in the garden

I'm feeling faintly proud of myself in that I've actually got some of the tomatoes and basil in the garden already. It's a bit early to have planted the tomatoes, but I knew if I didn’t get it done last weekend, it wouldn't get done until after collegium which is a little too late. I put in a Early Girl and a Brandywine, and promised myself I'll take more care pruning them this year. I still want to get a cherry tomato in for GM.

The perennial herbs (several sages, English thyme, fennel, rosemary, sorrel, oregano, St John's wort, lavender, and the little winter savory) have been trimmed into near-submission. The annuals (currently basil, dill chives and cilantro) and in the ground, and I still have space left for more.

The white rose bush in the corner of the herb garden has survived another winter. I've been trying to prune out all the dead parts. It's been neglected pretty badly. But I need to get more light and air into the herbs, so it's going to get a major whacking.

I need to spend some time in the flower patch, it's covered in pine needles and needs weeding. The violets are blooming and the woodruff is taking over the world.

The front yard irises are alive, but not blooming. I fear the transplanting trauma may keep them subdued this year. I've been envying the iris patch one of my neighbors has. It's blooming already.

I keep wanting to try to get more grass to grow in the back yard, but I'm pretty sure I won’t be able to keep it alive this summer. I hope we get more rain so we don’t have too much water rationing. Maybe I'll just go to the gym every day so I can shower there.