April Showers bring.. April Flowers :o)

This garden obviously has a lot of growing in to do, but for year two, I am loving the riot of colors!

Bright flowers on a dark day

The Arizona Sun Blankets that I picked up on clearance last year (and killed all but two of), are looking so incredibly pretty this spring!!

The rain is a comin'!

With a 90% chance of rain in the forecast, and some of it heavy, this overcast Saturday seemed like a great day to do some of the transplanting I have been meaning to do for weeks.

Sprouts!

Almost everything that I planted last week has sprouted!

Spring Garden

We have had a crazy busy couple of weeks, so I am just now planting my spring garden -- about three weeks too late.  We'll see how it does.

Also, this year I have a whole lot of winter garden plants still in the ground.  My cilantro has all flowered, and I am letting the bees enjoy them until they go to seed.  This way - I'll have my huge bed again next year.  I also have in lots of potatoes, onions, strawberries, garlic, lettuce, radishes, sugar peas and beets. Which doesn't leave a lot of room for spring vegetables.  So i sort of randomly placed them where ever I could find room.  We'll see how that works!

Cucumbers
High Growing Organic Seed - National Pickling Cucumber
Days to Germinate:  7-10 days (4/13 - 4/16)

I planted a slew of cucumbers seeds along the back fence.

Zucchini
Botanical Interests - Black Beauty Zucchini
Days to Germinate:  5-10 days

I have not had any luck with zucchini the last two years.  The squash vine borer gets them before I even get fruit :o(  but somehow, I just can't resist planting some.  I planted two piles near the back portion (by the house wall).  

Eggplant
Black Beauty Plant
Days to Maturity - 75 days

I always like to have one eggplant in the garden.  It never seems to do well until the fall - largely because in past years it gets shaded by the tomatoes.  I planted it smack in the middle of the garden, so we'll see.

Tam Mild Jalapeno
I planted two small jalapeno plants - sort of in between the garlic and the basil.

Cantaloupe
I planted two cantaloupe mounds right near the cilantro.  My hope is that by the time they start to grow, I will have pulled up the cilantro, so it will have room

Honeydew - Sweet Delight
Botanical Interests - Sweet Delight
Days to Germinate - 5-10 days

I only planted one honeydew.  I just couldn't find room for another. I will probably go out and try to find another spot for one more.  I can plant them through June.

Penstemon Foxglove

When we first moved into the house, Dave threw a bunch of seeds outside the fence.  

Another year

Three years ago, I took a picture of my back porch garden on April 4th.  The following year, I went in early April, as I often do, to look at what I had from a year ago, and lo and behold, I had taken a picture on the same day the previous year. 


I now like to take photos on April 4th every year, so I can compare the growth. It is fun to compare the differences.

A Pretty April Day

A beautiful day in early April.  The grass is green, the roses are in bloom, and everything is beautiful!