Garden Update

No photos yet but I'll try to get some. Heidi's been asking about my garden, so I'll tell you!

My Collard plants have endured torrential rains followed by weeks of sunny drought; sub-freezing temperatures, and weeks above 100. I haven't been very attentive to them, and they've never complained. So, when they started to bolt this spring I "let" them. I have huge, 5 foot high collards with massive flower and seed bracts erupting fot feet in every direction. I intend to save the seed, and cultivate a backyard strain suited to my conditions. IF I get a decent amount, and you're interested, in a few months I'd be happy to send some collard seeds - the "Georgia" strain, to any takers.

Kale, from my understanding, is "supposed" to be a "winter" veggie. So why did it stay pretty small until spring? It's over 90 the last couple days, the Kale is over 3 feet tall, and beautiful. I grew the "Redbor" strain. I have two plants, and I doubt I can eat them all. I wouldn't want to pick off collard leaves while they are setting seed, so if I get a "hankering" for leafy greens I can go after the Kale. It's a bright burgundy, very pretty. Definitely on my to-be-grown again list.

Another winner was the sprouting broccoli. "Calabrese" I started it from seed, completely neglecting the young seedling during a major depression. A few weeks later I discovered it was still OK, just small. I planted it in the garden, a month late, and got a couple of harvests. Once I harvested the main head, more heads came up on the sides. It was a nice, compact plant. I didn't have a speck of trouble with it. It's bolted now, it doesn't like the heat, and I plan to pull it up and compost it. It will be grown again.

The scented geraniums - frankly, my little pets, froze horribly. The "Old Spice" and the "Attar of Roses" (my favorite) are, happily, resprouting from the roots. My lantanas also froze and resprouted. I am very partial to my vareigated lantana with the golden yellow flowers. Both Ron and I are very fond of lantana - it has an acrid kind of aroma, because we used to smell it as we'd walk to the park when we were dating. We'd eat takeout and talk. The scent of lantana is always good for a happy sigh from us. I would LOVE to get a nice orange or lemon scented geranium. If I see one, I'm buying it. I just love the scented geraniums.

My lavender cotton did well. I like the fragrance, and the finely cut gray foliage is very soft and fragrant. I only wish it were a little taller.

My hibiscus, well, I didn't have high expectations. I had 2; one next to the house, and another in the backyard. They are dead. I had some hollyhocks out back and they did fine, so did the jasmine, pansies, and herbs in Frosty's memorial garden. In fact, the jasmine is blooming. It's lovely.

The patchouli does not appear to have made it. The rosemary, burnet, and chives are all doing well. The burnet thrived. It is a perennial and is getting ready to bloom. The burnet leaves have a cucumber taste, and are good in salads.

This year I don't plan to do a lot of vegetables. I do plan to plant a ton of marigolds. I am leery of planting tomatoes - the blight has not made it to my yard and I don't want to import it on a store-bought plant. I do eye the tomatoes, but I have never kept a tomato going through one of our Julys.

The only real summer veggies for Houston are eggplant, peppers, and okra. I do enjoy a good pepper, so I might get some. We certainly won't be getting another freeze! I need to get out back and do some cleanup - mow, weed, edge. Water.

I'd also like to go to the garden center. I'd like to get some pink and white impatiens for Frosty's garden, and plenty of marigolds and some "Mexican Heather" for out back. The bright magenta, yellow, and orange flower combination would really cheer me up!

Amazingly, my pansies are still poking along. The flowers are smaller but they are still blooming!