On Sunday, I spent almost two hours in the garden with Lucy and it felt so good to just be outside. I somehow got all of my spring seeds planted while also taking 1000 photos and videos of Lucy at the same time. Everything I'm planting this spring and summer has an easy factor to it. I know I won't be spending mindless hours in the garden (although I would love to). All of the seeds I'll be mentioning below are from Botanical Interests and you can purchase them online or if you are local to Atlanta, you can find them at Pike Nurseries. Above is our garden all mapped out and I can't recommend doing this enough, so you can remember where everything is located.
One thing that I'm excited to grow for the first time is chamomile. I love to drink chamomile tea and I love the flowers even more. It seems fairly easy to grow and I'm just picturing myself clipping bunches of chamomile to put in vases throughout our home. I literally just raked the seeds into the soil and that was it. I planted them in our herb/garlic bed, and also in between where I planted our sugar daddy snap peas. Sugar Daddy snap peas are super sweet and so much fun to grow with kids.
In our lettuce bed, I planted Easter egg blend radishes. Radishes are so simple to grow and I love this variety. They are so delicious in a salad and the colors are fun! Speaking of lettuce, I have rocket arugula growing, chef's medley, and buttercrunch growing. I also have dinosaur kale growing in our small bed next to the lettuce. Dinosaur kale is my favorite. It tastes delicious in a soup with sausage or is delightful added in a pasta dish.
In late January, I sprinkled poppy seeds and snapdragon seeds throughout the beds. This was an experiment, so we will see if anything happens. I also just sprinkled this fairy meadow mix with the kids and I hope they come up! I love experimenting in the garden and that makes it fun for me. Gardening should be relaxing and fun! That is one of the main reasons why I do it.
Moving onto the summer garden, in April, so far I'll be planting:
- Apricot Cosmos
- Lilliput Zinnias
- Zinderella Peach Zinnias (Floret Farm)
Dahlia Seeds: I want to mention that Dahlia seeds will turn into tubers and you can save them. We ended up keeping them all in the ground and they have come up two years in a row.
- Bee's Choice Mix Dahlias (Floret Farm)- I've had the best luck with these and wow are they beautiful!
- Bloomquist Mix Dahlias (Triple Wren Farms, a new farm for me and I'm excited to try)
- Field Crossing Mix Dahlias (Triple Wren Farms)
- Dahlia Cactus Flowered Blend (Botanical Interest)
I love visiting 3 Porch Farm every April to buy plants from their plant sale, this is what I'm planning on getting:
- Fairytale Eggplant
- Bristol Cucumber
- Flashy Trout Lettuce
- Variety of Sweet Peppers
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Various Herbs
Next week, I'm planning on doing some stories in the garden, so feel free to send me any questions you have about your spring planting. - Ashleigh
