The Garden in April

Things have been busy this past week, plus I've been sick, so content has been a little light. Things are starting to pick up in the garden, but first an update on this year's winter sowing project:

I had to resow most of my seeds about 3 weeks ago due to a late spring freeze. Even though I covered my tubs with their lids, the new seedlings weren't acclimated enough to handle warm weather and then a freeze, so most got zapped. The greener, lusher seedlings you see in the back are mostly Giant Italian Parsley, which seemed to fare perfectly fine. There are a few borage and poppy seedlings back there too. I am going to have a ton of parsley this year!

A mental note for next year's winter sowing - stay away from peat pots! Those things are horrible for winter sowing and wick out all the moisture from the soil. I won't use them again!

Most importantly, my reseeded heirloom tomatoes came up! They are only about an inch tall right now, but I'm hoping they catch up:

Elsewhere in the garden, things are doing well. This year's greens are coming along. I have mixed lettuce, spinach, baby bok choi, and pea shoots growing up the trellis. I learned from last year to put my greens in the shadier, back beds:

Since most of my zucchini and squash seedlings got zapped by the late freeze, I broke down and bought some "Black Beauty" zucchini seedlings and planted them. Only one of these is a surviving "Fordhook" zuch from my winter sowing batch. Other plants here are parsley, catnip, and rhubarb:

My garlic looks fabulous this year! I've decided to try something new and plant only 4 tomatoes per bed to give them more air circulation and a stronger fight against fungus. This is 4 "Early Girl" seedlings:

Elsewhere in the yard, my back porch perennial bed is looking nice. The dianthus is blooming here and it is so pretty. I've been slowly pulling out the invasive yellow, echinacea, which is a beast. It's pretty when it blooms, but it needs controlling.

I heard my first hummingbird "squeak" yesterday afternoon, so it was time to mix up a batch of hummingbird nectar and put out the feeder. It's funny, as the hummers showed up on the exact same day last year (according to my notes). It's said they can remember and recognize people's faces, much like crows, so when they see you in the yard, they call out.

All the furniture for the back porch is down in the basement until the heaviest pollen "sludge" is over with. It's such a shame that one of the most pleasant times of the year to be outside is also a time I don't want to be out there! April and May are our worst-of-the-worst pollen months.

Lastly, a pretty columbine flower. I grew this from seed and almost lost it to voles this winter, but it came back. I love these things and could have a whole yard of them!