Spring has sprung and the #hivegarden is almost done.
With the planting at least...
So here we are in northeastern, USA and it's GROW TIME. Gardening has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I just enjoy seeing anything sprout and grow to mature over the warm summer months. Our rule of thumb for most of our summer garden is to plant on Memorial Day weekend.
I sow seeds indoors at the beginning of April to give those plants around six weeks to germinate and grow into sturdy little seedlings. There are a few veggies and herbs that can be sown directly outside earlier, some can withstand a snowfall. Like lettuce and radishes for example.
workIt's a very busy #homestead from April until September. I hobbitize with @thebigsweed on most of the gardening chores but of course, he does most of the heavy lifting. So instead of duplicating in our #gardenjournals, he takes the bulk of what we grow and I zero in on the flowers and herbs. Seems to work out nicely.
I had to use this first photo as my cover page. It's a Mother's Day gift from my son. A gorgeous calla lily.
A new addition this year, mint. I cannot walk by it without pinching off a few leaves to sniff or pop in a cup of herb tea, so refreshing.
This year it seems the gods were with us, the rose garden is blooming already baby. I have to say though, I treated the soil around each rose bush with rich compost and used green tea leaves. Something did the trick because this year the roses started to bloom several weeks before their usual appearance. YEA!!
Here we have the romaine lettuce, looking good so far, should be picking for salad real soon if the weather keeps up blessing us with nice warm days, cooler nights, and showers.
This yellow rose bush was added to the garden last year and must have been good stock for sure, it's loaded with buds like this one, ready to burst into bloom.
Dill, basil, cilantro, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and did I mention basil? Of course I did, I routinely grow lots of sweet basil so I can make pesto and freeze it for year-round use. We especially love pesto on paninis.
I potted some annuals but not as many as last year, they have become way too expensive. Instead, I did direct planting of zinnias and marigolds, and I can report most have germinated and are on their way to making farm-mom happy.
The last flowers I want to show off, are mammoth sunflowers, an entire row of them that are tiny now, but late summer will be giants,6 to 10 feet tall if all goes as planned. Fingers crossed.
Oh, I almost forgot, I also added collard greens to the veggie lineup. I had them when I was down south this winter and promised myself, I would try to grow my own from seeds. They are so delicious and nutritious.
Now that the planting is done the real fun begins as I observe daily the progress of all we have sown. Lettuce and radishes have already been picked and eaten and I look forward to the months ahead as we enjoy fresh produce, herbs, and blossoms from our wonderful #hivegarden.
HAPPY GROWING!!!
Everything looks great! The roses in England are stunning in June. And basil is the Queen herb of summer in my opinion! Looks like a happy growing year for you both!!
You do love your flowers. I guess that comes from being a **Flower Child **back in the sixties and seventies.
The fruit of your labor is almost there.😊😊 It seems that the harvest time is near.😊😊
👍
Nice pictures and flowers, I love
seeing beautiful flowers
I really enjoy flowers also, my favorites are the roses.
Wow
It's so lovely to see all your veggies growing so healthy. Mine were all gobbled up by slugs in no time.
The herb garden looks lovely as well, one can never have too much herbs around
Slugs can be so destructive in the garden; we check the garden for them every morning.
I told my brother last night that we need to make and freeze basil pesto this year. We, so far, are loving simple basil chicken. So he’s been warned…
There is nothing better than pesto on paninis, but I also use it in sauces and soups.
Once the tomatoes come in, I will be making tomato and pesto soup, oh so good.
That's one beautiful calla lily. Your flower and herb gardens are looking robust. Blooming roses are a joy to see and it's awesome that you've got yellow ones. They are quite rare.
I love theses
Your garden is so beautiful and I'm sure the plants are super grateful for the care you have given to them. Yes it's really nice to eat from one's garden.