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Garden happenings
Mar. 30th, 2005 10:11 pmMy tree peony is blooming! Prolifically too, 5 buds, the most it's ever had.
My lilac is done blooming. Alas. At least it had a long run this year, having started just after the spring heat wave instead of just before as is its wont. I have the last blooms in a vase on the table.
Said vase also holds several daffodils, including the ones that I planted on January 30 after keeping the poor things on the back porch since November. They bloom! What forgiving creatures.
The aforementioned heat wave, glorious though it was, triggered bolting in several of my plants including all of my frisées and escaroles (weep, we hardly had a chance to enjoy them), some of the lettuces, all of the mustards (though they're still quite edible, so no problem), and the spinach. The peas succumbed to powdery mildew as usual, but we had a good run of them. The chard is perfectly happy still.
I finally made a chard stem gratin which I've been wanting to do for ages (blanched chard stems, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 c cream, fresh breadcrumbs on top) and it was divine! I'm still amazed at how something that simple can taste so great. Of course, having a delicious French chard (with huge, 2-3 inch wide stems) was a contributing factor.
We prepared a new flower bed last weekend and I populated it with lilies, cannas, and gladiolas, most of which hadn't been held too horribly long. Well, okay, a little long, but I think they'll make it. After they come up, I'll interplant with sundry annuals & perennials. Perhaps some new pelargoniums, which I've recently been learning a lot about thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
brisingamen and especially idahoswede.
I started moving seedlings outside to harden off today. I need room in the sunroom to pot up more! I have some of the healthiest peppers and eggplants this year that I've ever grown. Now I need to decide if I'm going to plant them out or (what I ought to do) pot them up into gallons and hold them for a month. Though last year we had a warm April and a cold May, so the 'hold it for a month' strategy totally backfired. Seedlings that got established in April did great, while seedlings that went out in May failed to thrive. Where's my crystal ball?
My lilac is done blooming. Alas. At least it had a long run this year, having started just after the spring heat wave instead of just before as is its wont. I have the last blooms in a vase on the table.
Said vase also holds several daffodils, including the ones that I planted on January 30 after keeping the poor things on the back porch since November. They bloom! What forgiving creatures.
The aforementioned heat wave, glorious though it was, triggered bolting in several of my plants including all of my frisées and escaroles (weep, we hardly had a chance to enjoy them), some of the lettuces, all of the mustards (though they're still quite edible, so no problem), and the spinach. The peas succumbed to powdery mildew as usual, but we had a good run of them. The chard is perfectly happy still.
I finally made a chard stem gratin which I've been wanting to do for ages (blanched chard stems, salt, white pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 c cream, fresh breadcrumbs on top) and it was divine! I'm still amazed at how something that simple can taste so great. Of course, having a delicious French chard (with huge, 2-3 inch wide stems) was a contributing factor.
We prepared a new flower bed last weekend and I populated it with lilies, cannas, and gladiolas, most of which hadn't been held too horribly long. Well, okay, a little long, but I think they'll make it. After they come up, I'll interplant with sundry annuals & perennials. Perhaps some new pelargoniums, which I've recently been learning a lot about thanks to
brisingamen and especially idahoswede. I started moving seedlings outside to harden off today. I need room in the sunroom to pot up more! I have some of the healthiest peppers and eggplants this year that I've ever grown. Now I need to decide if I'm going to plant them out or (what I ought to do) pot them up into gallons and hold them for a month. Though last year we had a warm April and a cold May, so the 'hold it for a month' strategy totally backfired. Seedlings that got established in April did great, while seedlings that went out in May failed to thrive. Where's my crystal ball?
