This was my garden at the end of the cold, dead winter. It was very sad and tragic. Even my rosemary, which typically survives the winter, had fallen victim to frost.
I was dejected.
I was discouraged.
But I pulled myself up from my bootstraps and decided to get busy and start planting.
This is my garden now! I’ve been having fun with it this year.
And actually, my garden got off to a late start. I planted, then it was unseasonably cold, then it rained a whole lot, then yada yada yada.
But then, around the first of July, it started bustin’ out all over. And the weather’s been so gorgeous (Oklahoma, please do this every summer) that it’s been easy for me to get out there and work on it more.
Here are a few peeks!
I have so much basil, I don’t know what to do. This is one of about seven plants, and because I’ve religiously been pinching it back, it has exploded and is actually about to cover up part of my thyme, which means I need to make some pesto this week in order to thin it out a little bit.
And believe me, I’m not complaining.
I’ve had years when my basil was blah.
Or when I was busy and didn’t pinch it back.
Those were some very dark times.
I’ve even got purple basil, which is weirdly wonderful.
Emphasis on purple.
I finally have peppers!
And tomatoes of different shapes, sizes, and colors. At long last. They piddled along for the longest time. And finally, they’re totally going for it.
Baby eggplant! They’re so cute. And very small.
On the failure front…I don’t think the okra is going to make it. For one thing, it thrives on heat and sun and I planted it too early. For another, it thrives on heat and sun and I planted it in the one raised bed I have that gets quite a bit of shade. I just thought I’d try it this year.
Good going, Ree!
It’s okay. Live and learn.
Across the yard I’ve got sunflowers that are fortunately out of reach of the ranch horses. Score one for the team!
Uh oh…I need to go pull out that grass tonight. I just noticed it!
The grass has been a bear this year. Of course, that’s because of the rain we’ve gotten, so it’s hard for me to complain. That’s a byproduct of agriculture: Even if rain cramps your style here or there, it’s impossible to complain about it.
This guy did not want to be a midnight snack for the horses! And that’s exactly when the horses visited the garden from the other side of the wall and munched on my larger row of sunflowers, which were planted all along the edge.
Finally, I figured it out: Don’t plant sunflowers along the edge of the wall.
(It only took me a hundred years.)
While the outer edge of my sunflowers were gigantic monster-sunflowers (at least they were headed there before the horses gobbled them up) for this interior cluster of sunflowers, I just planted a random seed variety.
I love all the different colors, but this one’s my favorite.
Lovely!
And I’m still in for some fun: As many flowers as I have blooming, I have twice as many that haven’t bloomed yet.
Kitten Kitten loves the sunflowers. Plenty of tall stalks under which to hide and pretend he’s a jungle cat stalking his prey.
(Even if the prey is just a couple of clumsy Basset Hounds.)