Garden post - flowers

Emailed off my painting scans, and then got to spend some hours cleaning up my poor, neglected yard! This year is going to be somewhat sparse in anything planted from seed (since THAT didn't happen!), and it's so cool that even the nursery-bought starts are not thriving. That said, I did stroll about to see what *was* blooming out there.


My perennials are pretty happy - despite neglect. This bleeding heart has about taken over the entire bed it's in.


No matter how many I pull up, I still end up with spires of foxglove scattered through out the beds.


The love-in-a-mist (Nigella), feverfew and forget-me-nots are not-forgettable and grow up in every possible crevasse.


Despite much-too-late, and very heavy pruning, the roses are out and blooming.


Another prolific re-seeder - the lavender, four-foot tall poppies in the lettuce beds...

It *is* gratifying to be out in the yard again.

Garden post - fruit

It has been incredibly cool and drizzly all month thus far. My veggies - the tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, basils, etc... are kind of 'sitting' there not doing anything -


-except producing the occasional flower. But the more established fruiting plants about the yard are much happier.


This is a goumi - touted as an Asian cherry-like bush. Well - the fruit is red, has a stem and a pit - but there the similarity ends. If you let it get VERY ripe, the pectin levels drop enough to make them somewhat enjoyable to eat. Up until then, they make your mouth really pucker!


After an unusually cold winter, my blueberries struggled a bit with winter kill - but there will be berries soon! (well, if it ever warms up).


This is my jostaberry - a cross between a gooseberry and a black current. It is a very enthusiastic grower, and table-ready edible off the bush.


But the thing we are picking this week are the strawberries! Shortcake tonight!

Garden post - herbs

Many of my herbs are perennial or re-seed themselves - so those have been happily growing.


One of my staples is calendula ('marigold' in the UK). The petals are edible and medicinal both. We use them in salads and infuse oil and make tinctures for skin 'stuff' with them.


One of my new favorites - Sweet Cicely. The whole plant (leaves, stems, flowers, etc..) is edible and tastes gently of anise. It is a beautiful, ferny plant that reseeds itself happily and will grow in sun or shade.


Another fun edible flower - borage. Tastes somewhat of cucumber, and is beautifully dramatic with those long, black stamens against the bright blue star shape. Makes a lovely garnish.


I can barely keep up with my yarrow (medicinal) and lavender (culinary) - which are rapidly outgrowing the big box that they are planted in.


This is what I did this afternoon. The lavender will end up in sachets, lemonade, honey, shortbread, syrup and sugar. The yarrow will either grace dried arrangements or be drunk as tea for any number of 'what-ails-you'...

I love my herbs...