June Update - Part 2

This is the Part two of my June update....here is part one. This is kind of like one of those vacation slide shows... Well if you are here, maybe there is something interesting you will find in our June garden.

I love these flowers (above and below). The barrel on the right has what I have thought are "purple tansy"...they look nice as seedlings, in bud, and purple blooms later.


We started a rain barrel in the ferns by the garage. I wonder if they will fill in and hide the whole garbage can. At least it has been full so I know it won't tip over with the weight of water.


This year we are growing parsnips...the ones in the back are a couple weeks ahead of those in the front. This brick really has no purpose.


I never knew parsnips look like cilantro...I will have to check the spacing and maybe thin these.


It is a time of alliums here...chives are blooming. Given a warm, sunny morning I should find some bees in them.


Another allium, love the tall blooms of these.


We are starting some ever-bearing strawberries to supplement our June-bearing harvest. There are also some pole beans and cucumbers in this barrel...we will see if they grow over the fence.


Jerusalem artichokes / sunchokes are another new plant this year....here I have some in a container...


We also have a bed of sunchokes started. It will be fun to see how they look in the fall.


These are some very nice hostas we inherited with the house. I really like how large these get -- they fill in most of this North side of the house.


A volunteer viola -- I hope to get more growing. These are another of those edible flowers.


Parsley from last year is starting to build a seed stalk. It will be the first time I see parsley flowers.


June raspberries are almost here...


Finally, I was impressed to see an herb return from last year. This lemon balm returned where parsley failed to survive the winter. This made a great addition to my wood sorrel cold tea.


Thanks for visiting our garden!

June Update - Part 1

Once again a few weeks have gone by and I find myself with lots of garden updates. This is part 1, soon to be followed by part 2. Things have been growing okay this year -- except the weather has now decided to be tough as you will see...

The walking onions have grown are are starting to form little springy tops - new bulblets ready to jump out and walk...perhaps a sunny location will aid the spread of these plants.


I have continued to sample some of the wild edibles in our back-yard. I have sampled wild violets. Below, yellow wood sorrel makes a nice addition to a salad, or an interesting tea....though sources warn to use in moderation due to high amounts of oxalic acid.


Oh yes, the weather...well the past number of days in June have had highs in the 50's F. That's like the average low or something. I don't know the effect this will have on things like broccoli and cauliflower, but it is taxing some plants and looks to have killed others....below is the before and after of a zucchini that was doing well until a night of near frost.


We also lost a pumpkin plant or two, but some did okay. The tomatoes are next to the house and looking fine. Tonight will be cold, so I will cover what has so far survived.


Cool season plants are doing well, the kohlrabi I transplanted looks healthy.


The stems are beginning to swell, so a harvest is soon to come.


Pop-corn looks to be surviving, though I worry what the next nights low temperatures will do.


Cabbages are one of the crops I think is perfectly happy at the moment.


Peas seem to be ahead of last year, even though they got a later start. These early bush shelling and snaps are flowering.


Carrots are in need of thinning...I have a couple varieties here and one that was just sown a few days ago.


Potato plants are getting huge and bush beans are popping up -- I hope the cold doesn't hurt them too much.


Leaf lettuces and radishes are coming up nice. We have harvested some radish, though we tend to just let them flower. The lettuce could probably stand to be thinned. The brick keeps rain gutter water from digging a deep hole in the bed.


Spinach is ready to really produce and the kales are liking this weather I think.


Well that's it for this half. Hopefully I can get the rest up later tonight. [Here is Part 2]