Things have been a little quiet in the kitchen, but there’s been a lot of action in the yard. For one, the Clematis Etoile Violette that I have been coaxing to grow in honor of my dear Aunt Helen has finally bloomed!!

Elsewhere, I have stuffed the beds with miniature hostas and even a couple white Bleeding Hearts. All of the above came from White Flower Farm, a mail-order greenhouse that has always exceeded my expectations. Each and every plant they have delivered has hit the ground growing.

Miniature Hostas and White Bleeding Heart

Our vegetable patch was already bursting with the garlic I’d planted in the fall, and the strawberries in the yard were taking care of themselves. I pushed quite a few seeds into the remaining dirt: bush beans, swiss chard, broccoli, radishes, basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley. The tomato plants looked too good to pass by when we stopped to buy flowers for the porch, so room was made for them as well. Now it’s just a matter of sun, water, and time. Plus plastic chicken wire to keep the rats, squirrels, and birds at bay. Such is the plight of the urban farmer.

The promise of strawberries, the threat of flamingoes.

Tomatoes: Five Kinds!

Thyme and Radishes

Porch Planters: Persian Shield, Creeping Jenny, and Silver Stream Alyssum.

Disco Marietta Marigolds