The oregano is coming back too after its winter rest.  

 

Right now it is up about 6 inches, and as it grows I will be able to harvest stems.  I cut stems when they get to be about 12 inches long, tie them into a bundle and hang them in the kitchen window.  It takes about 2 weeks for the leaves to dry.  Then I strip the stems, put the dry leaves in a jar, and use oregano in everything.  Well, maybe not everything, but I do use it a lot.  

 

Oregano is so easy to grow, and the deer pretty much leave it alone.  I have tons of it growing, so if you want a clump to plant in your garden, just let me know.  Or wait another month and you can come over and cut some to dry in your kitchen window.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

Same story as the Lovage with the Bee Balm. It grew really well last year, then a good rain storm beat it down, and it looked terrible.  So this year when it started to emerge from dormancy, we poked 5 cages in the ground around it.  I will guide the stems up through the wires as it grows, and hopefully avoid the ugliness of flopping over.

 

It’s doing great so far, up about a foot.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The lovage is starting to come back after its winter dormancy.  Last year it grew to about 6 feet and flopped over, so this year before it emerged we put this cage around it.  I will guide the leaves up inside the cage as it grows, and hopefully avoid the floppage.  

 

Oh, I saved seeds the last time it made them, and planted them into pots this year.  They are coming along nicely.  Let me know if you want some viable seeds.  I love to share.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The apple trees are blooming!!!  Yay!  

 

We’ve had a few cool nights, but they weren’t cold enough to hurt our trees.  

 

The peaches, pears, and apple trees are all fine.  Even the blueberries seem to be OK.  Yoo-hoo!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Remember that beautiful purple cabbage from last fall?  Well, it is blooming now too.

 

It survived the winter, but we had three months of dry weather, and it never made a head.  And now it’s blooming.  Here’s no surprise:  the florets taste like broccoli.  Same family as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, mustards, arugula, radish.  They all bloom like this.  And the florets are edible.  Of course, the mustard, arugula, and radish florets are a little spicy, but very tasty.  

 

And look how pretty they are.  I love them in my salads.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I showed you last year’s kale already, but it is really blooming its head off right now.  

 

These florets are just like broccoli.  We add them to our salads and soups and everything else we can think of.  A couple of my friends say they don’t grow kale because they don’t like it.  But wait!  It tastes like broccoli when it blooms.  And our broccoli still has 6-8 weeks before we get broccoli florets.  That in itself is good enough reason to grow a couple kale plants in the garden.  Or, as pretty as it is, grow it in your flower bed.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The Dill from last year is coming up in this flower pot.  That tells me that it’s time to plant dill seeds in the garden.

 

We have had a few cool days and nights, but when last year’s dill starts coming up, I know that the ground is warming up and I can plant some seeds in the garden.

 

I have already planted carrot, radish, cilantro, and beet seeds in the ground, and they are all coming up.  I will show you when they are big enough to register on my camera.  Right now, they are tiny, wispy things.

 

Oh, and that heart shaped leafy thing in the picture is Morning Glory.  It is coming up EVERYWHERE!!!  I will leave it in the pot, next to the corner of the house.  I can train it up a string when it starts vining, and it will be pretty.  But the rest of it is getting weeded OUT as fast as I can.  I love morning glory, but not all over the garden where I am growing food.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I know you know this tree when it has leaves, but do you know it now?  

 

It is Sassafras, and they are blooming now.  The flowers are small, yellow, and kinda fuzzy-looking, all over the tree.

 

I hope you notice some in your travels.  

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

This Lilac is in the Park.  There are several planted there, but this is the only white one.  We stopped and smelled them all, and each one is a little different.

 

If I were in a movie theatre and somebody sat next to me smelling like this, I’d have to excuse myself and move.  But outside, in the fresh air, this fragrance is divine.  

 

I will try to get another picture of a lilac Lilac when Nancy’s blooms.

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

Imagine being able to grow in soil like this.  Well, Violets don’t care.  They will grow anywhere.

 

And right now they are blooming all over.  I hope you get to see some on your walks.  They are always good for a smile.

 

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!