Back home and back to the garden! The plants had been very busy growing while I was away. The oregano at the back has doubled in size. The peas are climbing up the twine. The blueberry bushes are flowering. The dill’s starting to sprout. Some of my spring onions have even made it, although a few had been dug up by squirrels who disagree with my landscaping.

The Victoria Day long weekend practically marks the start of the main gardening season. The garden centres are open during the holiday, and the herb and vegetable starters have joined the annuals. People are out planting.

W- and I walked around the neighborhood looking at people’s gardens. Down the street, Awesome Garden Lady’s plants are lightyears ahead of ours, and she’s already started harvesting herbs. We looked at the flowers in other people’s gardens, the way the perennials and annuals were arranged, the color combinations that caught our eyes. We identified fruits, herbs, and vegetables tucked into unusual places: mint slowly spreading across a front yard, alliums (onions, probably) with delicate bulb-like flowers, strawberries peeking out between hostas.

I think we’ll plant the front yard for herbal teas and other edibles. =) That will be fun and useful! Here’s what I’d like to plant:

This is roughly based on http://www.countryliving.com/outdoor/garden-plans-finder/herbal-tea-garden-plan-2, with possible substitutions for things that are not hardy in Zone 5. I’ll probably arrange it in some kind of a circle, with the taller plants in the middle.

The library has a couple of books on herbal tea gardens. Exciting!

2011-05-22 Sun 19:13