Sanctuary Gardener Update ~ 6/1/15

Summer has arrived! Maybe not on the calendar, exactly, but it’s definitely summer in my Sanctuary garden. The sun is getting hotter, the humidity is starting to creep in, the plants are flowering and fruiting, the bees are buzzing, and the summer harvest has begun. Come, take a look.

WHAT’S NEW:

Shortly after I transplanted my Lemon Drop peppers, one of them died. On a whim, I decided to direct-sow a few seeds to see if one or two might come up (to replace the one that died). Lo and behold, I have one little seedling!

Lemon Drop pepper seedling

I found my first Black Futsu squash yesterday.

Black Futsu squash growing

IN THE GARDEN:

Just as I was noticing it was time to harvest my oregano again, a couple of the plants started to flower.

Oregano starting to flower

My squash is now flowering very well. (Still waiting for my pumpkin to start flowering.)

Squash blooming

Here’s a closeup of a couple of Black Futsu squash flowers.

Squash flowers

My grapes are starting to look like real grape clusters now.

Marquis grapes growing

I have cut so many gladioli that I have two vases of them on my dining room table. Here’s the newest vase of these beauties.

Gladioli in vase

I have so many glads inside, I decided to let some bloom outside, too.

Gladioli along my house

My fingerling potato plants are starting to die back. That means the harvest is around the corner.

Potato plant dying back

IN THE KITCHEN:

I had so much that I harvested this past week, I will be sharing the pictures in a separate post, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, enjoy seeing what I made with my harvest.

First Italian bean salad of the season: