Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Rainy Day Musings

We've jumped ahead soooo quickly since my last post in early May! It's a spring I can't ever remember experiencing before. The PJM Rhododendron bloomed along with the Magnolia. Early tulips opened with the daffodils; the cherry and plum tree are a flutter of blossom; close on their heels are lilac and Red Chestnut. Finally, days are warm enough to sit out and relax listening to an anthem of birds and bees. At least two blue jay families have set up home nearby, also two crow families but sadly, the one tiny male hummingbird distinctive by his slight size, has not convinced a female to join him in matrimony. He tries his heart out, swooping on his dare devil flights up and down, but I guess, we will just have to wait and see.
Ignoring his attention!
The beds are almost finished having their spring tidy up, but I am a little perplexed by a fern in the side bed. That's the photo in the header and if anyone would like to give an opinion on this unique scape (there are four or five of them) half deep green with the top almost white. I would appreciate that.

The tomato plants have grown well and we are glad we waited a few weeks longer to start them inside or they would be far too leggy. The're just about the right size now, so managed to get ten in the ground before our three days of rain set in. The rest will have to wait.
I've written before about our experience with late blight about four years back and how we lost so much of our tomato crop. So, with guidance and suggestions from Niki Jabbour and other blog friends, we are planting our so far faithful, Sub-Artic Plenty and new this year, Mountain Merit, Oregon Spring, Torento and Jasper. These should all crop early. Mexico Midget has always taken a long time to germinate but there was no success from the seeds this year, started inside, and out. Very hardy against late blight I might add. I love that little tomato and so does our puppy Chief, so we hope to get some reseeds from the garden itself. My original packet came from The Tomato Man via Niki...thanks you guys.

The raised beds with the lexan cover and sheet plastic cover, have kept up with their greens supply so we have not had to buy any so far. Even the radishes plumped up well this year.
Todays Rainy day Photo
I was so looking forward to the lovely dwarf cosmos I planted in the back raised bed and boy did it germinate well. Did you ever notice how much it looks like dill? Well we had a good laugh over that, as it was not cosmos in the raised bed at all. My foggy memory seems to think someone advised to plant dill when it is cooler and I must have thought, why not give it a try in the raised bed and plant it out if that works. Well, it did germinate. So you might try that if you find you can't grow dill as I had very poor success with it in the past.
The herbs are a wonderful addition to our salads now, along with the green garlic and baby Egyptian onions. Lots of zing along with the mustards and radish. But on rainy days, I don't feel like a crisp salad, so, we make a pesto out of whatever is going, with the usual cheese, nuts and oil, tossed with a bowl of pasta and a squeeze of lemon...hot and comforting.

Here's to a warm, wonderful June and a warm smile from Johnny Jump Up and his orange Pansy friends.

An update...the fern is full of spores and is called an Interrupted Fern! Only the mid area carries the spores which after being distributed, that part of the frond falls off, leaving top and bottom and no middle. Interrupted!



14 comments:

  1. I haven't had any luck with dill either. I try and try. It is very cool here right now. I will plant some tomorrow and see how it goes. Thanks Brenda!!

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    1. Well I was kinda looking forward to the cosmos but am very pleased with having dill!

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  2. Our spring contracted into a few weeks too and we can't shake off gale force winds.

    No idea what is going on with tour fern,

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    1. I heard you were having strong winds there! We don't mind the wind...keeps away the black flies (midges)

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  3. Dill for me is such a weed. Which I don't mind and sometimes I let it grow. But I always let it go to seed so it ends up all over the garden. I never plant it. In fact I never planted dill in this garden. I brought over some compost form my last house and used it. Up came the dill and johhny-jump-ups. I will forever have them.

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    1. I wish I could say the same Daphne! But maybe this year I will be lucky and I will let some of it go to seed. Thank you for that and also your kind comment.

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  4. Hope you successfully get a crop of tomatoes before the blight sets in. I'm trying some allegedly blight-resistant tomato varieties this year, and am hoping for good results. I hate Dill, so I wouldn't want it in my garden!

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    1. Thank you Mark. I hope we both have success with our tomatoes.

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  5. Dearest Brenda - I think of you often and feel bad for not coming by as much as I used too. I hope you will forgive me but know that you are not far from my thoughts. My garden is coming along you will be pleased to know, but lots of the plants have either been donated by friends at work or purchased from a independent garden centre. Your garden is doing splendidly and lots going on. We don't eat dill much, so I only buy it when a recipe requires it. Hope your tomatoes do good too, we lost loads to blight last year, so for you and for us - hope we get a good crop of homegrown tommy tatoes. Warmest of wishes x

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    1. Dear Shaheen, thank you for coming by the blog and visiting with such a kind message. I enjoyed reading your recent recipe with the butter beans and dill and I am sure with fresh beans it will be even more delightful. They should be ripening soon, where you garden. As for tomatoes, and Mark Willis above, fingers crossed for a good year! Warm wishes back.

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  6. I love dill and cosmos in equal measure. Last year I planted them together so I can see why the confusion. What a fantastic jumble of blooms you're having. This spring has been so quick. Trees in full leaf right before your eyes. Very little time to think, let alone get all the work done. I still haven't planted my veggie garden. Yikes!! have you managed to find some mexico midget seeds. Might be too late now but I collected some and have plenty to share if you want them

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    1. Oh yes Marguerite, the spring has been so quick! Am only getting the rest of the tomatoes in the ground, and might hold back on the cucumbers and beans one more week. It is still cool out there! I am looking for garden starts of Mexico Midget. My seeds would not germinate so I don't know what happened there. Thank you for the offer. If you grow them this year, would appreciate some seed later.

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  7. It must be nice to collect salad leaves or the ingredients to make a pesto for pasta. I bet the pasta is wonderful way to warm a rainy day.
    I have always had back luck with dill which is supposed to be easy to grow. This year it went in early and it is doing better. Good luck with your early tomatoes. I hope you get a nice crop.

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    1. So we have both had better luck planting the dill seeds earlier! I love dill in my salads. Thanks for the good luck with the tomatoes, because indeed you can do the very very best for them, but it is in mother nature's hands now.

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