Tis June, the dawn of summer, and time to change our mindsets about the garden. We hopefully move from planning what to do in the garden and long task lists of spring chores to enjoying the garden and ‘getting to it when I can’ type activities.
The ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangeas are starting to bloom. These are wonderful hydrangeas for those of us who live through what we think is an endless winter, because they bloom on new wood.
My ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas all died completely back to the ground, and so that’s all they have now is new wood.
My one disappointment with these is they don’t get very large, at least in my garden. When I planted them two years ago, for once, I gave them lots of room to grow, too much room. I have a problem with plant spacing and am more likely to plant shrubs too close together than too far apart. It figures this one time that I tried to overcome that, I get them too far apart.
But I have a spade, so that’s easy to correct, and my reward for doing so will be more space for planting other flowers and shrubs!
I’m also going to be rewarded today with some peas. Here’s just a sampling.
There are ten peas in that pod and many more pods like that. Finally, finally, I am going to harvest a decent amount of peas. I’ve accomplished my goal to grow better peas! I am no longer a disgrace to the family and and those who came before me and grew peas.
And, so far so good on the squash seedlings.
The bunny rabbits haven’t eaten them, but I’ve been keeping them covered with cayenne pepper. Do you see those little tiny seedlings surrounding the squash? That’s purslane. I wrote about that last summer, and I will probably go out of my mind trying to control it again this summer. I’ll add hoeing in the garden to my Saturday chore list, and try to knock out these seedlings before they mature. At the rate they grow, they could be big fat clumps of purslane by Monday.
I am expecting big, fat clumps of grapes later this summer. I thought the ‘winter of April ’07’ did them in, but they are loaded with baby grapes. I think it will be a bumper crop.
I love this time of year, the dawn of Summer, time for harvesting peas, watching grapes grow, hoeing around baby squash seedlings, seeing the first hydrangea bloom. THIS is why we garden, time to get out an enjoy it.
Bravo on the peas. I had a nice crop of them last year, but Spring started way too late this year for me to bother, so it’s bagged, frozen peas for me.
Oh the purslane. I have a love/hate relationship with it. I like it in salads and I hate it everywhere else and it spreads like wildfire.
His Hydrangeas are not yet ready to blossom, but looking promising.
And I’m so happy to see you say that you’re keeping bunnies away, by sprinkling with cayenne pepper! I had thought of that myself. And I am not the gardener around these parts. And we do have bunnies around. -sigh-
Mari-Nanci
I share your sentiments about the beginning of Summer! I will be done planting soon, and then it is on to the weeding, watering, and watching stage, with a little dead-heading here and there. 🙂 Early Summer mornings are my favorite time in the garden!
Great Hydrangeas. I have the kind that only bloom on old wood, which is fine but some years I like to prune them hard and then they don’t bloom for a year:(
I’m glad you can finally show your face around your family again. Maybe you can have them over for peas.
Your peas look delicious.
Enjoy.
Purslane! It is delicious in salads. I plant it every year (seriously) but it doesn’t do well with our cool nights.
That pea is beautiful. I have blossoms galore but no peas yet, that I can see.
The dawn of summer – what a lovely phrase, Carol, and so true. Purslane, that terrible stuff. I guess there’s a cultivated variety that’s not a weed, I saw it in a hanging basket at the grocery store today and thought who the heck would buy a weed in a basket?
I love this picture of the peas! MMMMMMMM!! Fresh peas! 🙂
Very true. This is wy we garden. To enjoy and watch things grow in the garden. Including ourself.
I am also a zone 5. I love the Hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. I have been planting one in a pot to have on the deck for the summer. I get a lot of complements on having it there but each winter it dies and doesn’t come back. I was thinking about burying the pot in the ground this year.
Hydrangeas already! Ours are still in the new growth stage with nary a sign of a flower head.
Nothing better than eating peas right out of the garden.