Next year, this ground cover will cover the ground!

I was struck this week by how much of gardening is about next year. I got drunk and bought plants again [which is a joke. For one thing, the logistics would be complicated. How would I get the plants home? It's kind of a metaphor for the feeling one gets, when one goes to the nursery and sees all. those. plants. and just buys maybe a few, and then a couple more, to round things out, and comes home, and finds that one has a good hour of planting to do, because one somehow bought thirty different plants, *again*. Anyway.] and this time I branched out a bit into perennial ground cover suitable for sun. This is a tricky category. There seem to be more shade-loving perennials than sun-loving ones, and despite my best intentions, these are fixed categories. Shade-lovers don't do well in strong sun, even if you ask nicely. And I have a big, sunny front yard that needs some more plants to keep it from looking bare.

So I looked at my neighbors' garden, which I keep meaning to talk with them about because it's so beautiful and well-planned, but I'm little shy about introducing myself to strangers and demanding information about their plants. Plus, I never see them outside, which is a little mind-boggling considering how lovely the garden really is, but it's a mystery I have yet to solve. At any rate, they have some of this yellow stuff, and I like it so much I bought some of my own. Unlike theirs, mine is new and kind of small, but in a year or two it will fill in the spot I put it in and look great. And the same with the pink stuff! In a year or two, it's going to spread nicely, and then the problem spot under the tree will be carpeted with gorgeous pink flowers and nice green leaves.

Something old, something new.

So, the day finally arrived when the window boxes I'd watered too seldom were no longer... alive. In the sense that they were... very dried up and dead. Except for the ornamental cabbages, which had gone to seed, a funky and kind of interesting look which I'm pretty sure I was supposed to... oh, gosh, the cliche is irresistable... nip in the bud. So I dug out the old, dead plants and put in new victims. Petunias, this time, because they're pretty and cheerful. I let the kids pick them out, so we ended up with some specimens that might be less-than-robust, but I'm sure I'll be able to save them with tender loving water, because I am reformed, you hear me?

In fact, in more reassuring news, the plants in the silver pots by the vegetable garden are doing well. I did replace a couple of zinnias, but the coleus and the rest of the zinnias are looking great. The big coleus is looking really mighty for June, such that it may need a bigger pot before the end of the summer. And in my defense, the zinnias in the largest window box are nestled in between some... green stuff... which survived my tender, loving neglect. I know what that green stuff is, I just can't remember right this second. It's alive, and that's what matters, right?

Grace's veggie update

The vegetables are growing! We have a bunch of marble-sized tomatoes, lots of basil, (not that that kept us from buying just two more plants), our jalapeneos are looking great, the oregano is about to take over, the zucchini are getting scarily large already. The lettuce, which got into the ground a little late, is a little green carpet over the soil. We have four or five nice-looking beans. (Note to selves: next year, plant more bean plants.) The mint and thyme and sage are doing their groovy herb thing, and we are optimistic.

Veggie garden update!

So, my usual m.o. with a plant I've never grown, especially a cheap one, is to put in lots, rather than a few; that way, if I kill half of them, I'll still get a decent showing. Hence the zucchini. Thinking we could use maybe two plants, I put in eight; seven have survived. The odds are that these seven plants will totally overwhelm their little corner of the garden and I'll end up with a ton of zucchini which even my two little veggie eaters won't be able to dispose of. C'est la vie. Our oregano is also doing really, really well; we've had herb bread several times just to keep it in check. The beans didn't transplant all that well, but the ones that survived are growing like crazy. Hopefully we'll get enough beans at once for a good side dish. The tomatoes are looking great, the other herbs are looking great, and although I've been too lazy to put in the lettuce and carrots, they're next on the list.

Big Outdoor Fun!

The village maintains the trees along the street, which are trimmed according to some mysterious but regular schedule. The guys trimming our trees were careful to ask us to stay out of their way, and we sat and watched them for a good half-hour. Peter was really concerned about the safety of the bucket trucks; Grace was impressed with the number of cicadas that flew madly in every direction when the trees were disturbed. Then the trimmings went into the chipper and became mulch. The most fascinating part, though, is that three hours later the guys in the trucks are still sitting outside our house. Just in the trucks. Sitting. I'm tempted to go offer them each a cold beer, but there are probably rules that prohibit drinking and sitting in village-owned heavy equipment while on the job. And I wouldn't want to start some kind of Village Incident, because that seems like the kind of thing that would dog you as long as you lived in the neighborhood.

Wild Strawberries!

They're strange and delicious little things - the kids love to hunt for them in the swath of uncut grass where they grow in the spring. There are few things nicer than unexpected and perfect little strawberries.

Because sometimes, even good grilling goes bad.

Yes, that's the hose.