First Tomato of the Season!

chocolate cherry 5-26, originally uploaded by Bumble Lush.

Husband and I spent the holiday weekend in Charlottesville, VA, continuing our self-directed American History tour (will post about that getaway later), but before we left, I noticed that one of the tomato plants has fruit. Two cute little tomatoes have formed on the chocolate cherry tomato plant. We've never grown this type before, and I'm looking forward to tasting them.

I've been taking pictures of most of my veggie plants every week to follow their progress, but sometimes things seem to happen overnight. The weekend was hot, sunny, and humid, and I think the plants loved it. When we came back last night (we were only gone two days), so many of the tomato plants had doubled in size. I can't wait to see how things continue to grow. Maybe my veggie garden this year won't be a total loss.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Strawberry Season Is Here!

berry harvest 5-16, originally uploaded by Bumble Lush.

It's Year 2 of my strawberry patch, and I've had two berry harvests so far this month. The picture above is a pint I harvested last Wednesday.



A few days before, I had harvested a half-pint from my patch. We ate the berries as snacks and mixed some into smoothies. The next batch we harvest may have to go into pancakes or a shortcake.



We went to my father-in-law's for the weekend, and when we got back yesterday afternoon, I noticed more red in the patch. It's raining pretty hard today, but I need to go out and harvest those ripe berries. I'm happy to see that some of them are pretty big!




My FIL's friend Al (who has an amazing vegetable garden in Oklahoma), suggested that we pinch of the buds during the strawberry plants' first year. This helps establish the plants and encourages greater growth in the second year. I got that advice too late, and didn't snip any buds off last year. But our strawberries this year are bigger and more prolific than they were last year anyway. We love strawberries, and I'm happy to have some home-grown berries to harvest and add a little burst of color to the garden.

Today I'm linking up with Daphne's Dandelions' Harvest Monday and joining others in showing off our harvests.

p.s. A post I wrote last year on how to freeze strawberries.

The Hostas' Progress

hostas 4-14-12, originally uploaded by Bumble Lush.

What a difference a few weeks make. These are my hostas on April 14, when the plant on the right started to emerge--much later than its friend on the left. (I was happy to see those little shoots, I didn't think it was coming back).




Here they are just 11 days later, on April 25.




And here they are on May 6. The plant on the right is fully grown, just 3 weeks after it popped out of the soil. Amazing.

May Blooms

White Azalea Bush, originally uploaded by Bumble Lush.

As I wait for my vegetable seedlings to get growing (and pray that my neglect over the last few weeks hasn't prevented me from having home-grown veggies this summer), I am enjoying a few blooms around my garden.
First up is the white azalea bush, a late bloomer (just like me!)



The sage plant is flowering with some pretty lavender flowers.





And two of the hydrangeas have started to bloom: the pink and blue Endless Summers. The Brestenburg variety (not pictured) is in a container. It has buds but no blooms yet...

I'm a day early, but I'll be linking up with Carol's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme (at May Dreams Gardens). I'm looking forward to seeing what's in bloom in other gardens this month. Happy GBBD!