A Time to Plant

It's Memorial Day Weekend and while I plan to do the most traditional Memorial Day activity - grill - tomorrow, today I did the second-most-traditional thing:  I went plant shopping! 

We used to get our herbs, tomatoes and annuals into the garden around Mother's Day (two weeks ago), but I was gone then and this is the first time I've been to Connecticut in three weeks, so at the of top of the to-do list was a spree.  The rows and rows of herbs et al in the two nurseries we went to were a little picked over, but there was still enough to make a city-girl's heart go pitter-patter and more than enough to fill two wagons:

Among the things I brought home were:

• Basil - of course, and including lots of regular, opal, spicy globe and Magic Michael, irresistible because of its name; I'm still looking for Thai basil - hope I'm not too late
• Tomatoes - big, small, round, long, red, yellow and striped; I really hope the Marzano tomatoes grow and thrive,  so I can have great sauce all winter
• Peppers - mostly chiles, mostly hot
• Rosemary - a lot of rosemary to plant along the south wall with the lavender, which wintered over beautifully; together the rosemary and lavender make me think I've got a tad of the South-of-France in New England
• Bay Leaf - one of my favorite things in a garden; there's nothing like being able to pull a leaf off the plant just when the stew is going into the oven or when you're about to make moules mariniere
• Thyme - including lemon and silver
• Marjoram - which always makes me think of oregano and makes me wonder every year why the oregano always winters over and the marjoram never does
• Mint - peppermint, spearmint and chocolate mint (which we'll keep in pots, so that they won't take over the entire garden)
• Scented Geraniums - strawberry, apple and a fabulous lemon-rose; I'm going to use them in pound cakes this summer
• Patchouli - so summer of love, so intoxicating
• Lemongrass - which will grab an entire corner of the garden, but be worth it
• Lemon Verbena- big, aromatic, wonderful in tisanes and so good with fish

There's much more, more than enough to fill the empty patches left by winter.  Actually, given how harsh our winters are here, I'm always amazed at how much of the garden survives covered by frost and weighed down by snow.  Yes, yes,  I know that that's why the survivors are called perennials, but I still think it borders on the miraculous. Here's the spring garden with nothing new planted in it:

By next week all the holes will be filled - except the ones the chipmunks burrow.  Aarrrgh.  How can creatures that are so cute be so destructive?!

Comments

[Dorie]

JillMarie - I've been singularly unsuccessful in getting rid of any of the little animals that are polka-dotting my garden with holes. I've been told that fox urine is effective -- fortunately, you don't have to go out and get it yourself, it's a ready-made product -- but evidently not so effective for the critters in my neighborhood. And then there's Wrigley Spearment Gum! An ace gardener said her mother swore by it. She told me you peel off the paper wrapper from the gum but make sure to keep the foil wrapper intact. She also said you have to be careful not to get too many of your "human" fingerprints on it. Then you drop the gum down the groundhog/mole/chimpmunk hole and a couple of days later all is perfect! At least that's what her mom claimed.

Sharing the garden with these animals is very frustrating! I wish I had "real" advice for you. If you find a solution -- PLEASE let me know!

[JillMarie]

We found a groundhog hole in our backyard! I am so upset. Any idea on how to get rid of them?

[RuthWells]

A coda to the classic banana bundt -- my sister-in-law, who is NOT generally a fan of sweets, just text-messaged me a "thank you" for making that delicous cake. This is clearly one for the ages.

[Luisa]

Oh man, I'm so envious of your garden and your list of new plants to grow! One day, one day, I try to console myself, then march off to the grocery store to buy overpriced herbs in silly plastic containers. Ah, city life! :)

[Christine]

Ok, you've just inspired me to buy more! I currently have basil, dill, parsley and thyme. Rosemary never seems to last too long with me.

[RuthWells]

Lots of good stuff! My garden's herb selection this year is pathetic (a wintered-over sage and 2 store-bought basil), but the 7 different tomatoes and 5 different squash should ease the guilt.

I made your classic banana bundt cake on impulse to take to my parents' Memorial Day cook-out last night. Start to finish, from frozen butter to into-the-oven, took 18 minutes. Can't beat that. And the cake was sublime -- moist and banana-y with a wonderful chewy crumb. I slathered it liberally with the lemon glaze, and literally every guest went back for seconds, leaving only about 1.5 inches for morning left-overs. A big big winner!

[Sarah Campbell]

Hi Dorie,
Your garden looks lovely, even with holes. I have trouble with squirrels destroying my flowers and plants. They root around looking for nuts or acorns or whatever and they do it by digging around the base of the plant. I've come home several times to find my flowers lying on top of the dirt, gasping for breath. My solution is lava rock. I hate the stuff but it works. I put rocks in all my pots and around all my plants. Maybe it hurts their little squirrel feet. Who knows?

[Sara]

Dorie, my San Marzanos have been in the ground for a few weeks now, and so far so good! I even have a few green tomatoes.

[Nabeela]

Hi Dorie, I just wanted to let you know that I recently bought your Baking book. I absolutely LOVE it! I have marked soooo many recip[es to try soon.
I recently made your classic banana bundt cake(in a loaf pan!) and its delicious...my friends agree too :)

[gilly]

Oh my Dorie - beavers too?! They are sneaky little ones!
In our neck of the woods, it's the deer that are most destructive - they look upon flower, herb, and vegetable gardens as their own private buffets. I'm afraid it will have to come to stakes and chicken-wire before long!
It sounds like you were able to pick up a number of lovely goodies this year... and your garden looks like a heaven - any veggie or herb would be lucky to live there!

[Kelly-Jane]

Your garden looks pretty, even in it's semi empty state.

Chipmunks and beavers? I don't think I've ever seen either. The odd hare, and I once saw a rat on our back lawn, but fortunately next doors cat scared it away! I like to believe there was only one of them too, it feels a bit safer that way :)

[Dorie]

Whenever there are critters in the garden, I like to think that there's just one and it will get tired and go munch someplace else, but not only do I know that's not true, I get proof every once in a while. Like this afternoon, when I saw two small but exceedingly brazen chimpmunks waiting me out near the compost bin. Maybe when your Dad has your chipmunk problem under control, he'd like to head south and give me a hand. And I have I mentioned the beavers????

[brilynn]

You've got so many more herbs going than I do, I need more!!
Dad is currently waging war on the chipmunks, catching them in live traps and relocating them. I think for every one that he relocates, 5 come back.