Well, now that summer is actually here, it’s blazing  hot! Which I really don’t mind, at least for now. The peppers, tomatoes and squash in the garden are loving it and getting huge, but some of the other plants aren’t quite as happy. Everything is flowering… and some flowers you want, some you don’t! What I mean by that is that it’s exciting to get flowers that will eventually turn into fruits and veggies, but not so great when your leafy greens and herbs go to flower, meaning that their time is up. We did get our first big squash blossom this past week!

But, on the flipside, the basil is just starting to bolt, a bit prematurely if you ask me.

I pinched off all of the flower heads to try and extend the harvest as long as possible, so we’ll see what happens.

Not quite sure what to do with them being that I just made and froze a whole bunch of pesto recently! These may just be destined for garnishes on eggs and the like.

The lavender flowers are attracting tons of honey bees! The bees have a fever, and the only prescription is more lavender! (Bonus points for anyone who can tell me what I’m referencing here).

The pole beans are growing fast, but they haven’t started climbing yet. I love watching them when they do that!

We planted some nasturtium seeds and they are all sprouting now which makes me so happy! I’m excited to share more with you more about these really cool flowers.

Out in the permaculture swale bed things are coming along nicely.

The amaranth is really growing fast, and is quite beautiful with it’s purple color. We thinned them a little tonight and put them on our salad with dinner.

The sunflowers are starting to grow tall as well.

We even found a few tomato volunteers that must have come from the compost! That’s always fun!

Last but not least, we have a baby jalapeno! Look how cute it is.

It’s always fun getting your first harvest of any vegetable. Of course we’ve already been eating salad and greens and herbs (and raspberries!) out of our garden, but it’s always exciting when something new comes along! Soon enough I’ll have jalapenos coming out of my ears (hot sauce, anyone?) and I’ll move on to whatever is in season next. It never gets old. At least not for me, that is!