Garden Updates

I thought it was high time that we revisited the garden. The good news is that the majority of our plants are thriving. The bad news is that I did manage to damage several plants beyond any possible repair.

I picked the majority of the Meyer lemons before we left for Christmas because I was worried that they were going to become overripe. The remaining three gorgeous lemons are proof that I was worrying too much. Oh well. I used to pre-holiday lemons to make a lemon curd today. I haven't tried any yet, so I don't really know how well they turned out. I let you know tomorrow after they have been allowed to chill overnight.

While I was making it I convinced Ben that if I gave him one of the lemons I could put him down and use both my hands. He was pointing at them and saying "app" or apple, which is how the boys refer to any fruit except bananas. So, I put him down and he ran off with the lemon. A few minutes he came back whining loudly, threw the lemon (which now had big teeth marks in it) and started spitting and wiping his tongue. Poor little guy!

The parsley (on the fence) is growing like mad. We use it constantly and add it to just about everything. I'm forever sending Zach out to grab me a couple of sprigs. The lemon thyme there has been fun too, though it isn't growing as quickly, so I'm letting it get a little strength before I start snipping and harvesting. Though it did assist in that fabulous corn dish that we had for Thanksgiving.

The oregano is doing pretty well, though again, not a fast grower, so I've only used it a couple of times. There are loads of tiny little leaves that are getting ready to grow beneath the larger ones. I think it may just be waiting for warmer weather.

There are no pictures here of my rosemary or sweet basil. The basil was doing great until we left for Christmas, then after a few weeks of neglect and several days of hard rain, it decided it had had enough and wilted beyond recognition. The rosemary never had a chance. It was showing signs of ill treatment from the first moments I transplanted it. It's a little annoying since there is rosemary everywhere here! Growing rampant and beautiful, sending its glorious, taunting scent in my direction. Well, I'm not beat yet. I'm going to try both of these again in the spring.

Now, for what people actually cares about (or rather, a few offhand questions about them) - my pilfered geraniums!
Well, despite several vile attempts by the local squirrels to kill them by way of knocking them off the fence (and breaking one of my pots by the by - stupid squirrel), they are doing great! I've replanted them into these pots I got at the local Daiso, and I noticed that they had tons of little roots. They are sending up new shoots too. I'm hoping that we'll get some flowers in the spring. I don't really know what colors they are going to be, what with them mostly just being stalks when I, um, acquired them. I'm guessing they will be a mixture of pink and red.


Well, there ya go. My next project: pilfering some rosemary clippings. Shhhhh!