Today in the garden

Basil

 I knew there were a lot of different types of basil but I didn't know how many, many types of basil there are (or anything else for that matter!) and this is just a sampling.

Here are four types: 1) Thai Magic 2) Greek Columnar 3) Genovese 4) Blue Spice

These were planted last week

And here are three more types:  1) Boxwood 2) Purple 3) Lemon

These were planted last week. In the middle is Pineapple Sage - incredible scent and beautiful flowers in bloom.  Backside right is Lemon Thyme.

This is new for me - Bay Laurel.  It is actually a tree but can be kept as a container plant if kept pruned.  I can bring it inside in winter - at least the book says I can ;-)  I love bay leaf in soups and stews.  It has a very distinctive flavor and something special is missing when the bay is missing.

This bed is a year old now.  We had an extremely mild winter so these did really well and came back much sooner than they would have ordinarily, I'm guessing. 

Here we have Chamomile, curry, lavendar, rosemary,several types of oregano, thyme, two types of sage, chives, tarragon and parsley.  Last year I planted Nasturtiums in the base of the statue but decided I loved them so much I wanted to give them more space and make them more accessible to the kitchen.  Nasturtiums are edible and, in my opinion, taste very much like baby bok choy.  It has a bit of a bite and a sort-of crunchy texture.  I can't really describe it any better than that.  I had read about them in one of my books and picked starts up at one of the nurseries.  I enjoyed them so much I wanted more but couldn't find any more starts.  I went on a mission to locate seeds and discovered that I was mis-pronouncing them.  Oh well, it keeps me humble!

Nasturtiums

Oh the Mints

Orange Mint, Apple Mint, Chocolate Mint, Banana Mint, Peppermint, Spearmint... if I've forgotten any -  think you get the picture.  Mints are all grown in pots around here because they are so invasive.  I do have catnip and lemon balm growing down the hill in the field where they have plenty of room to spread.  You can tell if a plant is in the mint family by feeling the stem - mints have a square stem versus a round stem.  Pretty cool. 

Last year I made tea steeping it with mint leaves - hmmmmm!  Last year it was Mojito mint - I think that's actually spearmint but the tag promoted it as Mojito...  Interesting, it's the only mint that did not survive the winter...

Lemon Balm

on the hill - it was in one of the raised beds the first few years but it started growing everything so I dug it up and replanted it thinking it might die and if it did it would be no great loss.  It didn't die.  It would have been a loss.  I also made tea with it last year and it was very good.  The lemon is very good in brewed tea.

Our mini-orchard

Planted last spring

3 apple trees (assorted)

2 peach trees

Pear tree - one of the first planted

Our struggling peach tree also one of our first planted

But thanks to Tee Time there seems to be hope this year!!!

This appears to be a cherry tree.  We don't really remember - it was defintely one of the first and is not a dwarf.  Regardless if it ever produces edible cherries (oh how I wish it would!) it is beautiful and home to a variety of beautiful birds.  You can see the hill and field in the back where the raspberries, blackberries, grapes, blueberries and free roaming mint grows.

Doesn't look like we'll get blueberries this year :-( BUT we do have raspberries finally after all the attempts!!! Don't know what's wrong with the blueberries.  I've never had this happen before - they are usually bursting with blossoms/fruit and the new plants from last year are struggling.  Raspberries are two of about eight plants I have planted over the past few years. 

Grapes

We haven't managed to get the proper trellising system up yet so we're relying on the plum tree to do the job for us.  It seems to be working for now.  But they are both BURSTING with fruit already!!

Basil

 I knew there were a lot of different types of basil but I didn't know how many, many types of basil there are (or anything else for that matter!) and this is just a sampling.

Here are four types: 1) Thai Magic 2) Greek Columnar 3) Genovese 4) Blue Spice

These were planted last week

And here are three more types:  1) Boxwood 2) Purple 3) Lemon

These were planted last week. In the middle is Pineapple Sage - incredible scent and beautiful flowers in bloom.  Backside right is Lemon Thyme.

This is new for me - Bay Laurel.  It is actually a tree but can be kept as a container plant if kept pruned.  I can bring it inside in winter - at least the book says I can ;-)  I love bay leaf in soups and stews.  It has a very distinctive flavor and something special is missing when the bay is missing.

This bed is a year old now.  We had an extremely mild winter so these did really well and came back much sooner than they would have ordinarily, I'm guessing. 

Here we have Chamomile, curry, lavendar, rosemary,several types of oregano, thyme, two types of sage, chives, tarragon and parsley.  Last year I planted Nasturtiums in the base of the statue but decided I loved them so much I wanted to give them more space and make them more accessible to the kitchen.  Nasturtiums are edible and, in my opinion, taste very much like baby bok choy.  It has a bit of a bite and a sort-of crunchy texture.  I can't really describe it any better than that.  I had read about them in one of my books and picked starts up at one of the nurseries.  I enjoyed them so much I wanted more but couldn't find any more starts.  I went on a mission to locate seeds and discovered that I was mis-pronouncing them.  Oh well, it keeps me humble!

Nasturtiums