First Harvest of 2014

Here are some pictures of my first harvest! It's not much yet. Most of my tomatoes are still on the vine and green, and my bush beans are just starting to produce. My ground cherry has fruit but none of them are ripe either. So my first harvest consists of some basil and a couple of tomatoes. I actually have harvested some lemon balm now, which apparently I can use in herbal teas. I also have more basil to harvest. I'm drying the current batch but I think I'll try freezing the next batch. 

 Here is the basil! From top left, going clockwise: Sweet basil, Crimson King basil, Christmas basil, and Dark Opal basil. I love how basil smells when I harvest it; the spice gets all over my hands and it is delicious.

These are the first two tomatoes of the season. They are Purple Bumblebee. It's a cherry variety. After this I got a couple of Violet Jaspers which look similar but are grape tomatoes. They taste alright, pretty sour but much better than anything in the grocery store. 

Right now there's a Cherokee Purple that is starting to ripen on the vine. I am really looking forward to trying it. Many gardeners online love Cherokee Purples, and I hope it tastes good! I really like growing traditional Cherokee varieties too, since it's another link to my culture. 

On a similar note, my Cherokee Sacred Eagle corn has tassels and silks!! I have been hand pollinating so I really really hope that I get some corn! I will be so happy if my experiment in growing corn in pots works. 

Some photos of my Love In a Mist blooms

Garden Bits and Bobs

I've spent the past week on vacation so not a lot has gone on in my garden. We've had a lot of rain in the past month which for the most part has been good for the garden. Everything is growing fairly well. My cockscomb and amaranth are still growing very slowly but I'm hoping they will take off soon. My Chinese Lantern are also behind, but that's because they were sown late. A lot of my tomatoes are getting ready to ripen or growing, so I'm excited. They will be delicious! It's also time for me to harvest some of my basil.

Here's a nice picture of my impatiens! They have been attracting butterflies. I saw an enormous orange butterfly on them last week. I'd never seen that kind of butterfly before. I think it was a Tawny Emperor but it flew away before I could get a photo so I'm not positive.

Love-In-A-Mist

This lovely picture is the very first bloom from my Love-In-A-Mist!!! This year is the first year I've grown it, and I grew it from seed. A bunch of them are getting ready to bloom so hopefully I will get more colours on the other blooms. I was so excited to see this beauty when I got home from work! These flowers are old-fashioned and beautiful. I will definitely be keeping them in my garden from now on!