My Little Garden

I have never been so happy to see rain in my life. I'd almost forgotten how glorious it is. I ran around in it like a little kid, and I'm pretty sure my garden would have too if it had legs.  The rain sent some of my plants into little fits of joy. Not very long ago, the flowers below were sad little skeletons of the plants they once were. They are now making a glorious comeback!

Herbs seem to be easier than flowers or vegetables. We have oregano, basil, rosemary, sage and thyme.  Truth be told, my basil plant is the only plant I'm very proud of. After killing five of them (5!!!), I discovered the secret: more sunlight, more room to grow, occasional trimmings, and much less water. In the past, when my indoor basil plants started to look sad - either from lack of sunlight or because they'd outgrown their pots, I'd overreact and drown them. This one likes to dry out in between waterings, even in 95 degree weather. He was much bigger this morning, but I gave him much-needed haircut.

This brave little honeydew plant almost died when I first took it home from my sister's garden, but she's pretty happy now. Apparently, she thinks she's big enough to support melons already. Maybe they'll be golf ball sized melons...

 The watermelon, in contrast to its melon sister, is determined to remain 2 inches tall forever. Those are beets scattered around them.

The thing about planting metal containers is that it basically acts like a cake pan. You know how when you bake in a nonstick pan, the edges of the cake pull away as they cook? These barrels do that, too.

For some reason, the barrel below gets much dryer than the rest. My dad gave me my first olla, which I just dug in yesterday. If it helps significantly, I'll buy more. What you see in there with the marigold is swiss chard and a big blank spot, either for beans or a baby zucchini that is currently hanging out with the spinach.

My tomato plants: Brad (a "Bradley Heirloom"), Angelina and Jennifer (both "Early Girls"). Shannon told me that it's mean to make Jennifer hang out with them. I assure you that in tomato world, they all get along fine. At least I think so. Jennifer is currently the only one not blooming, but I think that's just a coincidence.

This peach tree was an accident. I think it came out of the compost pile. I don't even remember how long it's been there, but it's growing steadily. Last year, it gave us quite a few peaches. I think someone must have let it slip that it was unwanted, and so it is pouting. No peaches :(

Sometimes I get the urge to spray paint things yellow. Thus, I have yellow patio furniture. 

This is my spinach box. It only gets a few hours of direct sunlight in the mornings, and that seems to be working well so far.

The bigger thing in the back corner is a zucchini that will be transferred to the barrel in a few days.

Just thought I'd share, and now I'm about to be late for work.

:)