flowers. There may be okra hidden under the peas… I’m honestly not sure if they’ve survived, though we’ll find out soon as the peas die out in the heat. I planted a few more okra seeds in another bed, just in case.
We’re growing sweet potatoes! After resounding success with purple potatoes last year, we decided on a mixed package of sweet potato plants with three different varieties. It’ll be a while before that harvest, but the vines are sprawling nicely.
Last, but certainly not least, is our “mammoth” sunflower circle. These plants have the potential to be significantly taller than us (up to twelve feet, if I remember right), so the area is intended as a reading nook. There are two rows of sunflowers wrapping around in a circle, with just enough of an opening for someone to walk in.