Springtime is Here!

It has been a long winter in more ways than one. I paid homage to my late father in my other blog, "Backyard Kung Fu with the Boys" but in many ways, mentioning him during my Spring planting is much more fitting. I am the fruit of his loins after all, the Spring to his Winter. I miss you Dad, send some love to my garden. Maybe with some help from the afterlife I can actually grow some red peppers, lol.

This Summer will (with luck) be the Summer of tomatoes. (Muhahaha!) I didn't go crazy, I got an heirloom and a cherry start. For a little spice I added a red pepper plant. With the help of my lovely gardening assistant Kelsey I planted everything last evening, it was a lot of fun. It felt good to get a little dirt under my fingernails, all the while basking in a little of Seattle's best April sunlight.

Now for the status of last year's survivors;

Catnip: I pruned it down to the nubs after last year but already I have halo shaped profusion popping up on the left side of my upper planter. Shouldn't be long before it's brimming with pretty little purple flowers. The bees love this plant and from the looks of it (there's a bed right in the middle of the stalks) the neighborhood cats do too.

Orange Mint: Directly below the catnip I have a growing colony of orange mint. I let it ravage the strawberry bed last year and I'll have to live with my decision as it's popping up quickly EVERYWHERE. (Luckily it smells wonderful) I'm going to have to drink a lot of orange mint mojitos this Summer to keep this monster at bay. I'm up for the challenge, hiccup...

Strawberries: I'm about half way through my spring pruning and a few of the plants are looking pretty darn good. Over towards the pepper plant however (it's on the right of the bottom planter) I should just pull up the rest and begin anew. I saw some good Quinalt strawberry starts at Fred Meyers yesterday, it would probably be a good idea to throw some new ones in where my 3 year old plants currently sit.

English Lavender: I was worried about this guy last year but this plant has really become my early Spring success story. The gray faded leaves of last Summer have been covered up by 2-3 inches of nice green growth. Furthermore, I'm noticing shoots coming out of the ground around its base, signs of a more robust plant to come, my fingers are crossed. I've been fretting over this plant for too long for it not to fill out the right side of the upper planter like I've always intended.

The tax return check is coming and one of my first purchases will be my neighbor's old digital camera so be ready for photographic evidence of my successes and/or failures. Until then, may your roses be red and your thumbs green.