Spring Planting Time!

It is time to get just about everything planted for summer.  That means getting the raised bed prepped.  I've got a couple of bags of compost to add, fertilizer to mix in, and winter plants and weeds to rip out.

This lettuce will likely be the last winter crop I harvest.

Cilantro in bloom with Varied Carpet Beetles... pests indoors but pollinators outdoors.

Some of the spring plants are close to producing.  The sugar snap peas are starting to bloom.  And the potatoes will hopefully be blooming soon.

Can you find Starla?

The largest tomatoes are in bloom and the Black Prince plant is the first to start fruiting.  There are a few more seedlings left to plant, and the Calendula is doing well with the larger tomatoes.

Black Prince is the first to fruit, but Cherokee Purple isn't far behind.

Native Nurseries was fully stocked with basil, so I added Sweet Genovese (Italian basil), Thai, and Lemon basil into the herb garden with the African Blue.  There's room for a couple more plants here and there.  I have some Zinnias started from seed that I might add if I don't find something sooner.  I might also get more basil to plant with tomatoes.

I pinch off the tops of the main stems on the basils so the side growth will make a bushier, more productive plant.

The zinnia seeds are very productive.

I bought a red penta to attract pollinators and hummingbirds.  I have an extra pot, so I will probably buy one more.  They are definitely good at their job.

As for the native plants, they are all awake except for the Fringe Tree, which isn't going to bloom but will have plenty of leaves soon.  The Coral Honeysuckle has shoots of new growth and leaves; the Ashe Magnolia is opening its few, small leaves; the FL Flame Azalea has its leaves out; and many of the plants I added last year seem to be coming back, including at least one Butterflyweed, the Purple Coneflower, the Beardtongue, and the Golden Alexander.  My wetland native plants are also coming back (Scarlet Hibiscus, Pink Swamp Milkweed, Cardinal Flower).  I lost my Stokes Aster though.  I'm not sure if it only survives a couple of years or if the conditions weren't right.  It had 3-4 nice blooms last year, but I saw no sign of it this year.  I recently planted a Passionflower Vine (an offshoot from my parents' plant) and a Columbine, and there's a lot of Coreopsis coming back (Lanceleaf and Leavenworth's). The Oakleaf Hydrangea looks like it will have a bloom or two.

Columbine, Passiflora, and Coreopsis in the native plant area.

Oakleaf Hydrangea blooms developing.

Scarlet Hibiscus & Cardinal Flower (Pink Swamp Milkweed is there, but not obvious).

My next tasks will be to pot the last of the tomatoes, get the raised beds ready for planting, and figure out where to put everything else.  It's a scramble right now.