Begin the planting!

North side: Herbs & peppers

After a few trips to a variety of nurseries in my area I have found a variety of vegetables and herbs to plant.  I have decided to plant my herbs and pepper plants in a smaller section of my backyard.  My family has a small grassy area in our backyard with either side available to grow herbs and leafy greens.  I have chosen the north side of the grass to plant rosemary, oregano, sage, basil, dill, chives, Thai dragon peppers, pepperoncinis and banana peppers.  Most of the items were either bought this year or transplanted from pots which were grown from seed in previous years (i.e., chives and sage).  I have bought a few basil plants but I have also planted Thai basil and sweet basil by seed. 

South side: Leafy greens are sprouting!

On the south side of the grass, shaded by the house, I have planted a variety of leafy greens.  I chose to plant all of these greens by seed and am very pleased with the sprouts that have pushed through the ground in a little over a week.  I have planted a variety of lettuce mixes, arugula, and cilantro.  I am also planning on planting long green onions and radishes if the leafy greens reach maturity before July.  LGOs and radishes grow very quickly and are a great addition to any salad.

Lemon Grass

In previous years I have grown strawberries and herbs in large pots and this year is no different.   I chose to keep my aloe plant in a large pot so that the plant does not spread and grow to large.  Additionally, I love catnip plants but find that my feline companions just love rolling, sitting, eating and squashing the delicate plant.  To keep the catnip protected I have decided to keep the catnip in a pot and have placed a cage around it to keep out unwanted purring intruders.  A new addition to the potted garden is a small lemon grass plant my received from a friend at work.  I have never grown lemon grass before and hope that it takes off and fills the pot by the end of the summer.

Strawberries