Just the Right Kind of Day To Spend Puttering in the Garden

The garden space behind the garage is a mini-jungle. The peas have already hit their peak, but the tomatoes and beans stretch higher every day. I'm getting enough lettuce for a salad every day, pulling up a tender scallion to go along with it.

What a beautiful, lazy Sunday morning.  After getting up at 5:30 to let Annie out for a quick go, I crawled back under the covers for another few hours of dreamy–weird dreamy–dozing.  When I could no longer bear the crazy slumber, I pulled enough clothes on to go out to the backyard, but not before grinding a few coffee beans and setting them to brew.

Not being a “churchy” person, I then began my leisurely Easter morning puttering, repotting a couple of under-tended plants, squeezing in a few more wax bean and okra seeds in the already jungle-like garden, tying up the drooping passion flower stems to steady pergula posts, weeding out any ever-present chickweed and elm sprouts that I could reach, then finally giving everything a good dose of watering before the sun’s cheery Sunday rays would obliterate the remaining protective shadows.

Now it’s time for a good shower and then off to see if I can find a few groceries.  I doubt much will be open out here in conservative suburbialandia.  I don’t need to buy much, just wasn’t in the mood to do the shopping yesterday.  I will have to remember not to take the street out of the sub-division that enters onto the road that passes the Catholic church.  They’ll be swarming into that place like those ants that were trying to make a new hill next to the patio.  Ortho took care of that.

I hope you will enjoy this visual taste of my yard and garden.

This cherry tomato plant growing in a container is loaded with clusters of the small fruit.

A bud has appeared on this passion flower plant, not so many weeks after I brought it home from the nursery.

I now know this is a white shrimp plant bloom, of which each little pod slips out a lavendar tongue as it opens.

This verbena brings a blanket of color to the sun-drenched bed on the south side of the house.

This hand-me-down amarylis so invariably blooms at Easter, no matter when it falls on the calendar, that I have always called it an Easter lily.

This cleome brightens the edge of the patio.

Early Days of Spring–When You Can Say, “This is what it’s all about.”

Homemade meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, and a salad with lettuce, arugula, and green onion straight from the garden. Can you beat this for Sunday lunch?

Today is one of those nearly perfect days that we get here in southeast Texas, usually in early spring.  The blue sky is filled with puffy clouds that keep the temperature mild as they intersperse shade onto the St. Augustine grass of the back yard.  With all the good rains we’ve had, the vegetable garden, the flowers in the pots and beds, and lawn are all trying their hardest to grow, even though the chickweed is fighting to outdo them.

After attempting to thwart some of the chickweed’s successes, I came back into the house and put together one of those old Sunday favorite meals:  meatloaf and scalloped potatoes.  I should have invited someone to share it all with, but I hadn’t thought far enough in advance to do that.  When it was time to eat,  I went back to the garden and cut some lettuce, arugula, and a green onion to go into a salad.  I’ll make lunches to take to work with all the leftover meatloaf and potatoes;  Marie Callender would be jealous.

Now that I’ve found all the various documents, this might be the day to set myself to doing my taxes.  Notice that I did say “might.”  (I hope you enjoy the tour that follows.)

Peas, lettuce, arugula, green onion, pole beans fill this end of my little garden behind the garage. At the other end are about 10 tomato plants and a holdover from last year, a hot Italian pepper. On the sunny side of the garage I have four more tomatoes in containers. The dog is not planted, but does like to be in photos.

The peas that I planted in mid-January are just starting to produce.

This ruellia and wandering jew require little care but add a lot of color to a corner of the patio.

My lack of patience is to blame for there not being a buzzing honey bee looking for nectar in this blossom of a large salvia that I planted last year and which withstood the drought.

This burst of color comes from a cleome that seeded itself right at the edge of the patio.