Maybe I'm just a little impatient this year.My garden is coming along well in some areas and could do better in others, yet somehow I keep feeling as though things are moving more slowly than usual. Fact is, everything is right on time. My problem is that I started the garden earlier than usual because of the mild weather we had this spring. This has thrown my internal clock out of kilter and I keep thinking that summer is nearly over when in actuality it has only just begun. In any event, my due diligence has been rewarded with some early crops and I was blessed with a visit from a never-before-seen (by me, anyway) black swallowtail butterfly. I frantically chased it all over my garden as it did laps around my azalea bush until I finally snapped this photo of it in flight near my carrots. It was the best I could do under the circumstances but its distinctive markings are clearly visible. I hope this isn't the last I see of this handsome creature.
My cucumbers are growing like gangbusters and I've been enjoying the sweet and cool fruits for a couple of weeks now. Today they were joined by some early onions and a scallion. I can't wait to use them in a meal. My peppers are growing quickly and I should have three or four ready for picking in a week's time. Lots of tomatoes are showing up but they won't be ready for a few weeks yet. My basil has exploded with large fragrant leaves. It is sharing a pot with a lackluster cilantro plant which, in spite of its puny size, has delicious flavor and really added a wonderful touch to a pot of stewed beans I made earlier this week. 
I have discovered that some vines I have growing are not the beans I had hoped they would be but are instead watermelons that are threatening to take over my garden. Last weekend I engaged in some ruthless thinning of the plants in order to give the remaining ones room to grow but even that is not enough. I have decided to try a little experiment with the four plants growing on one side of my garden. Three of them have been trellised while the largest one has been allowed to run freely on the ground. I know melons are not meant to be trellised but, like I said, it's an experiment. There are four others growing freely on the other side of the garden and I strongly suspect that they are going to end up in a mutual choke hold as their runners tangle together. The jury is still out.
In the last post's photos I highlighted a pretty little sweet potato plant that surprised me with its beautiful purple-edged heart shaped leaves. It has lost its purple tinge and has tripled in size, butting right up against the watermelons and some onions. I strongly suspect I will get some edible tubers out of that plant so I'm going to protect it from the marauding melons at all costs. I am truly enjoying this year's garden immensely and am already planning next year's crops.
Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva
