Monday, March 9, 2009

I got seeds


This is the sum total of my vegetable garden: a zinc bath.

I have pots of herbs, pots of shrubs and perennials, and seem to be an inveterate plant collector, so life with a 66 square foot terrace (and its edges) is hard. Nice. But hard. Chives, thyme, oregano and sage are my perennial herbs. And the joy they bring to my cooking is not something I can pass up...Later in the year the bath turns to flatleaf parsley production. But for now, it's leaves.

I planted mizuna last year and was disappointed. I found it tasteless and its texture nothing interesting. It did look pretty, in a little pile on top of buffalo mozzarella, or freshly dressed in salad.

Hmmm...I want buffalo mozzarella.

Anyway, the old standby arugula. It was only after it was planted and approved by the cat that I read the packet. "No trace of bitterness," it brags. Wha...? Then what's the point!? I WANT bitterness!

We'll see.

The fig is back on the roof after overwintering beneath the BBQ's copper bowl. It appears to be quite alive. I have broken up cracked pots (good for putting in the bottom of new pots), transplanted self-sown violets from the gravel to the standard Iceberg pot, cut back any perennials that might/might not be alive, like the gaura, the Nepeta calamintha (a herb I will never be without again, for its long, long flowering season and bee attraction) and the lavender; I have pruned the roses: the shrubs hard, the New Dawn to weed out ugly canes, and I tied the Climbing Iceberg in bows to enourage more blooms.

I'm ready.

5 comments:

  1. Doesn't thy cat squat on thy cat mint?

    IT is time. I planted my snap peas in the garden today, taking advantage of RAIN

    ReplyDelete
  2. No, no cat scat so far in the pots...praise be. He prefers his indoor loo. He attacks the catnip, tho'...

    How was the flower show?

    ReplyDelete
  3. When I learned about sage tea -- bruised leaves, hot water, a bit of wildflower honey -- I planted way too many sage plants.

    Up here on the mainland, the ground is still too cold to do much, but soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ha! you are on the mainland aren't you? That's so funny, Melanie...

    Sage can be very nice in a mixed border. Looks good with pinks and blues...makes good shapes, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so far behind in getting anything ready for Spring! Lots of large tree branches to pick up, last year's peonies to cut down, lavender to prune, try to cut back the wild blackberry bramble a bit without contracting poison ivy...no sign of wild violets yet, but my one lovely clump of crocuses had four or five bees happily buzzing around it.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts older than 48 hours are moderated (for spam control) . Yours will be seen! Unless you are a troll. Serial trollers are banned.