Greetings on this soggy Wednesday morning! This rain wasn’t what I was expecting, but I will certainly take it and enjoy it for now. It’s actually perfect timing for the garden. Despite being home sick with a cold, I spent most of my week out putting things in the garden last week, I even have the tan lines on my back and shoulders to prove it! I’m rather dark already for it only being May 19th! Now that I’m 100% finished with the main garden I did an official count, it’s 1,221 seedlings. This doesn’t include the 100 or so Dahlias in the surprise bed, or everything in the Sunflower patch (Cosmos, surprise Snap Dragons, Calendula, and glads), or the gourd patch or the four raised beds (Sweet Peas, Poppies, Liatris, and snap dragons) . I attempted to make things look pretty for people arriving to the house this summer, but we will see what happens….I had good intentions, but I didn’t grow anything that is super low, so it may or may not turn out just the way I was hoping, predictability isn’t all it’s cracked up to be!

We tucked in all sorts of pumpkins and a row beans in the back quarter of the main garden, this rain will certainly help germinate them! I also direct seeded some Bachelor Buttons that have germinated nicely, so those are off to a great start. I had several reseed themselves, it has been fun watching them grow, there must have been a bit of wind when they were going to seed, because the main garden has several that are already three feet tall by now that thankfully Joe let do their thing, it’s fun seeing where things pop up!

I can see that this year will be unlike any other year….which isn’t a surprise really, you just never know what Mother Nature is going to do. Last year my Calendula, Sweet Peas and Pride of Gibraltar where already thriving by now, they are struggling mightily right now, I’m going to assume it was due to our early heat wave, it wasn’t super hot, but I know those two things really like the cooler weather as opposed to the Zinnia, Amaranth and Cosmos who like it warmer – who you guessed it, are thriving so far this year, but not so much last year. I certainly wish I had a crystal ball to know what kind of weather we will be experiencing to know what kind of a year it’s going to be and what to expect – but that is all part of it – what fun would it be to have predictability? I’m guessing the Farmers Almanac that Joe bought me for Christmas might have some answers for me, I’ll see if their predictions were right or not.

We cleaned out the side flower garden next to the house – turns out there isn’t much space there for anything I have….so I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do with my Rudbeckias, Columbines, and various other things that need homes. I was considering just treating them as annuals and popping them in to the Sunflower patch to be tilled under next year, but I so do not like that idea! It’s possible some of the things won’t even come back even if I do give them a permeant home – again, a crystal ball would be handy right about now!

I put my hyssop, mints and various other things in the road side stand to get rid of, but sales seem to have teetered off. The succulents were a big hit – one young lady kept coming back for more, I think she may have bought the majority of them – I believe I potted up at least 20 containers of various sizes. She sent me several messages with pictures of her collections, it was fun to see what she had and see her enthusiasm for all of it! I don’t think I will do them again next year – but who knows. I was leaning towards more herbs next year, but we will see. I am so enjoying the patio combos that I put together from the plug order, they are filling out very nicely, loving the colors! They take up a lot of room in the greenhouse, but they were fun. I have several components of patio combos that are in full bloom, that I have not had time to take care of….maybe soon?! I ran out of time, steam, and focus last week. It started raining Monday – so I’ve done some baking, cleaning and sorting. I will get back to the garden soon enough, first we take a little trip to get some rest from all the craziness, come back refreshed and ready to tackle the next lag of the journey. Joe is ready for a break too, he’s been doing a huge remodel for the last three months, it’s time for a rest. The remodel is almost finished, and it looks amazing – the clients are thrilled with the outcome – that’s always nice!

I better get a move on, I haven’t packed my clothes yet for the trip – but everything else is ready to go. There are a few things we need to stop by the store for, meet with the house sitter, and double check on everything here before we jump in the truck and head off for our adventure! Annie is excited for our adventure also, but Bella the cat, seems very concerned. I’m wondering if she knows the house sitter is allergic to her…? She will be fed well, and have lots of places to snuggle and stay dry, she will be okay.

Thanks for stopping by this morning, until next time my friends – hugs to you!