We are quickly shifting from spring to summer here in Chicagoland, though it varies by day which we’re enjoying. My first round of seeds has been planted everywhere I had planned, a couple starter plants purchased where seeds didn’t germinate, for the annual herbs up front, and my new garden bed. What’s more exciting is seeing tiny plants popping up across the various beds… and in the composter. Wait, what?
Yes, there are tiny squash plants in my open composter, just like there were last year. Those are probably acorn squash or carving pumpkins… it’s hard to tell at this stage.
My garden tower is filled with marigolds and petunias purchased through the Boy Scouts. The sheer quantity of individual plants included in their flats is insane; I filled the garden tower with half of each flat, and was left wondering what to do with the rest.
The star-shaped bed in front is my herb garden, with mint, chives, and cilantro carrying over from past years. I added parsley, sage, and rosemary into the points, and small (they only grow to about 6 feet) sunflowers in the middle, just behind the ninja gnome. There’s also mint popping up in the mulch… and the other points… I’m working on that.
In the back yard, my carrots failed to germinate in the keyhole bed, so I bought a couple tomato plants and a bell pepper. While I was watering them this week, I noticed the acorn squash and honeydew sprouting, along with the mystery squash in the composter. Based on what I can see at the moment, some of those mystery squash will probably end up in the windmill-shaped bed (not pictured) I set up last fall. One of the three squares in that bed has nothing germinating that I can see at the moment. One of the other squares is filled with okra, with all sixteen plants poking out.
The garden bed pictured in the bottom right is the old, cracked bed frame that I mentioned in last week’s post. It seemed like the perfect place for the rest of those marigolds and petunias. The empty space at the head and foot, also known as the “built-in trellises”… that’s where the big sunflowers have been planted. Big meaning they can grow up to fourteen feet tall. Past experience tells me that they tend to topple once the flower blooms, weighing too much for the roots to support. Shortly before that happens – if I’m on the ball – they’ll be secured to the trellises. Hopefully I’ll have some lovely photos to share later in the season.
Last, but certainly not least, is the small selection of fruit in my yard. The raspberries and mulberries came with the house; the raspberries are flowering, and the mulberry leaves are emerging for the season. On a more exciting note, the strawberries I planted last year near my grilling area have a tremendous amount of flowers, so I’m certainly looking forward to those.