The temps have risen here in Atlanta and with it the garden has expoded in growth! I love these early days of summer in the south. The hydrangeas are in full bloom, in my own yard and throughout the neighborhood. Above : Annabelle Hydrangeas.
Days in the greenhouse garden are truly the family happy place. With herbs and favorite pollinator friendly flowers in bloom.
Last summer we planted our first olive trees. While they don’t natually grow in our plant zone of 7/8, we brought them into the greenhouse with our lemon trees from Thanksgiving to March. And while these plants are still young, I don’t expect the olives to be viable this season, but still fun to see nonetheless!
Our pollinators are loving our butterfly bush this year! And while the gorgeous lavender hued blooms are a stunning addition to any garden, be aware that traditional varieties can get ginormous. For normal to smaller spaces, look into dwarf varieties, but keep in mind they too can get quite large.
Basil season is here and nothing is better than fresh picked basil on top of Friday Night Pizza!!! I grow a few varieties, thai, which my polinators love and sweet and purple for eating! Keep your edible plants from flowering, as that changes the chemical makeup of your plant, and therefore the taste. And remember, flowering = seed production = end of life cycle for your basil plants. To prevent flowering, regularly pinch or cut the top leaves. And at first signs of flowering, pinch off to extend life a bit longer.
About six weeks ago, we sodded our backyard with Zeon Zoysia. While it’s not the first to green up in Spring, it is hands down the softest and has the nickname as the ‘barefoot grass’ for a reason! Ours has been growing in nicely. We used a starter fertilizer when laying and after the third mow, put down a seasonal fertilizer.
The greenhouse beds have exploded in growth recently! The snapdragons, herbs (basil, sage, oregano, rosemary and lavender) mums and lambs ear are growing beautifully!
Above, is society garlic. Her flowers are edible and give a strong garlic flavor to dishes. She also is a great companion plant!
And lastly, the beautiful foxglove, above! We added her for some height for a photo shoot we had recently, but it is important to note that Foxglove can be extrememly toxic to humans and pets and under no circumstance should you or your pets consume any part of this plant! And when handling, wear gloves as it can cause skin irratation as well. With three kiddos and a dog I go out of my way to avoid such plants as I want my space to be a calm, peaceful, enjoyable space for all. And while I LOVE the look of her, unfortunaltey she’s just not one I’ll be keeping around. Well that’s some of our garden this past week, I hope you’re finding the time to get outside and grow as well! Happy Monday Friends