Sunday, May 22, 2011

Herb Garden 2011

This is year #4 for my herb garden. It's had good times & bad times, but for the most part it's been quite prolific over years. Let's take a look at gardens past...


My very first herb garden in 2008



2009 Expansion project



What made it to 2010...



turned out to be a pretty good growing season in 2010!


I was excited to get going on the 2011 garden! The catnip, chives, parsley & thyme all survived the winter. The chives are actually the same chives from back in 2008! Peter & I find that one day out of the blue they just pop up and start growing like crazy. This year was no different. We're already trying to use them up.

The only things we needed to replace were basil, sage & rosemary. I was sad that the sage & rosemary didn't survive this winter. They had survived the last, but maybe I just didn't give them enough love & attention through the cold winter months.

Anyway, we bought some replacement herbs at last week's public market.


sage, lettuce leaf basil, purple basil, large leaf italian basil, rosemary



Our new plants enjoying sunshine before transplant


Below is where the sage & rosemary would be transplanted. It really is surprising that the thyme is the only survivor in this planter. It's "creeping thyme" which doesn't get much of the sunshine since it's ground cover & last year the sage took over the whole planter. Needless to say, I'm very proud of my thyme... she's once tough cookie!


Remains of thyme, sage & rosemary from last year



Thyme is off to a good start



The transplanted sage & rosemary (with some pitiful strawberries in the back)


Those look nice, but when you check out the other planter below, you will realize how they are no match for our parsley, chives & catnip...


Out of control parsley, chives, & catnip


Our catnip has a tendency to get out of control. If anyone would like to have some for their cat(s), let me know. Our cats love it, but the supply far outweighs the demand.

On a side note, here's a pic to give you an idea of our backyard garden's current status...


Peter's pride & joy


Even Muffin joined in the gardening fun. She found a nice little spot to chill in between the compost pile & the garlic.




The gardening day ended with transplanting my favorite- the basil! We bought 3 different kinds to try out this year! I have high expectations for them all!


purple leaf, large italian leaf, lettuce leaf



2 comments:

Andy said...

Nice work, you're putting your husband's garden to shame!
I had a little herb garden in Syracuse last summer: rosemary, thyme, oregano, chives. This spring the thyme is back (of course so are the chives) and the oregano is gone unfortunately.
Last fall I dug up the rosemary and potted it to take inside to the greenhouse, so it's still around. I bet that if you covered it with dry leaves or burlap it might survive outside. Or even easier, you could have Peter build you a greenhouse.

Leigh Ann said...

This makes me want to not garden, I'm exhausted just looking at your pictures! What it makes me want to do is pay someone lots of money to install a patio and hot tub in my new back yard. One day...