Green & Greener

 

A couple weeks ago, I was very excited to show you all how far my garden had come. Everything was planted, things were starting to come up in every container. It was beginning to look like a real garden.

And then there was that weekend. That one weekend. Fifty mile an hour winds or something crazy like that. I had one of those regrettable brain lapses where I forgot that I have a container garden and that container gardens are, by nature, mobile. I only had the realization when it was too late, of course, at which point I said something along the lines of, “I think I should bring the plants inside.” Six hours earlier would’ve been nice.

I left them inside for the weekend and I didn’t touch them. I wasn’t ready to deal with what damage may have occurred and I wanted to give them time to heal. When I finally looked, I found that I had lost my Round Two cucumbers, both of my tomato plants, and all but one radish. Some of my herbs looked a little mangled, one kale plant was in disrepair, and my zucchini were a bit worse for wear, but I knew these were all things that could recover.

Fortunately I had saved one of each tomato plant indoors, just in case, and was able to move those outside. We’ll see how they’ll fare, but this might be a tomato-less year. I sowed brand new cucumbers–if they don’t stick this time, I’ll find something else to plant in its stead. So far, things are looking up. In the two weeks since, everything has been flourishing. Once again, it is starting to look like a real garden.

It’s amazing to watch the progression. It’s exciting but it’s also an exercise in patience. Because there isn’t yet any fruit, Chris especially feels like nothing’s happening. Sometimes it feels like things are moving slowly for me too, and then I’ll look at pictures taken just days before and realize how fast the plants are actually growing. Below I’ve done a little before and after. The before pictures were taken on May 7th (the day before the windstorm) and the after pictures were taken today.

The zucchini have been the rockstars. I’ll show you soon what they’ve been up to most recently–it’s very exciting. Look here though, the leaves are now as big as my hand!

 

The dill is getting fuller by the day, and my Round Three cucumber seedlings are about where Round Two was when it was wiped out. Keep your fingers crossed that the third time’s a charm!

 

 

The kale is still small but growing, and the sage has gone from baby seedlings to producing enormously fragrant leaves. If I touch them, even lightly, my fingers come away smelling spicy and earthy and wonderful.

 

 

The lemon basil.

 

 

And the Genovese basil. Both are flourishing and smelling fantastic. I didn’t have any clear photos, but the thyme is doing equally well, if not better.

 

 

And here’s the whole garden. When you put them all together, doesn’t it almost look like a real garden?

 


Look at how much more green there is now (the thyme by the way is at the bottom of the long bed to the left)! With the weather warming up, I’m expecting that things will be moving even faster. What fun!

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