Garden in June

Here's a look at my garden in my absolute favorite stage of the growing season: June. I've got things growing, things blooming, not too many weeds yet and it's not too stinking hot to sit outside and enjoy it. It's all about the potential. No harvest yet. Harvesting is work. I like seeing the garden now while the potential is thick and satisfying.



Above, L-R: strawberry bed with marigolds on the end, a bed with the herb garden (basil, parsley, green onions, rosemary) and grains (sweet corn, wheat) and beanapillars (i.e. dry beans of some sort), and finally the screened bed (cucumber, watermelon, zucchini, collard greens).

In the back bed, I've planted a variety of small "artisan" tomatoes and a few more marigolds. The rhubarb is settling in nicely, too. Very, very good.

The little blueberry bushes are in the front barrels, poor things. Bigger than ever, but still dinky.




Above, you see the orchard and chicken pen. The peach trees are actually starting to look like peach trees! I guess I haven't botched the pruning too bad so far. I planted nasturtiums at the base of each tree. They haven't bloomed yet.

And this year I expanded my potted plant variety:




The big plant is a baby sunflower. Then there's an assortment of edible flowers that I started from seed: violas, borage, bachelor's button, zinnia, marigold. Alice planted a lima bean from school and more wheat in her pot. Robert put a stalk of corn in his pot this year. Even with watering almost daily, many of the plants are pale and growing poorly. I'm afraid my potting soil mixture was a bit off...50% soil-less mix and 50% compost just isn't cutting it. I just can't stand to buy "real" potting mix every year. What a chore! And pricey.