Summer Solstice- 1 -Gardening update

Writing has not been prioritized lately.  A whole lot of ideas for posts lie unused in my head. Today being the longest day of the year, I decided to brush aside the lethargy and get down to business. This post is in two parts and will be a mosaic of some facets of my life that have found prominence in the past six months. The first part is an update on the gardening front.

Winter this year dragged on for longer than usual. Spring was kind of long too, and suddenly in May, it felt like July. The plants were confused. Some of my regular plants did not do well. Fewer sunflowers sprouted from seeds, some other seedlings died, and tomatoes were the biggest failure. It's the first time in 5 years that we had no cherry tomatoes to snack on.

Some others did well though. It was my first time growing Kohlrabi. I had bought two plants at the local county plant fair and sale. They did pretty well, considering I had forgotten they were growing in one corner.

Cilantro volunteers grew in several places in the yard, even in the lawn!

It was great garnishing several dishes with fresh cilantro, including this stir-fried kohlrabi, sauteed with some olive oil and cumin seeds. 

Carrots were planted later than usual but they enjoyed the longer period of cooler temperatures until the end of April. I could harvest them about four times all through April.

I had also got Arugula plants from the county sale. They grew nicely and finally bolted. The flowers turned into pods. I have collected seeds to plant later in the fall.

Collard greens was another one I was growing for the first time. Peeking from behind it are a few leaves of red mustard.

Sunflowers are always such a pleasure to have growing in the yard. They are happy flowers! A bee with pollen all over the legs, doing its job in the greater scheme of things.

Mushrooms growing among day lilies and Nasturtiums after a soaking shower.

Romaine lettuce is still producing seeds. I will collect them for next year. These wind-pollinated seeds are so beautiful!

Eggplants are all volunteers in the yard this year. I am yet to ascertain what kind they are.

The Cardinal Climber- I love the leaves and flowers of this vine. Hopefully they will last until fall. Hummingbirds are supposed to love them, and I can confirm that only in September.

Speaking of which, the Northern Cardinal continues to visit often. I think their nest is somewhere nearby, the pair is often in our yard together.

The House Finch is also a regular visitor.

They seem to love the Thai Basil, Lemon Basil, and native Salvia flowers/seeds.

American Robins visit often. They love the bird bath. 

I had bought a Chamomile plant at the county fair back in December. It showed a lot of vegetative growth for a while, and has only just begun to flower.

I want to collect the flowers, dry them and use them to make tea. Their calming effect is known, and coupled with Lemon Balm, it should make an interesting herbal supplement when needed. 

This bounty is from today. It rained a lot these last couple of days. I found two purple bell peppers, some green peppers, and decided to bring some lemon balm leaves to make some tea. The tea promises to soothe!