Wheels of Helios

I was terrified of missing the bloom of my sunflowers when I left for vacation because I had already seen the heads begin to form. When I returned, I found the plants had grown to their full height and were not yet in bloom. They have a fragrance that I can only describe as something straight out of a childhood memory. It reminds me a bit of Chamomile.

Rosy Sunset Dreams II

I've changed the layout of this post in honor of the very first rose to bloom in the garden. Two of the unopened buds wilted away before even showing color. The sight of this little rose, no bigger than my thumb, gives me hope that the bush will survive. I know for sure now that this rose bush suffers from some kind of illness. If you look closely, you can see some dark marks on the leaves.

If you look at the petals close to the stem, you'll see a bit of golden yellow. I'm really excited to see this flower open fully. The vivid red of the tips contrasts beautifully with the pop of orange. I can already see the sunset bouquet at the table. The colors remind me of the city bathed in the orange tones of a summer sunset. It's the reason I picked this rose. I love having a perpetual reminder of those fleeting moments I love so much.

Rosy Sunset Dreams

Cut flowers have always been a bitter sweet thing for me. I don't like watching them wilt away to nothing and I don't like knowing that their parent plant is kept solely for profit. I'm talking about store-bought bouquets of course. Arranging a bouquet from the garden is a rewarding experience. Thankfully, my darling is a sensible man and gets me live plants instead of bouquets. He won't buy me an orchid because I killed the one my mom gave me but since our garden plants live longer lives(and probably because it was like $5), he agreed to the rose bush.

The Radish Rejects III & IV

III - IV

Two days ago, I thinned the radishes seedlings and I did so again today. I don't see the point of making two separate posts on the same topic considering how backlogged I am so both days will be on this post. That also lends itself to the opportunity of showing what a few day's difference can make in the development of these radishes. This will be the last "Radish Rejects" post unless I plant another bed because the seedlings still in the ground are looking so good that I'm going to attempt to transplant them rather than making them hamster food. Don't worry, the carrots in that bed are going to need thinning pretty soon so Popcorn will still get fresh-from-the-garden treats.

The Radish Rejects II

Yesterday, I thinned the radishes out more by picking off the weakest ones. This time around, all of the rejects had their true leaves coming in. If you read my last post, you might remember that only two of last time's picking's had true leaves on them. The roots are getting thicker and longer too.

The Radish Rejects

Today was once again, "Radish Seedling Thinning Day." I'm still learning this whole edible garden thing and it might be completely wrong not to do it all at once but if I did do it all at once, there's no way I could feed all of the rejects to my hamster. So, today's rejects numbered eight. Four of them I deemed unfit for even hamster food so into the compost pile they went.