popcorn.

We’ll be doing ‘maters for sure. I’m also hoping some persimmon seeds sprout that I’ve kept chilling in the fridge all winter as directed. And once the loquat fruit starts falling in the backyard I going to make my second attempt at getting some of those seeds growing.

The problem with our backyard is that its situated amids/among some serious trees that prevent it from getting a good amount of sun so we’re restricted to growing in the little corners and crannies that do.

Yeah, beware zucchini. My parents have them, and they just get ridiculous. They get to simply enormous sizes, and there are so many of them! I mean, it’s great to have them, but you start to feel like you have to eat more zucchini because you don’t want them to go to waste, and the neighbors start to silently resent you for loading your problem zucchini off onto them.

One year my wife and I planted some lettuce…like the zucchini, it just got to be too much. The leaves grew to giant sizes–my wife called it “lettuce from the land time forgot.” They were like some huge prehistoric plants.

Herbs are probably a good bet, because they’re always nice to have around. Mint, cilantro, chives…yum!

The usual except the last entry is new….tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, sunflowers and artichokes. Just give me one artichoke and i will be happy. i promise i will let the plant grow 5 feet wide and tall and let the flowers on it bloom purple …just god if you hear me….one edible artichoke please.

Artichokes are gorgeous when they bloom. I have a volunteer sunflower coming up, he’s been hiding since last year. I love that.

Julia, I totally agree with how awesome artichokes look when bloomed?blooming?blossomed? You all get the jest.They really are a unique garden addition. Although I don’t care for the gigantic bees they attract. :) The annual wild flowers in the yard have all come in nicely this year. Its just so so nice to be outdoors this time of year and check out all the stuff you did not plant that the wind blew in.(except the weeds) I think I just turned into my mother and grandmother.

But in a good way!

The gigantic bees attracted by artichokes are probably carpenter bees. While the females have stingers they are widely considered to be non-aggressive.

Beyond my sales pitch to lezgull on how harmless they can be, let us remember that without bees to pollinate there’d be absolutely no hope for that one edible artichoke.

Thank you Will…..bring on the bees!!!!! :)

LOL and thank you Julia. For a second I felt like the Dianne Keaton character in Crimes of the Heart….”there she is out there gardening wearing the lime green gloves of a dead woman”.

Please disregard if you do not reference. :)Makes me sound like a crazy gardener of the Motel Hell type.

I have black thumbs!

Actually, I always procrastinate and plant too late or not at all. I’d be happy just to plant the wildflowers I say I’ll do every year. Maybe I should think about some veggies that my guinea pigs can eat. : )

Sweet peas and cilandtro have to be planted early. When summer comes cilantro immediately tries to flower, peas can’t stand the summer heat.

Some miniature “sunflowers are Jerusalem artichoke which have edible roots. I suppose a lot of sunflower lovers want the smaller variety to put in their vases.

Even though we had several persimmon trees I never seen a persimmon seed grow. However some loquat trees have little trees sprouting everywhere. If I see some I will spot them and tell you where they are located.

How much space do you need for sweet peas? Do you have build some kind of structure for them?

I’ve yet to ever try a jerusalem artichoke, but I hear they are delicious.

tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes… and basil of course. This year I’m trying arugula, spinach, lettuce and peas too. We’ll see. Usually the tomatoes are the winner!

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