Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day--June 2009

It's been HOT, HOT, HOT around here lately. Okay, maybe WARM, WARM, WARM is more accurate. This is Seattle after all. We did reach 90 degrees--one day only. Mostly we've been in the 70s and even crossing over into the 80s. This is the warmest, sunniest, driest June since we moved here.  Last year at this time Wing Nut was frantically trying to keep our tomatoes warm. This year our tomatoes don't look like freakin' elves... uhm... they just haven't made it into the ground yet.  But since I haven't done a GBBD post since November, I figured the tomatoes could wait one more day.

On the patio:

Mimulus

Lantana

In the shade garden:

Begonia

Oxalis

Geranium

On the hillside:

Lamium 

Coreopsis

And one last flower. This is from the potager. Any guesses?

It's the 'Brazilian Rainbow' pepper.

For more GBBD posts visit Carol over at May Dreams Garden.

Ciscoe Morris at Sky Nursery

Saturday, June 13th, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm local gardening legend, Ciscoe Morris,

photo courtesy of www.ciscoe.com

will be taping his radio show Gardening With Ciscoe live from Sky Nursery.

photo courtesy of www.skynursery.com

Check out Sky's awesome new greenhouse! Dogs (on leash) welcome!!!

Potager Update--The Good, The Scary, And The Really Ugly

Let's start with the really ugly.

Radiant radishes ruthlessly ravaged.

Did slugs do this? How can anything so soft and squishy bore holes in something as crisp and crunchy, not to mention zippy and zesty, as a radish? Or do we have other garden thugs eating away at our crops?

Next up is the scary.

The pea patch that ate the Wench. 

It was close, but she did make it out alive, and with the first peas of the season. Perhaps we over planted AGAIN.

 

The blue honeywort that ate the delphinium. 

 

But the delphinium is getting ready to bloom so guess it's not minding too much.

And now we come to the good.

'SAGBUTT' strawberry

Thanks, tel, for gifting us with our first strawberry plant. It seems to be thriving on our patio.

'Violetta' fig

This one makes us giddy with anticipation. I'm dreaming of fig jam and fig pear sauce. Yummmmm!

 

The first peas--'Golden Sweet'

We also have some pretty flowering herbs.

Chives

 

Sage

 

And this last pic is for Matron over at Down on the Allotment.

Diva Dog with garlic, shallots, and flowering chives

Sleeping in on Friday morning...

Or not. I like to sleep in on Friday mornings. It's the one day of the week when neither of us has to get up and go off to work. This was my first full week back at work after breaking my foot. It was also a record breaking heat wave week. I really, really wanted to sleep in this morning.

5:45 AM  Diva Dog noses me and whines a little. I reach out a hand and try to pat her head. "Talk to Mama" I mumble, rolling over and going back to sleep.

6:00 AM Snuggle Bug jumps on the bed and begins yowling. I wrap an arm around her to snuggle, but she squiggles free. Curmudgeon cuddles the cat who begins purring. Whiskers tickle my nose. I move away and drift back to sleep.

6:10 AM  Curmudgeon begins babbling at me about who knows what. The only words I clearly remember are "2 squash plants." (Even in semi-sleep states, I respond to plants.)

6:20 AM  Curmudgeon suddenly screams, "AAAAAHH!!  THERE'S A HUGE SPIDER IN THE SINK!!" I leap out of bed and run to the kitchen. My head spins from getting up too fast. My foot throbs because I jumped on it. I brace myself in the doorway, hoping not to faint or throw up. I manage to stumble back to the bed, and after a few moments, put on my special "shoe" and a sandal. By this time, Curmudgeon has already gotten an empty jar, scooped up the spider and released it outside. (BTW, I'm very proud of her for this. Normally I must deal with all creepy crawlies.)

6:30 AM  Curmudgeon and Diva Dog head out on their morning walk. I stretch out on the futon. I dream about a little nap while they are out.

6:40 AM  I realize I really need to pee. I get up and go to the bathroom. 

6:45 AM I realize I didn't wash the coffee maker yesterday. Damn. If I want fresh coffee (and I will want fresh coffee) I need to wash the pot.

7:00 AM  I finish washing the dishes as Curmudgeon and Diva Dog return. Everyone wants breakfast. I guess I'm really up now.  So much for sleeping in this morning.

Later today....

3:30 PM I'm looking longingly at the futon. We spent about 2 hours this morning at the nursery. (Yes, I went to work on my day off -- had to buy the tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers I was supposed to get 2 weeks ago). We also took Snuggle Bug to the V-E-T early this afternoon.  So I didn't sleep in this morning. Maybe an afternoon nap will do the trick. I fall onto the futon in a warm patch of sunshine.

3:40 PM  Diva Dog nudges me and gives me the "I want to go for a walk now" look. I don't move. She noses me and her eyes say, "I know you're walking better now. You owe me some time after looking at plants for so long."  

Sigh... I think I'm out of luck today. Walk the dog. Transplant all the new purchases. Make dinner. Feed the critters. Prepare the menu for the week. Make the grocery list. Wash the dishes. Take the dog out again. Heck, by the time all of those tasks are done, it will be time for bed! So much for a day of rest.

But you know, in all honesty, I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm spending the day with my family and gardening in the sunshine. Life is pretty darn good.