June garden

Early morning fog highlights the overnight work of 

spiders in the craspedia

The transplants from last month are finally settled in and growing.

Cabbage - 'Omero'

Cabbage - 'Primo Vantage'

Canteloupe - 'Escorial'

Cucumber - 'Marketmore'

Surprisingly, the lettuce has still been edible, but  the mixed red romaine and green loose head varieties from seed saved last year are now starting to bolt, so that's going to be the end of the first sowing.  

The 'Merveille des Quatre Saisons' variety is still doing fine, but I don't think it's quite as sweet as it was earlier.  This is the first time I've tried it.  It's very pretty.

The 'Red Swan' bush beans got their tops pruned off by either deer or rabbits at one end of the row, but the flowers weren't eaten, so the harvest won't be reduced.

This is the first year I've planted green beans.  Well, red in this case.  I thought they'd be prettier than green and easier to see when it comes time to pick them.  I'll find out soon how they taste.

The peas that I had such a time getting started have been quite prolific.  'Little Marvel' won't get another year because the pods are quite small, containing two or three peas each.  They taste fine, but not good enough to make it worth all that shelling.  'Lincoln', on the other hand, has a half dozen or so peas per pod and taste fine.  I'll probably plant them again.  Since I wasn't been able to get the sweetest variety - 'Improved Maestro' - this year, I'm assuming I won't be able to next year either.

The okra seems to be coming along slowly, but maybe I just don't remember from previous years.  Or maybe this variety - 'Carmine splendor' - actually is slower.  The jalapeño and basil transplants seem slow, too.  The basil transplants had really struggled through the cold, wet spring, so I expect they'll pick up now that the temps are heating up. On the other hand, this is the bed I mulched with composted tree trimmings as an experiment a couple years ago, so it's quite possible certain things don't do as well in it.  I've noticed that it doesn't get as many grass and weeds sprouting in it as the other beds do, so that's probably a clue.

Basil - 'Purple Ruffles'

Onion thinning has given me plenty of green onions.  

I decided to make a topiary piece out of the tarragon this year.  I didn't know if it would work since the stems are so limber, but it's actually done okay.  At least for this quasi-pyramidal shape.

This is what it has looked like for the past four years:

Over to the flowers....

I can't get enough of the corn poppies I decided to try this year.  This mix is called 'Pandora'.

 

Also loving these drumstick alliums.  Until they sent up the blooms, they were pretty unspectacular, and I thought I'd just tolerate them mixed in the perennial bed.  I'm really liking them now.

Let the summer bouquets begin.

'Poseidon' roses, Colorado mix yarrow

Stay safe.  Wear your masks.  Missouri's coronavirus cases are still rising.