If Spring is kind (and it was this year in Northern Virginia), the first few days of summer are an exciting mix of things ready to eat, others growing rapidly and even more newly planted. We're not complete fresh food fanatics but we do really appreciate the difference between something you pick from from your own garden versus that which you can find at even the best (and priciest) grocery store.
So, rather than bore you with words, I'm going to let the pictures of our garden do the talking in this post. Enjoy!
The Herbs
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| Tuscan Blue rosemary w/ Pink Poodle echinacea |
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| Santolina, thyme and chammomile |
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| Lavender, upright rosemary, alpine strawberry |
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| 'Arp rosemary, fennel feet |
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| Fennel Gone Wild --last measurement, 9' 9" |
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| Artichoke, garlic chives, more Tuscan Blue, parsley, lovage, Greek oregano, ornamental salvia and portulaca |
The Berries
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| Alpine strawberries - tiny but intensely delicious |
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| Strawberries - gone now - but we had a bumper crop this year | | | |
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| Wild blackberries in our 'natural' area |
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| Virginia's famous wine berries |
The Veggies
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| Baby beets (Three Root Grex) and garlic scapes - just picked |
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| Garlic fresh from the harvest |
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| The tomato zone is full this year! |
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| Clusters of 'Juliet tomatoes and a big fat mystery plant --it was marked 'Juliet as well! |
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| Can't resist adding hot peppers to the garden! |
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| 'Socrates peppers |
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| 'Red Russian kale underplanted with a fancy schmancy mesclun mix from Johnny's Seeds |
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| 'Red Russian kale |
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| 'Bright Lights swiss chard with a horseradish back |
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| 'Homemade Pickles' cucumber seedlings |
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| the newly planted bed o'beans --'Kentucky Wonder and 'Mellow Yellow |
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| Leeks gone by but still beautiful. We're hoping these beautiful flowers provide seeds for lots of 'leeklings'. |
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| Potatoes - growing above ground in bags Cyn made from landscape fabric |
Your so lucky to be able to see the fruits of your labour! My plants are just flowering up here in Canada. I must admit thought, today I saw a few small zucchinis and some green tiny tomatoes in my garden. The season is just beginning! From one gardner to another, have a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteNo matter when it happens there is something very satisfying at a very basic level when things begin to bloom. Hope your garden yields a great bounty this year!
DeleteWow! You have a fabulous garden! I had a pretty good winter/spring garden going with kale, swiss chard, spinach, etc. And the artichokes were great. But I've let it go now, and it's all looking pretty empty :-(
ReplyDeleteThanks! It is definitely a lot of work and sometimes we look out there and wonder how we're going to keep up, but the end result is so satisfying that we find a way.
DeleteThanks for reading and for your comment.
Wow that's some harvest. We have less sun in Scotland so options are more limited. I have courgettes(zucchini) and some salad leaves.
ReplyDeleteWe're hoping for a good harvest! Now if we can only keep the deer, rabbits, occasional fox and and our two cocker spaniels (who love to pull the ripe cherry tomatoes off the vines) from doing too much damage, there may be some left for us!
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