How Does Your Garden Grow | June, 2014

Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and all seems right with the world.

The weather has been almost perfect here on the east coast this spring.  Not too hot.  Not too cool.  Just right.  After the excruciating winter we had, I sort of think we deserve a little break!  While spring certainly took it’s time arriving this year, my time in the garden has felt a little more relaxed.  For once, everything isn’t happening all at once.  I know I’ll eat these words in a few weeks when I can’t keep up, but for now I’ll enjoy the break.

We’ve been enjoying lots of different lettuces and spinach, peppery radishes, spring onions and broccoli, pea shoots, and strawberries.  Green beans and cucumbers are just popping up and the tomatoes I planted two weeks ago have already doubled in size.  We should have turnips soon and the garlic and shallots are maturing quickly.

The look of the garden has changed dramatically since you saw it back in May when I decided to do a monthly post of what the garden looks like on the first day of every month.  Every day there is something else to discover and I love that about this time of year.

We’ve just started to enjoy fresh strawberries and the blueberries are just beginning to show a blush of blue.  I always volunteer to pick the berries because I know I can eat and enjoy them as I do!  I tend to hoard blueberries in the freezer to try and extend my enjoyment throughout the year until it’s time to pick them again.  By the way, if you missed the Blueberry-Almond Olive Oil Cakes I posted earlier this week, it’s worth a look — they’re easy, moist, and accidentally gluten-free!

The lettuces always do so well here.  Asian greens.  Arugula.  Spicy.  Sweet.  Cress.  Kale.  Yes, I plant way too much but I love all the different textures and flavors.  When I was in college, I worked for a very brief time in a french restaurant as a server.  The chef there would always make a soup out of whatever vegetable was dying past its prime.  One night he made a silky and delicate lettuce soup and I’ve often thought of recreating it.  If you have a great recipe for a lettuce soup, send it my way!  It’s on my list of things to try this year.

The peas and fava beans have started blooming and that means the pods will be here shortly but in the meantime, I’ll be enjoying the pea shoots!  I’m always amazed at how the graceful tendrils find their way to the support so the peas can continue to climb.

The true stars of the garden in June are the peonies and roses.  I was worried about these showy bloomers because they took forever to break dormancy.  They must have been waiting to make sure that Mother Nature didn’t have any more scary tricks up her sleeve.

First up are the peonies!

The roses are just starting to bloom and these are the first ones to pop.  In a few weeks when they are all blooming, the smell will be intoxicating.  They require a lot of attention but the payoff is most definitely worth it.

Drum roll please!  We finally broke ground on the little garden cottage and chicken coop!  By this time next year, we’ll be welcoming some little chicks!  It will sit right behind the rose garden and was part of the original plan we had for the space.  When we installed the rose garden, we ran electrical wiring for lights and heaters for the chickens in the winter.  I am so excited this project has begun!

So, that’s how my garden grows in June, 2014.  How is your garden growing?