Most years there's a sizable shift in a gardener's attitude from April to May. Relief from cold, acceptance of another year in the garden, followed by numerous trips to the nursery. This year dragged on and on with frosty nights even into mid-May and I (like many) threw up my arms with frustration.
Once calmer weather finally arrived most of us doubled down, finally happy to get on with business. The first week of June was delightful, we must note that it's probably the most fragrant as well. Between magnolia, Japanese honeysuckle and multiflora rose, there is a sweetness in the air, elevated with warm and humid days.
My business of 2020 is a return to the dwarf tomato project. Apparently I was a good participant in 2019, deemed responsible enough to receive seed! This may have been a mistake as I proceeded to grow plants like I owned a nursery. Aided by greenhouse space, there was only the possibility of running out of seed. A hundred extra plants later, they were sent off with (hopefully) responsible people and the project has spread.
In my own garden there are 44 tomato plants, double the amount I grew in 2019. About half and a bit more are dwarf, some with glorious rugose leaves on husky plants. A couple are mislabeled or not true with foliage that looks more like 'Emerald Isle' or 'Lucky Cross' hybrids. These will be under scrutiny, I was careful to order seeds of any that don't breed true and save my own with the rest. A fun mystery for summer. Otherwise there are cucumbers, corn, and watermelon. Nothing seems to grow fast enough in June.
My night garden is planted for another year. The brugmansia are too big to keep after this year. It now takes 3 people to lift them (once potted), one is 10 years old or older. It will break my heart to see them die this fall but I will concentrate on cuttings. Even my night blooming cereus is probably too large to keep. Pieces are already rooting, this is a sport named 'Mark Twain', a variety that actually came from his house in Hartford, CT. The flowering time is 10:00 PM rather than 11 or later and the flowers are a bit larger than the species. Fifteen enormous buds will open this week, and so it begins. Below is 'Mark Twain' on the right with the straight Epiphyllum oxypetalum on the left.
Now if the moonvine would just climb the supports they have been provided and stop grabbing everything else. With that I promise not to bitch when they have swallowed the garden in August.
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