Midsummer Evening Garden

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“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” — Audrey Hepburn

May Garden Haul

Setting up the new garden has been my latest obsession. I feel like Anne from Anne of Green Gables, discovering the Avenue― “a stretch of road four or five hundred yards long, completely arched over with huge, wide-spreading apple-trees, planted years ago by an eccentric old farmer.” She was absolutely smitten by its apple blooms, and the dusky horizon at the very end. I feel quite as excited, only I am probably the eccentric farmer this time, going into a planting frenzy.

The dangerous thing about my recent move is that now I am within minutes of my favorite local nursery. I can almost never resist a beautiful and exotic plant, especially one that is edible or medicinal. I always end up spending double than my planned budget, and this upsets me. What makes me feel like the overindulgence is worth it, however, is my lack of regrets when I get to observe my new friends’ stunning beauty, taste their delicious leaves, or breathe in their breathtaking aromas.

A Casual Search

My local nursery is a family-owned gem that has served the gardening community for over seven decades. I find this incredibly heartwarming since I dislike shopping for plants at big box stores. The big box establishments tend to have less healthy and durable plants—pretty much everything I’ve ever bought from them has not survived. Regardless, I prefer supporting local economies, and the plants at my nursery are significantly healthier. The variety of trees, shrubs, flowers, and herbs is also nothing to scoff at. I have been going to this nursery for nearly a decade, and I still discover something new every time I visit.

My original reason for going on in May was to seek out an Elderberry shrub and a pot for my new Looking Glass Begonia. I am collecting various edible and medicinal plants to add to my ever-growing garden, and an Elderberry shrub is a perfect addition due to its consumable berries and flowers. The berries themselves make for fine jams and compotes, while the flowers create teas, syrups, and draughts. Unfortunately, elderberry shrubs have been difficult to come by this year, with none available for my nursery to grow and even special order. The search continues.

Fortunately, I did find a beautiful ceramic pot for my begonia. The plant is the mini star of my new art room. It has glittery, metallic olive colored leaves with maroon undersides. When in bloom, it is supposed to have pink flowers. The color palette of my art room is green, pink, and red, so I look for anything within that color family to decorate my room. I bought the begonia at a garden fair with some friends at a local brewery, and I am shocked that it has not died yet. I’m normally terrible at caring for plants indoors since I have trouble finding a happy medium when it comes to watering them. However, I have gained quite a bit of confidence caring for them since bringing home this precious gal.

The Begonia Rex Escargot

Back at the nursery, I ended up discovering a coffee mug shaped planter, complete with a saucer. It needed to come home with me. There was no option. So, I set out to find my Looking Glass Begonia a friend. Originally, I was compelled to bring home an African Violet, but the flower colors were too hot and vibrant for the antique and mellow mood of the art room. Some interesting things I came across were Tillandsia Plants: crazy plants that don’t grow in soil, but instead grow when mounted on other objects. On one of the displays, they were featured in glass ornament terrariums.

There was also a display for rare plants often sought by collectors. I didn’t need to spend more money (and I was intimidated by their exoticness), so I admired them from afar. Featured were Philodendron and more.

What truly caught my eye, however, were these gnarly leaves that spiraled like the shell of a snail. I had recently finished reading the horror manga Uzumaki, and the plant reminded me of something straight out of the book (I won’t reveal any spoilers, but if you’ve read it, you know why I was interested). It creeps my husband out! The plant is… another begonia! But, this one known as a Begonia Rex Escargot. I had Googled the plant for some more information, and came across a snail planter―it looked cute, but Uzumaki made me hate snails for now…. If you know, you know.

Despite being somewhat traumatized by Uzumaki, this was the friend my other begonia needed. There is some lovely contrast between the leaves and the pots. The Looking Glass Begonia has red leaves, and thrives in a green pot, and the Begonia Rex Escargot has green leaves and resides in the red pot.

Blueberries and Figs

I have already purchased some fruit trees online, but I couldn’t help but also bring home two thriving blueberry bushes and a baby fig tree. I bought a Northcounty and a Legacy blueberry bush. Both bushes are supposed to be high yielding and cold hardy―something I value in my strange Zone 7. The climate can get chaotic with blisteringly hot summers and arctic blast winters. But, I was most excited to find a Black Italian Fig. I was so thrilled because I have wanted my own fig tree for years. Figs are among my favorite fruit, and I often collect them late in the summer or early fall to make Fig Jam. I haven’t decided where to plant it yet, but I have a few good spots in mind.

Casual Roaming

I cut myself off because the planters and plants were adding up, but I took note that my garden definitely needs some stone cats. I have this cute little guy bookmarked in my brain. There was a scruffy boy next to him, but I like the one on his back better.

I also loved the Chinese dragons. Since different parts of my yard will be sectioned off with different themes, I might revisit the idea of putting a dragon into the garden. Heck; it also fits the art room!

The Fun and the Gross During Midsummer

Fast forward to July and early August, and I am proud that my rowdy garden has showered plenty of gifts onto us.

The crickets sing early this time of year. You can hear them yelping when it’s barely sunset. It’s a solidly peaceful afternoon where the wasps feed on the living that attempt to hide on my beanstalks. The dragonflies balance on my cornstalks and wild fennel.

I almost drank a fly when I went to sip on my kombucha through a straw, and I hurled the thing out of my mouth. The dark things have been everywhere since my husband and I found a dead rabbit by the shed. Somehow, they migrated to the side of our house and get nosy when we barbeque. And now, when I sip on kombucha, through a straw. I’m going to treat them to a nice neem oil bath.

Tending to the garden has been an adventure. It’s our first time managing 1/4 acre by ourselves, and the amount of grass we’ve had to mow or kill has been overwhelming. I can’t say that the garden is particularly pretty, but I can say that we’ve been able to grow more than ever before. It’s exciting to see so much health even though the growth is unruly.

Most Exciting Growth

Crimson Sweet Watermelon

This is my first time ever growing watermelon, and I am incredibly excited. I purchased the seeds from Baker’s Creek, and started planting them around April or May. These are supposed to be remarkably sweet and reliable to grow. So far, I have five of them growing among four vines in one of the raised beds. Dirty Gnomes Garden on YouTube has an excellent video on how to look for a ripe watermelon by observing the tendrils. Once they are brown and crispy, the watermelon is ripe for the taking.

Cucumber

I’m not sure which variety this is, but my dad gave me a cucumber plant, which I transplanted into the kitchen garden in our side yard. It has been highly productive to the point where I’ve had quite a few overripe cucumbers escape me through the overgrowth. These cucumbers have a slightly prickly skin that we just peel off using a vegetable peeler. These have been fun to harvest and eat. Overly ripe yellow ones have been placed into the compost pile, for they are too bitter to consume.

Romano Tomatoes

The Romano tomato yields have been insane! I have been harvesting them, slicing them, and collecting them into a food storage container in our freezer so that I can have enough to slow cook many batches of homemade marinara sauce at the end of the season.

These tomatoes came from my local nursery, and have been crazy productive.

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Another exciting tomato yield! I grew my Cherokee Purple tomatoes in the ground. Despite some losses due to caterpillars, I managed to harvest at least six tomatoes and made some delicious sandwiches with them. Some of the tomatoes have experienced catfacing—a phenomenon in which the blossom end of the tomato causes abnormal shaping and scarring in the fruit. It’s harmless—just, ugly.

Purple Hull Pinkeye Cowpeas

I’m growing another round of these delicious peas! Last year, Hubby and I enjoyed a homemade chicken pot pie made with these. Just like before, I am harvesting them and freezing as I go so that I can collect the yields and store them until ready to use. I have to harvest them early in the day to avoid the wasps. By the afternoon, the wasps overtake some of the plants to hunt, and I’d rather not disturb them.

Plentiful Herbs and Onions

The herbal yields are so grand that I am due to collect pesto ingredients and perhaps do some pickling. This season, the Thai basil is incredibly robust and healthy. Every couple of weeks, I cut back the flowers and the growth explodes.

Other precious herbs that have done well are my lemon thyme, green onion, okra, Genovese basil, rue, lemon verbena, chives, sage, and Silver Dollar Eucalyptus. I made several cups of Eucalyptus Tea this summer, and a variation of my Fresh Italian Seasoning where I mixed chopped rue into the blend.

A Distant Desire…

The experience of having so many decadent herbs in my own backyard had me remembering that time when Hubby and I visited the Belize Spice Farm and Botanical Gardens in Golden Stream Village. My yard brings me back to that point where I was neck deep in passion for herbs, spices, and the culinary world. I once dreamed of running a spice farm with a shop connected. If I ever did, what would I sell?

Other than the typical collection of herbs and spices available in bulk at supermarkets, I would want to carry the things cannot be easily found. My brain is running wild, but anything is possible.

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