Early summer, fast growth

We sure did enjoy spring, all 7 days of it. It seems like it went from chilly to 80 degrees in about 2 weeks and we were yet again gypped of the lovely spring weather this area sometimes offers. We actually broke down and turned the AC on for a few days this week. Ridiculous.

The warm spell has definitely helped the plants along, though. We're glad we put the peas in so early, because they are already slowing down in the heat. They have been great -- we harvested about 3 gallons of sugar snaps (they are just about done) and the pod peas are almost ready to pick. Look at how loaded we are:


Our kale is also looking great:


Here's a shot of our beets, eggplants, garlic, and snap peas. The peas will be done before they crowd out the garlic anymore:


Lisa's potatoes:


The chard was a little slow to start, but it's gaining speed now:


And of course our favorites, basil:


peppers (pepper butts already!):


and tomato (this is our best looking Cherokee; it's twice the size of the ones in the garden):

A lot of our tomatoes already have flowers on them. Our magnolia tree is blooming already too. It looks like it may cool down a little this week, but we may be in for a rough summer. I guess it's a good thing everything is coming along early -- it'll probably all be dead by 4th of July!

Finally, an update on our front garden. Quite a few of our seeds didn't take (not surprising) so we had to supplement with some bought plants. We may hunt for some zinnias this weekend. But the nasturtiums and all our other early starts are doing well:


Especially our Dahlias, which look like they could bloom any day now...