Thursday, February 24, 2011

I Think It's Spring!

New blooms are popping in the veggie bed bringing in the pollinators.  Bees are buzzing and the first butterflies of the season have been flitting through the flowers.



Herbs for kitchen use as well as to attract butterflies have been growing from seeds planted during December.   Rue, dill and flat leaf parsley are all yummy food for Black Swallowtail caterpillars. 



Blue basil has been growing and blooming.  Purple flowers and stems make this herb as beautiful as it is flavorful.


More flowers to attract bees have been planted along the perimeter of the veggie bed.


These eggplants are still going from the fall garden.  Wonder how long they will keep growing and producing?  The winter only slowed production a little bit.


Four tomato plants were set into their final containers this past week. 


 They will gradually acclimate to the warm weather and full sun.   


The container veggie bed may not be large enough to sustain all our vegetable needs, but it is a lot of fun to grow and harvest what we can comfortably accommodate. 


The weather is sunny and warm, the flowers, herbs and vegetables are growing and blooming.  I think it's SPRING!

9 comments:

  1. Nana ~ I love all that you have growing there. This time of year is wonderful down here.

    Enjoy and happy gardening ~ FlowerLady

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  2. Okay... I'm going with your boldness, NanaK. I think it is spring, too. Last year it didn't feel like this until late March. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly every living thing responds when once the earth warms. Your veggies and flowers are popping out everywhere. Your agastache is blooming already? All of mine were knocked to the ground but coming back quickly. The bees LOVE it! They are a fabulous perennial. Underused here.
    Happy spring. Meems :-)

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  3. I'm a real dunce when it comes to herbs and veggies. I will be sitting in your classroom, NanaK, soaking it all in. I'd love to have a veggie garden in pots. Maybe next year. I'm pretty sure I would be overextending myself this year if I tried.

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  4. Yes, I think you're right! I can certainly feel spring in the air. I still love your veggie "bed"! : ) I didn't grow any veggies myself this year, as I never got the money set aside to rework it. All the pretty veg plots I see on blogs have me a little green-eyed. Maybe I'll actually get to it this year....

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  5. Yep! It's spring! My eggplant, grown from seed, went right through the summer, although it didn't produce fruit. Now it is laden, so maybe you want to see if yours will survive, too.

    -- Penny

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  6. FL - Yes, this is a wonderful time of year for gardening here in Florida. Actually, from now until first frost will be pretty wonderful!

    Meems - You have the agastache? Oh good, I'm glad to hear it is lasting for you. I just got these so that's why they are blooming:)

    Darla - Even 'way up north' where you are seems to be showing signs that spring is here. All your seeds and bulbs popping are a little different than what we have here in the west central part of the state but very spring-like none the less.

    sherryocala - I need to heed your voice of reason. I am always over extending myself:) However, I did pull back a bit on the veggies this spring. I just love having at least fresh tomatoes and herbs.

    Floridagirl - I love growing at least a few veggies, but I think I really don't have the time to really put to it. Nor do I have enough sunny space. So, I am trying to keep it a small operation.

    Terra - Oh good, I'm glad to hear about your eggplant. I hope I get some more fruit from it.

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  7. After the weather this week end,I think you're right! It's Spring!

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  8. Years ago I grew peppers and tomatoes, but have not done veggies in quite awhile. Since a good part of my grocery bill is for vegetables I am thinking I should get back to it. Have some leaf lettuce growing but think I should have planted it a bit earlier. I did plant in containers so that I can move them if the sun gets to be too much.

    I have a question about dill. I planted it because it is a butterfly host plant, but it is not doing well. Any suggestions on growing dill?

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Thank you for travelling down My Garden Path with me. I love hearing from you. Please leave a comment and share what is going on in your gardens.

NanaK