Peas, Reborn

Pea plants die off quickly in summer's heat.  Then it's time to rip them out an plant something else in their place.  This year, due to lack of sunny garden space, I had to get creative with my plant placements.  I couldn't wait until mid-June to replant this part of the garden, so in May I planted tomato seedlings in between the rows of peas.  That mostly worked, though I noticed this week that the tomatoes planted in the pea patch are about 6 inches shorter than the tomatoes planted in a clear area of the garden. 

Because the pea patch was already replanted early, I wasn't in a hurry to rip out the dry, brown pea vines.

When I finally went to clear out the old plants, I found that many had new pea sprouts growing from the base.  Some "reborn" plants were quite full looking, with several flowers and developing pods:

I decided to cut off the old stalks and see what happens.  Maybe I'll get a few more peas to nibble on, or maybe this experiment will go the way of the zucchini from two years ago.  I'll let you know.

A Harvest Lunch

Monday was my first day at home after a week of travel.  Faced with an empty fridge, I went foraging for lunch.

I found peas ready for harvest:

Some should have been picked a few days before, but none were too big to eat.  About half of these became Monday's lunch, with a side of strawberries.

The berries didn't last long enough to be put in a bowl, but here's a photo pre-trip (and pre squirrel-netting).

(I might have had the same lunch every day this week.  I'm not telling.)

Signs of Meteorological Spring

Happy (Meteorological) Spring!

I've been mostly ignoring the yard and all things gardening-related all winter, so not it is time to come out of hibernation. Like these spring bulbs:

Purple/white crocus in the front parking strip

One of the few times in the year when my "neglected bed" is showy

Not just yet, daffs, but soon!

Tulips aren't reliably perennial here. But if these purple triumph-types bloom again, it will be year #4.

Tulip sprouts

I left some lettuce unprotected in the garden over the winter.  Looks a bit frosty, but growing!

'Tennis ball' lettuce

The tall sedum knows it is March.

This volunteer euphorbia is mostly a goner after the winter, but it made some vibrant red stems!

The butterfly bush is leafing out already.  Time to dig out those loppers!

If it starts out 8ft tall, how high will it get?

Inside, I celebrated the first day of March in my usual way, by sprouting peas.  I don't have any new seeds this year, so I'm testing out packets from 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2012.

Planting Peas

March third I started sprouting my peas. On the tenth, they were ready for planting.

Now, I just have to wait for May.

Evening addendum:  I checked on the garden this evening, and the peas are coming up!

Eating Green

My harvest this evening:

Garlic scapes, more peas, and kale.

Last year I grew curly kale. This year I grew "Early Curled Siberian Kale," a Christmas gift from sis and BIL, from the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants. I'm a TJ fan, so I had to grow some of his plants. But I don't know why this kale has "curled" in the name: the leaves are pretty darn flat.

They are also much thinner than last year's variety, which means they cook up into kale chips much quicker (and that's a good thing!). This batch of kale chips is spiced (inspiration from here). I left out the sugar, and tossed the kale with oil and vinegar before sprinkling on the spice mixture (because I can't imagine kale without vinegar, even for one second). Result, yum!

I turned the garlic scapes into pesto, just like last year. This year I had twice as many scapes (14), so I got twice as much pesto (~1/3 to 1/2 cup):

I didn't do anything to the peas, except eat them:

Almost Summer

I picked a mess of peas today:

It is so hot, the vines are nearly done. My experimental row of direct-sown seeds isn't going to amount to much, I'm afraid.

I brought the peas to a picnic this afternoon. They didn't last long.

Garlic scapes are ready now, too:

I'd wanted to bring garlic scape pesto to the picnic, but the day got away from me. On the agenda for tomorrow.

The girls and I had a nice picnic in the sculpture garden, though it was very crowded for the first jazz night of the season. A thunderstorm eventually chased us away, but I got home to find total dryness. Boo!

As I took a late-evening walk around the yard, some of the plants seemed to be glowing. The neon-yellow of the Oenothera missouriensis is much more palatable post-dusk:

Nearby, the kousa dogwood lights up the back corner of the house:

And in the front, the shrub rose does the same for the other corner:

I see the daffodil foliage is finally succumbing to the heat.

It's about time: I have things I need to plant there.

In the side garden ,the first daylily opened today:

I also saw my first fireflies (they're not very photogenic). Summer's here!

Peas Are In!

My first second pea pod (I already ate the first one!)

More are on the way:

May 2011 Blooms

I think May is my most crowded bloom day post. While the garden is calming down a little bit (new things to see every day rather than every hour!), there's still plenty to show off. I'll try to limit my photos today to three sections of the yard.

The Garage Garden (aka the herb garden, though it is less and less so as time passes) is no longer the Purple Garden.

There's still lots of purple in the form of columbine, but the front section is now yellow with potted iris and rue. The clematis add a vibrant red-violet. And toward the back, some new flowers this year.

I started a bunch of seeds last year, then did a plunk-and-run into a bare-ish spot of the garage garden. This year they are crowding each other out. The tall plants above are not what I thought they would be.

I think they are valerian. I don't like them, so out they will come. Making more room for:

Pink penstemon. This one got really crowded between the valerian and all the columbine. I've removed some of the offending columbine already.

Over to the terraces, the Neglected Bed (formal name: Right Lower Terrace) has all sorts of color going on:

some Iberis (candytuft) hanging on in front. Then, the rather vigorous rootstock from the Dead Rose is all abloom:

Further along, some iris I dug from my cousin's yard several years ago. They bloomed for the first time last year.

And just in case there wasn't enough color already, the Gaillardia have joined the party:

(I consider these a Summer flower - what are they doing up so early?)

Back across the yard, the driveway bed (now blackberry bed) is blue. But I'm not sad about it.

The grape-scented iris seem to be more blue than purple this year. They match the flax (Linum perrene ssp. lewisii) down the row a bit. Beyond the flax, not visible from the previous photo, is mom's geranium:

I wonder how much of this will last once those blackberries (also flowering now) take over?

Two more photos to show off today. First, the peonies are blooming!

Peonies always seem to pick the day before a rainstorm to open. Hard rains last night, a storm today, and more to come over the next few days mean I probably won't get to enjoy them much.

Finally, my favorite flower of May, for the promise it brings:

Peas are coming!

To see what's blooming in other gardens, visit Carol over at May Dreams Gardens.

also blooming today:
front - virginia sweetspire, pansy, coreopsis
side - bearded irises, Dicentra spectabilis, Dicentra spectabilis 'alba', Dicentra eximia, rose campion, heuchera
patio - virginia sweetspire
upper garden - Baptisia australis, Tradescantia, Sedum ternatum
shade garden - Chrysogonum virginianum, hellebores