Fearless on my breath...

Sorry to go radio silent lately, my only excuse is that the weather has finally taken a turn for the better and I just can't seem to spend much time inside. Going to a class at the organic nursery Common Ground yesterday has only fueled the fire. I now know a good deal more about growing food biointensively on relatively small space than I did before and some tips about growing that should come in handy in general. I've also been experimenting with growing plants from seeds this year which has become something of a mild obsession. I had way more success with specialty roses than I ever expected as well as some hibiscus. Fortunately I've managed to talk tersa and aelfsciene into taking a few of the seedlings off my hands.

Now I'm turning to veggies and herbs, including some cucumbers for tersa and Shinjaku cucumbers for my former boss. I also picked up something called "chocolate vine", a viney plant with chocolate-scented flowers. And, uh, I might have ordered some Skullcap, Licorice Mint (because, hey, mint!), Meadowsweet and Sweet Annie last night as well. Hey I've always wanted a traditional medieval garden and dammit I'm going to have one, and I'm going to build it plant by plant.

Soon I'll be collecting seeds from my cauliflower and broccoli for planting this fall. I'm also trying to avoid buying veggies and fruits that I'm unlikely to actually use. I'm currently growing cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, two kinds of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, goji berries, pluots, potatoes, pomegranates and more herbs than you can shake a stick at. I nearly nearly left with a fig plant yesterday after the class but instead contented myself with a new version of Basil, Pennyroyal (no garden should be without it) and more Roman Chamomile (which has about the cleanest and most beautiful scent you can imagine).

And best of all? The little lilac bush that I thought for sure was a goner last year is producing its first flowers.