Jun 14, 2009 22:05
Well, this week I've finally planted a few things just for looks. I started 5 pots of red and white cypress vine. Four are hanging baskets, and the fifth has a pretty wire trellis I dug out of the honeysuckle. It's not the sturdiest thing in the world, but it should stand up to them. I also planted 2 pots of calendula and 2 pots of white marigold that sprouted after only 2 days. I'm completely in love with white marigolds. They're beautiful, surprisingly easy to grow, and seem to thrive in our hot summers. I'll probably plant some in the ground as well, to fill in some of the empty spots.
My other big job for the week was drastically pruning the extremely aggressive pink rose that tries to take over my garden every year. I'm not sure it's the right time of year, but honestly you can't kill that thing. I've tried. At least I got out of it with only minor scratches this time around.
My seedlings are coming along nicely...I have garlic chives, oregano, marjoram, chamomile, and lemon basil that are doing really well, along with the ubiquitous thyme and fennel that reseed themselves every year. Speaking of reseeding, I have an incredible crop of volunteer forget-me-nots coming up, even with all the seed I collected from them! If even half of these babies make it I'll be knee deep in them. The chervil still isn't sprouting, but I'll keep my fingers crossed. It might even be possible to replant it in late summer since it can take a little cold.
My cuttings seem to be flourishing; the first batch is nearly ready to repot. As soon as they're situated, I'm going to turn around and start more! The idea of trying to start new plants that way used to really intimidate me, but now I've become addicted to it. I'm also glad I've been starting all my plants from seed. It's slow and takes a lot of patience I didn't really have at one time, but it's incredibly satisfying.
If there's one thing I regret (other than lack of funds)it's that I didn't get an earlier start. I just wasn't in any shape to deal with it earlier. But the garden has been one of the only things that's kept my nerves from going completely haywire. And at least I've learned a lot from trying to work around the tiny budget. I've found a lot of ways to reuse things that would otherwise be trash; and I've started to look at new ways to use things that have been around a while. That doesn't really feel like much of a silver lining right now, but it's something.
herbs,
garden