Garden goings-on

And lots of growing has been going on! Just look:

So much is happening you can't even see it all in this photo! Closest is the Crazy Daisy. She likes this container environment very much -- this is one strong plant! Behind her container is the first container of beans I planted. Some of the plants are putting out bud stalks already -- I'll probably have flowers within a week, and then beans a few weeks after that. In the third container are tomato plants I just received. I'm not at all pleased with their condition, and won't be ordering tomato plants online again. They arrived within two days of shipping, and they weren't dried out at all all, but they were tall and spindly with yellowing leaves -- which obviously means they weren't grown in the best of conditions. Hopefully they'll recuperate and get strong -- I planted them deep so that they can develop good root systems. In the fourth container are the blueberry plants, which are still doing well in spite of the fact that I haven't added peat to the soil yet. And last but not least is the second container of beans, which has started sprouting. The lavender, alas, is still a no-show. I've almost given up on it. I did plant some beans in the same area as the lavender seeds. If they ever decide to grow, they can grow around the beans until it's time for them to come out, and then they can have that space.

We had almost record-setting heat the beginning of this week, but yesterday and today are cloudy, drizzly and very chilly, which makes the lettuce happy.

This photo is from Tuesday, and it's grown even more since then. I really need to start thinning it out, so I'll probably start picking it today and have a baby lettuce salad with dinner. I have a nice light raspberry vinaigrette, fresh mushrooms and some feta cheese just waiting ...

I bought some trombocino summer squash seeds last week (http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/packpg/veg/squash-trombetta-p.htm). I had planned to plant them in the strip of soil between the hedge row and my patio, but after talking with my son last week (Hi Scott!) we came up with a better idea. See my baker's rack in the first photo? I'm going to remove the bottom two shelves (Scott, they do unscrew) and put in another self-watering container. This type of summer squash vines profusely, so it can grow up and around the bars and shelves on the baker's rack. Having summer squash in my little garden makes me happy!

And speaking of happy, my friend Margot had this wonderful idea on her blog (http://margotpotter.blogspot.com/). She's adding photos of things that make her happy, complete with a cute little happy sign in each of them. I'm going to stamp a fun happy sign and do the same! I think we all should, and create this viral Happy Things campaign that just sweeps the Internet and spreads happiness. Let's do it! And be sure to stop in and say hello to Margot -- she rocks!