Saturday, May 12, 2012

Today in the Garden- May 12, 2012

Today was the first chance I've had to get out in the garden since last weekend.  There was a nice growth spurt after all the rain.

Overview of the potager.

The back bed, solidly filled with greens which are starting to bolt.

'Garden Sweet' pea blossoms.  This is the first pea I've grown that has three blossoms to the stem.


The bed of greens will be gone this weekend.  The spinach, Thai greens and arugula are starting to bolt.  This is actually to plan, as I had planned on hot weather crops to be planted next week,  The peas will be the only survivors.

The front bed is really starting to fill out.

Swiss chard ready for picking.

The carrots are now big enough to be noticeable.

Escarole is starting to form heads.

The cabbage is growing great.  I may actually get a harvest from the red cabbage this year.


I spent over an hour laboriously pulling out maple seedlings in the pool bed, again!  I spent the same amount of time last weekend doing the sale this thing.

Side view of the pool bed.  Lettuce and Swiss chard in the foreground.

The pool bed facing the pool.  The red cabbage is starting to grow fast.

I was able to get one project completed.  The bed where the burning bush was had finally been addressed.  The landscape fabric under the mulch was removed and the bed dug over.  I did discover that the stump of the burning bush finally show signs of growth, so it is going to remain.  The bed will be filled annuals and some ornamental vegetables.

The before shot.  The after will follow soon.
 Tomorrow, I'll be spending a good part of the day washing all of those bolting greens,,,

10 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! I love those rainbow swiss chard and blooming peas! It's so pretty and colorful :) I'll be pulling out some of my greens as well and planting squash in it's place.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jenny. The Swiss chard is growing great and the stemm colors really do give great color to the garden.

      Delete
  2. Eeek! Bolting already! I'm hoping my spinach hangs on for a while, as we're not nearly ready to give up on it. I did have to pull the last of my earlier planted radishes, but (fingers crossed) nothing else is going to seed yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember, my spinach varieties are from the 1930's and 1952. The modern hybrids must have some better bolt resistance. I actually scheduled their demise perfetly rhis year. Just in time to plant pole beans and tomatoes.

      Delete
  3. Wow three blossoms per stem. I've never seen that. Mine always give me two, or sometimes one when they are being stingy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was suprised too. I thought it was just an abberation with the first stem, but every stem on every plant has three blooms. Now I just have to see if they are super sweet as advertised.

      Delete
  4. Very nice!! Your gardens look amazing! I have planted peas for the first time this year also! Once they hit the "bloom" stage they go pretty fast from there. Happy Gardening! Mindy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ebullient Gardner! Isn't it great how photo's miss all the gardens flaws, LOL! Yes, once the peas start to bloom it won't be long until harvest!

      Delete
  5. That last picture is awesome. You really have a knack for landscape design. I am trying to get better at it, but I am no where near the level you are at. I have a few beds I am working on myself and hope to post my results in a few weeks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kris, I guess it just comes with time, a lot of it! There was no real plan, just trial and error over the years. Trust me there were lots of errors. Looking forward to seeing your efforts.

      Delete