Early July, and the Formosa lilies are open, with the 'Silk Road' close behind. And the gloriosas are in bloom along the fences. The single row of fingerling potatoes has been dug and we ate the biggest ones last night in a Niçoise salad. Arugula has bolted but I'm leaving the flowers for the bees for now. The painted ponies have needle-sized beans. Five tomatillo plants are flourishing, one is puny. The fennel has been occupied by eastern tiger swallowtail caterpillars, and the sparrows are helping me with aphids.
I have sown more cilantro, and some fenugreek.
At night, the fireflies dance.
It is Wednesday and I am trying a new thing, cocktail hour for plant people. Botanical drinks, botanical bitching. Or perhaps we'll talk about football.
Yeah, right.
Or perhaps we will just melt. It is very hot: 100'F/38'C forecast for today.
So--at this point in time which do you prefer--the rooftop or the ground floor? I have to say the table and the garden look amazing. And the things you are planting and growing are not things I plant or grow so I find it all very interesting. I have the old American standbys--tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, carrots and beets with a few struggling cucumbers alongside the summer squashes-green, yellow and pattypan. I have swallowtail in my fennel--it's 8 feet tall. I also have Angelica for all the insects to use as they wish. It's also over 8 feet tall. I haven't planted beans yet. I think of them as Fall food.
ReplyDeleteThe first year my angelica was very small. And I don't think that was the plant that grew the second year. But the second year Angelica was wide and tall and the flower scent was quite lovely. This tall Angelica is a shoot off the original. I've had Angelica in this spot for a few years now and it has reseeded in with the blueberries. I regularly have customers at work (a greenhouse) ask for it and so most of the side shoots are now growing happily in other gardens. It's Medieval plant used to flavor medicines and poisons I think.
DeleteWow - I wonder if my angelica will get that tall. So far, just leaves.
DeleteGround or rooftop. I think in NYC I'd have to say rooftop. For apartment-living reasons. It's Russian roulette with upstairs neighbors - we were lucky in Harlem. And I really do miss those rooftop sky-days on Henry Street.
Also, rooftops have few if any mosquitoes.
But being able to walk right into the garden from the kitchen/living room is very nice, and lucky, here, and the space is of course great, too, in terms of scale of edible gardening. I love having a large table, even if this poor one is not very well made, but it serves its purpose well.
As I knew it would, your garden looks lush and welcoming. Mine was eaten by slugs early in the season and has struggled to make a comeback ever since. I'm still hoping for a decent crop as it's early up here on the mountain top.
ReplyDeleteYou need a water feature :D
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of allergic to water features :-)
DeleteYou really turned a weedy yard into a place of order and beauty, and did that in a short time, too (though I am sure it didn't feel short to you). I knew you would do this, yet still find it extremely impressive. You do have very special abilities.
ReplyDeleteThe garden looks wonderful... And I am jealous of those gloriosa lilies.
ReplyDelete