Crab spider

This crab spider set up camp in the chives a couple of weeks ago... aren't those pink stripes wild?

Wattle Fencing

I finished the brick edging and wattle fencing on the west bed last week, so now it's on to the fun part... putting in more plants :-) The bed already contained a lavatera, peony, several hollyhocks, and a lot of reseeded borage. So far, I've added dahlias, black-eyed susan, shasta daisy, lavender, pineapple sage, and a bunch of annuals started from seed including salvia, calendula, cosmos, and zinnias.

Garden auricula

A few years ago, I read an article in the now-defunct Victoria Magazine about auricula primroses. They're an object of devotion among collectors in England; the trend has caught on to a lesser extent in the US, where growing conditions for true Primula auricula are less ideal. Martha Stewart reportedly keeps potted auriculas indoors, as did collectors in the 18th and 19th centuries. In those days, rare specimens were so prized that special decorative backdrops were painted especially for the plants so as to show them off to their best advantage.

The auricula in my garden isn't quite so delicate or precious, but I adore it all the same. It's actually a hybrid between P. auricula and P. hirsuta; the result of such a cross is referred to as a "garden auricula." Garden auriculas adapt well to Pacific Northwest conditions; I have mine in an outdoor planter kept in a sheltered spot.

I don't consider myself much of a plant collector, but now that the dahlias have wedged their way in, who knows... I'm sure I could find room for more auriculas!

Flowerballs

salad with tarragon, chervil, oregano, chive and thyme flowers, and fresh radishes

The husband has recently acquired a taste for what he calls "flowerballs," which are actually chive blossoms from the herb garden. They were only supposed to be a garnish the first time I served them; I never expected F to actually like them, but they've caught his fancy and we've been eating them every other day. F chomps the florets down whole, but I prefer to break them up into individual flowers. Either way, they have a mild flavor and add nice color and texture to dinner salads.

Luckily, the onion chives are keeping up with demand and pumping out plenty of these purple puffs at the moment. Another herb flower that we're enjoying is thyme, which has small pink flowers and a pleasantly sweet, herbal taste; I'm looking forward to nasturtium, borage, calendula, and sage flowers later in the year. I have to admit-- eating flowers really appeals to my girly side!

Anniversary Post!

Today is the first anniversary of this blog, which makes it a natural time for a comparison post: how is the garden shaping up this year, as opposed to last?

1) More mature plants. I started all of my seeds 45 days earlier this year (and planted earlier), which means that the plants in the garden are sturdier and more mature. Have a look here for an example: at this time last year, the zucchini was tiny and fragile, and the snow peas were about two inches high. Compare to the photo above: the zucchini is flourishing and the snow peas are over a foot high and climbing! I can't take all the credit for this year's improvements-- our weather has been much warmer this year. But it goes to show that a little bit of preparation makes for a nice head start in the garden.

2) A better tomato strategy. This year's home-sown San Marzano tomato plants are about the same size as last year's nursery-grown Early Girl. This isn't a bad thing-- last year's home-sown tomatoes were 4 inches high at this time of year, and these plants are already acclimated to their spots. All the same, I think I'll wait a bit longer to plant out the tomatoes and jalapenos next year; they like heat, and the greenhouse would probably have been a more ideal environment for them until the end of May.

3) Everything's mulched. This year's warmer weather is nice for the summer crops, but it does raise watering concerns. Mulch helps the beds retain water-- a big concern for my garden because of the mounded beds (which have more surface area for water to evaporate). Last year, I didn't mulch until June; this year, I already have a layer of grass clippings over almost every bed.

4) Established herbs. The herbs were a mid-season addition to the garden last year; this year, the onion chives and thyme are already flowering. On the annual/biennial front, Italian parsley is a newcomer to the garden, and it seems to be doing really well. Wish I could say the same for the basil, which is doing the same thing as last year (ie turning yellow-green and maintaining stunted growth).

5) Early-season crops. I've already harvested mature arugula, lettuce, and radishes from the garden, all before anything went out last year! Next year, I'm planning on even more spring crops, including broccoli and chard.

6) OMG, I planted flowers. Last year, the focus was on vegetables-- even the marigolds from hell were only installed as a pest-prevention measure. This year, I've branched out into cut flowers from seed: zinnias, shasta daisies, calendula, black-eyed susan, purple coneflower, cosmos, bells of ireland, sunflowers, and thunbergia. And of course, there are more dahlias! I'm going for an overall country garden look in the west bed-- it's an ex-per-i-ment. We'll see how it goes!

That about sums it up! It's nice to see that I've actually been making measurable progress. I can't wait for the lessons the garden will teach me in the coming year.

By the way: I'm using this post to test Hello; I've been posting pictures through Photobucket up until now but thought I'd give this a try. So far, it's been hella confusing! I know some of you in Bloggerland are already using it-- any tips? 

Window Boxes

Husband put them up this week-- I have to show them off! Aren't they purdy? They're full of surplus arugula at the moment, but I have dreams of herbs, cascading foliage, and lush flowers.

In other news: lately, I've been feeling really inspired by inmykitchengarden.com, a fabulous kitchen garden blog featuring daily posts, so I'm going to try to post more often. We'll see how it goes, but the garden's really starting to take off, now-- so there should be no shortage of subject matter!