Progress on the Patio

Although leaving the fun, learning, companionship, and liberal social mores of Wellspring is often difficult, I was glad to come home to my cats, ferrets, and garden.  I feel awful leaving my plants, even if it’s only for a few days.  A couple days of intense heat can be all it takes to bring about a garden’s demise – especially container gardens.  One of the biggest stumbling blocks I see people around me make with containers is assuming they don’t need to be watered that often because they’re outside and getting moisture through rain and dew. The truth is, unless it’s raining a ton or your garden is full of drought -hardy vegetation, container gardens especially need to be watered often.  When the heat picks up, I make a point to water most of my pots twice a day – especially the hanging ones as they dry out faster.  Self-watering containers are a huge help and I encourage all the would-be gardeners out there to start adding them to your arsenal (except for herbs – they tend to drown in self-watering containers and prefer periods of brief dryness in clay pots).  You can make them, though they are often not very pretty and landlords may complain.  You can purchase self-watering containers or converters for regular pots but this can all become expensive.  My advice is to make a point to purchase one or two each year and build your collection in baby steps.  People keep telling me I have a green thumb, which is a huge compliment.  Working with plants has become a central part of my spiritual practice.  Keeping the plant spirits happy isn’t only good for your food/herb production – it does wonders for your relationship and understanding of the natural world.

Here’s what’s been happening on my patio as of late!

I started several plants inside in March.  As a result, I already have some food forming!  Beans ahoy!

I have a few lemons on my wee lemon tree!

The little people are watching over the little trees. 😉

The cucumbers are flowering!  Some even have little baby fruits growing!  My food preservation goal for this year is to try making pickles!

My bigger chive plants are flowering.  I’ve been snipping the blossoms and putting them in vinegar to make a  beautiful pink, chive-infused concoction!  It smells divine thus far!

Out of the five or six woad plants that sprouted, two really strong specimens have emerged and they’re growing strong!

I finally did more work on my moon garden.  I don’t anticipate the lily of the valley to show any growth until next year.  The white cosmos, moonflowers, and woodland tobacco are starting to sprout.  I pray they grow well and that I can have some lovely-scented lunar flowers this year!  Supposedly the woodland tobacco is good pest management with regards to mosquitos – something that is always welcomed!

A favorite sight of mine  are the pollinators.  We’ve seen many swallowtails and a swarm of red admiral butterflies so far!  I’ve seen a couple hummingbirds and intend to purchase a special feeder for them before the season’s out.  Bees, of course, often visit my garden.  I love watching them work.    Great job pollinators!