The sweet peas have been coming on fast and furious. I feels as though I am harvesting them both day and night. I wish I could say I have armloads full, but only lots of beer cups full. The colors are beautiful, I wish I had room to grow all the varieties that are available, but alas, no. And the fragrance is sublime. It is too bad they are only at their best for about a week, give or take the ambient temperature, but what a week of pleasure they give. I have bunches scattered around the house, some even beautifully displayed in old clean dog food cans. Yes, even clean tin cans will work for flowers.
I haven’t picked yet today because I am waiting for the weather to cool down and the sun to leave the garden for the day but look at the bounty awaiting me. Oodles and oodles of beautiful sweet peas.
I am sad to say that I am done harvesting the peonies. It was a beautiful but short harvest time this year because of the extreme heat. I still have some in cold storage and will see how they look for Tuesday. If they aren’t up to snuff they will be composted. What I have done though, is order 21 peony roots for planting this fall in the new beds. That should take care of all our addictions. So next early summer I will have plenty of flowers and I won’t have to cut from the house stock so heavily. Two rows, ten plants each row, that should be enough. I hope.
I have also started to pull together my tulip order. I have earmarked about 750 tulips. Do you think that will be enough or am I going foolishly overboard? I had originally marked about 1500, but I know for sure that is overboard. Even for a flower nut like me. I haven’t hit the order button yet….and that doesn’t even count the narcissus, allium, frittilaria…
I have finally gotten the pumpkins planted and they are looking good. The second planting of the sunflowers is well, lets just say struggling. I think I will have to just direct seed the last row. The chipmunks pinched the last crop a bit close to the ground so I don’t think they are going to take. So tomorrow, a new batch of seed go in, protected with a bit of row cover to slow down the chipmunks. Argh.
Steve scythed the purple clover in the orchard for me last week and I have raked up the tops and spread them on the last bit of open garden space. I figure the stalks and seed will cover the bare earth, especially if we ever get rain, the seed will eventually germinate and the soil will be protected and sown at the same time. I also broadcast some buckwheat seed for added cover crop protection and to start building up the rocky soil. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
So I leave you with an image of last Friday’s wall pocket, or I should say, door pocket bouquet.
Until next week. Allie