I'm happy to report that I have finished planting the garden (I think, and at least for now).



Right here you see some snow peas, well along their way: I purchased a few plants from a place called Everlasting in the Woodlands (no web site, alas). It's absolutely astonishing; there's a spring somewhere on the property (which comprises 175 acres), and they've made a series of waterfalls, with all sorts of garden displays around them. The plants looked amazing; I could have dropped a bundle, that's for sure. As it was, I settled for those snow peas, some tomato plants, a few cucumbers, some morning glories, and a gift certificate for Emil (who still hadn't gotten his birthday present). Pictures of the nursery to come, when we go back to spend it.

At any rate, the big news in the garden so far has got to be the spinach:



There's some arugula and some oakleaf lettuce fighting for room in there, too - but the spinach is taking up all the space. I've been eating lots of spinach . . . I have to figure out if it can be preserved, and how to preserve it. Do I have to blanch it? Surely I can freeze it, no?

At any rate, I also like that picture because it was taken with my Konica, and seems clearer to me than a digital photo would be - I took it right after one of today's frequent rain showers, and you can see the droplets of water on the leaves if you look closely. I'm really happy with my new camera!

The radishes are turning out rather peculiarly.



Doesn't show up so well there, but the tubers are relatively thin and hairy . . . most of them are not radish-like at all. It seems like the nutrients in the soil at this part of the garden are primed to grow leaf matter. (I can't remember what that means about the nutrients . . . I have the Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening and Landscaping Techniques on order from an Amazon partner - as the original is out of print - so I should know within days.)

The flowers are doing well, too. Emil transplanted our peonies from Ann Arbor, and it looks like we'll get one bloom on each.



That photo was taken in the early evening. (I want to do more with light . . . ) The other one isn't blooming yet; I'll take a picture when the blossom comes out.

The cauldron is doing rather nicely, too.




And finally, just because I like the picture, here's our periwinkle clamshell chair . . .



It's so satisfying working out in the yard! I finished my planting, harvesting, and weeding just as the rain started, so I had the pleasure of watching everything get a thorough soaking. Doesn't get much better than that . . .