How Does Your Garden Grow?

It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936

So, yesterday when I got up it was gorgeous out. After a solid 36 hours of rain, I was beyond thrilled, and decided (after checking the forecast for the next week) that it was time to put in the garden.

I went out in the morning and set it all up: squash here, tomatoes there, cucumbers along the back, herbs in that spot and the broccoli and cabbage in that last open area over there.

I put up cages for the tomatoes, cucumbers and the squash.

I had to make a trip to Agway to get a few more cucumbers since my seeds didn't do well, and since I needed to go to the library, too, and it didn't open until eleven I had to wait a little bit.

By the time I got back, it was lunchtime, so we ate. And then it was unbearably HOT outside!! We had temps in the high 80s! I decided I wouldn't put it in, but then after an hour or so of sitting inside and working on the computer, I couldn't stand it.

So right around 1:00 pm I went to put it in.

I dug the holes (LOVE my bulb planter), and DD helped by putting in a little Soil Moist and Osmocote (yeah, I know, not really "organic" but I make an exception). We popped in the plants, filled the hole with water and dirt and DONE.

Easy peasy ... except, I'd forgotten I had THREE not TWO winter squash and that I had three eggplant plants that I hadn't planned for. Okay, after some thought, I figured out how to squeeze them in.

Then, after I finished planting the EIGHTEEN tomato plants I'd dug holes for, DD says, "Um, Mom? We have more tomatoes."

"How many more?"

"Twelve."

Why on EARTH had I bought THIRTY tomato plants?? And how would I fit them into the garden -- a garden that was already packed full??

I managed... sort of. And now all the neatly organized tomatoes are a bit of a mess. I have roma with my rainbow heritage, and sweet 100s with my big boys. They're quite close together, so harvesting might be, er, interesting.

I ran out of steam before I got in the herb seeds or the broccoli and cabbage, so I'll do that today, as well as putting down the newspaper and straw for weed block. And then, God willing and the creek don't rise, it's done.

Thirty tomatoes... I must be out of my mind.

========================

I have a friend who just moved into a new-to-her home in Pennsylvania. The gardens there are beautiful and packed full of flowers, some of which neither of us recognize, so I thought I'd post the pictures here and see if any of you can tell what they are.

This first one is a small tree (bush?):



And this is ground cover:


Anyone?

=======================

You Are a Creative Worker

You are a very personally expressive person, especially outside of work. Your individuality matters to you. You draw a lot of inspiration and energy from your own internal world. You get bored easily around other people. You are confident and competent. You tend to not make mistakes, and you trust your judgment. You are down to earth and practical. You achieve success one step at a time, by paying attention to details.

What Does Your Desk Say About You?

Actually, that's amazingly close!

====================