Happy Friday, hope all is well with you. Thanks for taking the time to check in!

I have to honestly say that I’m thankful that my first year was nothing like this year. It’s so odd how much different it is, I wonder what it is that is so different and what made things grow the way they did.

Last year I had blooms in the field, yes I have blooms this year, but not in the field, it is in the gardens around the house-from established plants. Well, technically I do have blooms in the field – the Honeywort – but that is sooooo much different than last year, I will see if I can find a picture to compare. The roses are even later this year….

Weather? It’s definitely been chiller than last year, and more rain…

Timing? I put things out earlier this year, giving them longer to grow & more room to grow. Things are thicker & fuller this year, not nearly as tall…

Placement? I put the sweet peas in a raised bed, making them “above ground”. Things are clustered together differently than last year, last year same items were in a line side by side, this year they are clumped together in clusters.

Soil? We didn’t test this year, we did put manure on the field again, but we didn’t put in nitrogen like we did last year – there was a miscommunication about that situation.

Maybe all of this combined? So….what do I do? Hope there will be blooms by the 26th, move the start date – hope for blooms, will things even bloom? Hope that the stems get longer? My Apple of Peru is putting on blooms and going to seed – which is the plan, but the stems are so short…

Did I say how thankful I am that my first year was so successful – my stems were long, my blooms were plenty. We’ll see what happens….but the dreams last night were rough – short stems, sparse one & done flowers. I finally had to give in to — everyone was getting quart size bouquets, not lone stem market bouquets- but really is that so bad? Most people cut four inches off their market bouquet anyhow – but it’s always easier to cut stems shorter, not so easy to make them longer.

Oh goodness, the dumb things I worry about! Geeze!

On a different & more positive note, the sun flowers – both the planted and the volunteers are going well! The Glads & Dahlias are also doing well.

I miss the Chinese Forget-Me-Nots & the Orlaya, next year I will bring some of those things back!

The gourds I planted out are not looking so great, I’m hoping Joe is right about it just being shock, I’d hate to lose the ones I worked so hard to start by seed in the greenhouse, I was so looking forward to seeing the cute little round pumpkins!

The Celosia I planted out looks rough, I’m guessing they are going to die. Thankfully I still have about 15 in the greenhouse, I’ll need to buy more dirt to bump them up to a bigger container and keep them longer in the greenhouse, maybe it will just never warm up enough, there’s rain in the forecast all week, not a huge amount of rain, but temps are not getting much above 67, apparently too cold for them.

Unfortunately I only have ONE Chinese Lantern left, they did so well in the house and the greenhouse. I put them in containers and gave some to my mom and daughter as well as kept some in my containers—none of them are doing well, they are competing with the other flowers I put them in with – no mixing them next year….and now the one that is doing well is poking out the bottom of it’s container-I should have bumped it up sooner, I’d hate to lose this one, I may have to find the jaws of life and cut it out of it’s container. But I have to buy more dirt first….

I’m sure it will all be fine, and yes last year I worried as much as I am this year, it’s the down side of wanting to do well, and expecting a lot out of myself – but there are certain things out of my control….which is difficult for me to accept – I’m a fixer, an analyzer, maybe too high of expectations??

I hope this Friday finds you peaceful and calm, I’m working on letting go and allowing what will be—to be……Que Sera Sera my friends….hugs to you, there is no crisis in the garden right now….it’s a made up imaginary situation that I need to lay down and let go of – the story isn’t over yet!