One of my plans when I first started blogging was to create an online journal of what was going on in my garden.
Somehow, that never really happened. I had other ideas I wanted to explore and topics I wanted to write about. I suppose I also worried that no one else would be interested in my little plot of land. I also worried that if I wrote too much about what was happening in my backyard, people wouldn’t come and look over my virtual fence and chat.
Well, now that I have my gardening column on Examiner as a forum for non-personal garden topics, I can get back to some of my original objectives and make Bumblebee more about my own gardening space.
So let me tell you about my day…
Today I marveled at the perfection and beauty of my squash plants. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that they won’t stay this lovely. These perfectly formed and perky leaves will start to wilt. The bugs will discover them and chew tiny holes in them, some in lace-like patterns. Some leaves will wither and yellow even as the squash starts arriving by the bushel full.
But for now, I love these squash plants. They are perfect. They are mammoth. My hand cannot even reach from one side of the leaf to the other. Today, they represent the potential of abundance and are an ornament to my garden.
Today I also picked blackeyed peas. I have never grown them before, but a family friend gave me some seedlings she purchased at the local Amish market. Frankly, it was during the throes of spring planting and I just plunked them in a convenient spot. They are, perhaps, a bit crowded. And at first I thought they would need some sort of trellis to climb. But they have done just fine here, shooting up their long pods above the plants.
It was very satisfying picking a whole bucket of these beans today. Tomorrow I will shell them and find some appropriate dish to highlight their freshness. Secretly (okay, secret’s out), I am grateful that the men in my house do not like blackeyed peas. ALL MINE!
I also admired my pink bed today. When I planted the cock’s comb seedlings in the bed near the cone flowers I didn’t realize they would intermingle so companionably. But now I think I’ll do this again, since it’s a winning combination.
The cone flowers also make me smile because they are from a clump of flowers given to me by a friend about four years ago. I always think of her and her husband when I see them.
I also started harvesting the seeds from my spent cilantro plants. These coriander seeds will be a fine, fresh addition to some dish. I’ll need to begin exploring recipes soon to take advantage of the new harvest.
So, aside from the watering and bush squishing, that was my garden today.
What was going on in your garden today?
Robin
My greatest pleasure on this unbelievably hot day was picking peas.
It’s my first year ever growing peas. I have never before managed to get myself outside and organized early enough to get them in the ground in time. Usually it’s about June before I do the Three Stooges head-slap and say, “I should have planted peas!”
Pea Wando, Growing in Pairs
I planted the peas on March 6. I know this because I have actually started keeping a garden journal, of sorts. I’m not as faithful as I could be and it’s not all that scientific, but I can see that it will come in handy. For example, here it is some 90 plus days after I planted them and they are finally matured to the point where I can pick them. Now, I have four pea varieties, with maturity dates ranging from 60 to 68 days. By any calculation, these peas are LATE.
In the future, I’ll be keeping an eye on this whole maturity date thing so that I won’t make the same mistake I did this year–I used my Texas Tomato Cages as supports for the peas. I figured that they weren’t holding up any tomatoes and that the peas would be finished before the tomatoes needed them, so I pressed them into service.
In the interest of keepin’ it real, I will also show you my un-lovely pea patch:
The Un-Lovely Pea Patch
Yes, those are some Johnny-Jump-Ups nestled in with the peas.
I planted four varieties:
- Pea Burpeeana Early - These peas did not mature all that much earlier. They were also stingy with the actual peas, both on the plant and in the pod, with only about three or four peas per pod. I would not grow these again.
- Pea Sugar Sprint – These are supposed to have tender edible pods. Yes, indeed, the pods are edible, but I’m not so sure about tender. I would look for a different sugar snap next year.
- Pea Wando – This was the most prolofic pea, both in terms of the number of peas on the bush and the number of peas in the pod–at least six and most often eight peas per pod. They also have the habit of growing in pairs, as you can see in the photo. This seems to be what increases the number of peas on the bushes.
- Pea Thomas Laxton – This is an heirloom variety, so it has a place in my heart for that reason. I would say that it performs nearly as well as the Wando peas in terms of peas per pod, but perhaps not quite as abundant on the bush.
Now, here’s the beauty shot:
And guess what? I am the ONLY ONE in our house who likes peas! They are mine. ALL MINE!
And About Social Networking…
I have finally succumbed to the lure of social networking sites. I am currently test driving Twitter, where I am Bumblebee. I am also on Plurk, where I am BumblebeeGarden. I actually prefer Plurk, so far, because the threaded nature of the discussion makes it easier for me to follow. But there is no easy way to find friends there. And Twitter was up and running first, so there are lots of gardeners there who are easy to find. What do you think?
Robin
There is so little time.
I still have about 25 things to do on my weekend list. So there will be few words and more photos.
Thank God winter has finally gone. Things are blooming here at Bumblebee–Foxglove, Peonies, Johnny-Jump-Ups, Henryi Clematis, Cleosa…
The asparagus that I though I had eradicated from the perennial border insists on making an appearance. I have to laugh seeing asparagus shoots coming up among the flowers.
The herb bed is filled with oregano, parsley, cilantro, sages, cone flower, rosemary, dill and more. I decided to add some containers to the wide paths this year–a good decision, I think, since it gives me the opportunity to add more color.
On a whim while sitting on the garden bench last year I plucked out a couple of the hens and chickens from the strawberry pot and nestled them into the ground beneath the bench. They thrived there and I continued to add to the collection from time to time. I figure by the end of summer they will have made a nice little bed.
What is a garden without little dogs? Sarah and Sophie enjoy the outdoors as much as I do. Maybe more.
They are the best of friends–and sometimes the worst of enemies.
On another note, the editors at Examiner.com have asked me to write a regular column as their Gardening Examiner. Examiner.com is the expanding Internet presence of a free daily newspaper distributed in four cities. As they expand their online presence they are adding “Examiners” in many different topics. I’m the national Examiner on garden topics. So stop in from time to time and say “hey.”
Robin
