As part of the general chaos of the last few weeks, the strip of garden under our yard was dug up. To give the plumbers credit, they did their best to keep things intact, but, well, bulbs don't like to be dug up. In an odd sort of way, it's a blessing in disguise, because the few gladiolas that did manage to bloom before then put up a pretty poor show.
Anyway, the plumeria seem to be doing all right, and I spent Sunday afternoon happily tearing out the remaining bulbs and putting in an herb garden.
There are now four bell pepper plants (two different kinds of red, a yellow, and a "chocolate,"), a curry plant, thyme, winter savory (I don't know how to use that, yet, but it sounds neat), and chives.
In smaller pots and more suitable areas for their temperaments are sage, basil, and lemon balm.
Anyone looking at this plot and others around back would conclude that 1) We really like garden knick-knacks and 2) We really like tomato cages. Both statements are true, in a way. We do own a lot of pseudo-birdhouses, painted rocks, and bits of driftwood, and we do own a lot of tomato cages.
However, this hypothetical individual would miss a very important aspect of their use: A suitable array of cute, but uncomfortable, garden knick-knacks keeps a certain cute and fuzzy dog from deciding that the nice, soft dust and some trampled down plants would make a good bed. Tomato cages are not only good supports for tomatoes and green peppers, they are also a good way to keep people from tromping on newly-planted roses and, like knick-knacks, keep the dog from sleeping on the plants in their vicinity.
My bergamot is finally blooming! I planted it partly for tea purposes and partly because every book I read mentions how good the flowers are for the bees. The trouble is, in two years of growing, it has failed to flower--until today.
There have been a few ripe sungolds so far. I'm looking forward to the tomato boom!
I call this sunflower the Behemoth. Near as I can tell, the Mammoth sunflowers I grew last year hybridized with someone else's branching sunflower and this gigantic hybrid resulted. It's over 12 feet tall and is going to require an ax to get down once its blooming days are over. It actually had branches up and down almost its entire length, but several of the lower ones have broken off as we've brushed by it to tend other plants.
I mentioned earlier that I was trying wonderberries because they are a strange plant I had never heard of before. The first ones I ate were ok but nothing to write home about. This batch is about three times as big, so I'm hoping they'll be more impressive taste-wise as well.
And, of course, the roses are blooming! Here's Ebb Tide again, showing off.
