Beginning of summer

This spring was more demanding than in the past at work;  we have many fewer staff members overall at the botanical garden (where I work) than we did in past years.  We offered more educational programs than ever, rewarding but time-consuming, and had a number of large field trip programs (thank goodness for our devoted volunteers).

I ended the spring semester doing the 12 page newsletter (on summer hours).  I used to contribute quite a bit of copy, but didn't do the layout or garden news, or a cover piece.  Now (without a PR staff member), I'm writing just about everything except for our director's note, the geology museum page, and the donor page, with a few contributions here and there (AND doing the layout, too). Yikes. Needless to say that there wasn't any time to reflect on our garden....

Oh, well, apologies about fussing;  I have SO MUCH to be thankful for.

Plants on wheels

Escaping to the mountains meant bringing plants with me, of course.  I filled the back of the car with young plants of all sorts, leaving behind the stalwarts to manage without frequent summer care.

I'll be back 'down the hill' to the Piedmont to harvest garlic, onions, and potatoes, in a couple of weeks (and tomatoes and peppers, too, as the summer progresses).

Front herb bed

But I was glad to see how robust the herb bed looks in the mountains.

The young peppers and tomatoes, planted two weeks ago are looking good, too.

Time to plant more squash and beans, too!