Mid-May Garden Journal

We've had a stretch of hot weather here--a bit of a shock for people and plants alike, after our long, cold, wet spring. But a welcome shock, nonetheless!

Potting up the basil was a fragrant treat. It's not quite ready to go in the ground, but the spring herbs are thriving. We've been enjoying cilantro, chives, parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary sprinkled into everything, and I've been drinking lemon balm-spearmint tea almost every day. So refreshing.

I'm so happy with the potatoes this year. We've never had much luck with them in the past, as they always seem to be the neglected afterthought of our garden. This year we gave them a good spot of earth and we're trying the method of covering them with straw. So far they appear to be very happy.

We harvested our first spinach this week, and ate it for breakfast (smoothies), lunch (sandwiches), and dinner (quiche). Yum!

Next greens on deck--spicy mesclun.

Sun-dried, lilac scented laundry--what could be better?

The warmth has brought out many blooms--here the parsley and chives (hopefully will collect seeds from these soon).

Iris...

and rhododendron. So much purple this time of year.

 The chickies are growing growing growing and have graduated to spending all their time in the outdoor coop. My daughter spends hours (well, minutes at least) watching them and feeding them weeds.

How is your garden growing?
Joining with Ginny's Saturday Garden Journal...