Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Herbs Of The Year 1995-2015

.......

I thought it might be nice to plant the herb of the year every year (ok, except for 1998 - been there, done that, never doing it again!), but I already have 90% of that list planted. Horseradish? Not doin' that one either. lol.

Herbs of the Year:

1995 Fennel
1996 Monarda
1997 Thyme
1998 Mint
1999 Lavender
2000 Rosemary
2001 Sage
2002 Echinacea
2003 Basil
2004 Garlic
2005 Oregano & Marjoram
2006 Scented Geraniums
2007 Lemon Balm
2008 Calendula
2009 Bay Laurel
2010 Dill
2011 Horseradish
2012 Rose
2013 Elderberry
2014 Artemisias
2015 Savory

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Much Better Weather

The sun finally came out and things are looking better.
More flower beds are going in.

The shed is built. Yay! We've needed one desperately for the last 25 years.
DH came across some used wood someone was getting rid of and, hurrah, it was enough to do the whole thing! Plus a leftover piece for a sorta-deck for the sliding glass doors. The kids, boyfriends/girlfriends and friend showed up to help get it finished. (They thought DH and I were a little to slow on the progress I guess. lol, it was just the two of us, what did they expect?) The friend just hung out and supervised. The kids brought a whole BBQ meal too boot! (I have some great kids, eh?)
:)
In progress.
yard

Finished. Well, except for some paint.
yard


With a little sun and heat, the peppers are looking much, much better! Please ignore all those weeds - it has been way too wet to even walk in there.
garden

The peas are covered with blooms and pods.
garden

The toms have blossoms! Woohoo!
garden


Even the azaleas I grew from seed are looking pretty darn good.
garden

garden

Lynchnis - major color. This poor thing is sooo in the wrong spot for it.
garden

The peach leaf bellflowers are at their best right now.
garden

As are the delphs.
The rose campion is so bright it glows neon.
garden

Anthony waterer spirea is going gangbusters.
The Halward's silver blooms a few weeks before the Anthony, and I neglected to take pics.
garden

The sweet william and stella are doing well. Not sure I like this combo, but it's staying this way for a while.
garden

The slugs have gotten completely out of control with this weather(think hundreds within a few square feet). The beans are half eaten away, the marigolds, zinnias and dahlias are nothing but tiny stumps having had their leaves totally eaten away. I've resorted to starting watermelon and zukes inside to get enough growth on them to survive - the slugs have cleaned out 3 plantings of seed so far. Even the cosmos are fair game. Ugh!
The population seems to have depleted a bit with the sun and being a little drier. Or, maybe because of the salt shaker.
Yes, at this point salting the little bastards is very satisfying.
I take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only one in NY to be suffering through 'the year of the slug' - they seem to have taken over the entire state and parts of Pennsylvania to boot.

Hope all is going well in the garden for everyone!

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