I can't believe my garden has been planted for over a month now, but I have yet to share it with you! That baby of ours has been keeping me busy!! I am happy to report, however, that the garden is growing strong! We've had many rainy days followed by warm sunny days and my plants are thriving!
The garlic scapes are ready for picking! I have a penne dish planned for tonight with sautéed scapes and asparagus with either goat cheese or parmesan to top it off. Yum. The peppers are also doing well. I planted them a little closer together this year to make space for other things, and I think it's going to work out. I'm excited about a new jalapeño that I'm trying called Biker Billy. It's supposed to be spicier than a regular jalapeño, which my husband will appreciate. I'm also trying a new basil this year called Amethyst. It's supposed to have thick purple leaves, but right now they are still pretty thin. I'm excited to see how it does.
Tucked behind the peonies in the picture above and next to the spreading mint is my new Redlake Currant bush. The plan is to espalier train it up the side of the house in order to hide the ugly cords and piping. And of course, to eventually have a nice harvest of red currants each summer!
I'm also very pleased with the progress my creeping thyme ground cover has made over the past year! It's starting to really fill out the space between the stepping stones! Since I decided not to use raised beds in my garden, it's been very important to me to create a living boarder for the soil in order to help reduce soil runoff. I think by the end of next summer it's going to be performing it's job quite nicely.
The tomatoes are growing like weeds this summer! I arranged them a bit differently in the garden this year in order to give them all more equal access to midday sun, which makes me hopeful for a bountiful crop! My pole beans got a new trellis this year! Dan built this wonderful little frame for them to climb up. In the past I've grown them at an angle up to the neighbor's fence, but this new frame will keep them more in the direct sun and will make it easier to pick them from both sides. I'm rather excited about it.
I've been dealing with a few pests this year. Potato bugs have been helping themselves to my tomatillo's leaves and the four lined plant bug is attempting to make itself at home in my herbs. I've been handpicking the potato bugs and killing the larvae every day or two and I'm planning to just keep a close eye on my herbs and act only if I need to. Pests. Boo.
And last, but not least, the peas!! I've never grown peas...why?? I'm not sure! This year, however, I decided to try them in this somewhat shady spot along the fence. I've tried several other things there and have not had success with them. So this year, I decided to try some peas since they can tolerate a bit of shade. Dan built a little trellis for them too and they seem to be enjoying their home. I started them a bit later than I'd hoped to, so hopefully it won't be too much longer before they start producing, but we'll see. I also snuck in a row of radishes in front of them. They seem to be enjoying their somewhat shady spot as well.
How about you?? What do you have growing in your garden this summer?