Saturday Garden Journal

These days the star of our garden is the blueberry. The bushes are heavy laden, and my three year old takes such pride in filling her hands, her mouth, and the little bowls she brings out to the backyard with the succulent sweet-tart treats. This morning I awoke at 5:45 to a little curly head saying, "Mom, let's go out and pick blueberries for the pancakes." And after negotiating with her for another 15 minutes in bed, that's just what we did. The task at hand made being awake and outside at 6 am on a Saturday feel like a privilege rather than punishment. It was a lovely warm and quiet morning, the gentle light shining just so on the garden. I even took the opportunity to cut some broccoli for dinner, and to do a little slug hunting. I have to say, oatmeal with freshly picked blueberries is an entirely different experience than our usual oatmeal with raisins. And the blueberry pancakes were delicious.

We're experimenting with growing some dry shelling beans this year, just to see how it works. It would be nice to be able to grow more staple food items, in addition to veggies. Our space is so limited, though, that it's probably not practical to plant in quantities large enough to put a dent in our bean consumption. The food bank garden where my husband volunteers grew some quinoa last year, which I think would be very fun to try, too.

The peas are not thriving to the degree they did last year, but really doing quite well considering the initial slug onslaught they had to weather. We do so love snapping off a few for a snack as we come and go through the front yard.

We had a hot day today, after a long stretch of cool wet weather.  The tomatoes are growing well, but the peppers, basil, and squash are still waiting for some consistently warm temps. The herbs are thriving, especially calendula. I saved seed last year and had great results with starting them indoors this spring. I hope to get around to making some healing calendula salve before the arrival of baby brother later this summer.

The parsley is going to seed, and all the pollinators and beneficial insects love the lacy flowers. I've noticed they like chamomile and cilantro flowers, too. Anything with tiny blossoms and lots of pollen. This parsley originally came from seed saved and given to us by my late mother-in-law three years ago. I'm hoping that we'll be able to collect some seed from the plants this year to continue the legacy. It cheers my heart, the way these plants provide a tangible connection to her life and her garden.

Wishing happy gardens and happy gardening to all!

Joining in with Ginny's Saturday Garden Journal...