Sunday, June 12, 2011

Garden update

Well, friends, I must say the garden is in sad shape. But we're learning what grows well in hot Florida summers, and what doesn't.

The dill went to seed soon after we put it in:
I used what was left of the dill to make a yummy raw tzatziki (cucumber-dill) sauce, so we still got a couple meals out of it. 

But this is what our poor sad little dill looks like today: 
The dill was no surprise. But now the parsley has also gone to seed: 
The parsley is very unhappy. The cilantro went to seed weeks ago, before we could even get it in the ground. Apparently herbs + heat = unhappy plants.

Our sweet basil is looking a little weak (no pic), but the Thai basil is really happy:
I pinched off the purple flowers after I took this pic. But it's so pretty with the purple, don't you think?

Joan already had rosemary in the yard. We left it where it is, because it is happy there, and it likes sandy soil (rather than the moist soil we put in for the herb garden).
A  few weeks ago, Joan found a spinach that is supposed to like hot weather. So we'll put that in somewhere:
Yesterday we went to the Farmer's Market to find more herbs. One thing we're looking for is culantro, which is a tropical relative of cilantro that does well in hot weather. The herb/worm poop guy has culantro, but he hasn't had it for the past few weeks.

Enthusiastic worm poop guy:

Herbs for sale:

Gratuitous Bailey pic:

Bailey with the sunflowers:
Sprouts and sunflowers:

Yesterday we bought: Lemongrass, peppers, a sweet basil that is supposed to do well in heat, and a tomato plant. So we'll be planting those and see how they do. Really, I shouldn't say "we"- so far, Joan has done all of the digging and watering.

Oh, and today I hung our windchimes, gifted from Mary & Eric when they moved to Panama. These windchimes have a long history- they spent 20 years in the Outer Banks, then Mary's cute little cottage here on the beach, and now our backyard/garden.

I tried to hang them in an auspicious location according to Feng Shui- but I am the last person who should be guessing at directions- LOL- so I hope they are actually in the Northwest corner? Ha! I'll have to double-check that.

We'll see if they work there. Hopefully there is enough of a breeze to enjoy them, but not so much that they are annoying.

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