Ahhh...I'm so behind in starting seeds! I've been busy in the garden, though, which will end up being about 8 times bigger than last year's was. We still have possession of this insanely powerful rototiller that belongs to my father-in-law - I like to refer to it as The Terminator. The other day it bit right through a tree root the size of my wrist without even thinking about it.

Last weekend I planted 25 June-bearing strawberry plants (earliglow), and a few days ago I got the everbearing plants (Ozark beauty) in the ground. The peas are up, and looking nice and strong - English peas and sugar snap peas. Lots of 'em. Even the four little pea plants that Dusty started in the house and transplanted are hanging in there.

The eighteen cabbage plants are doing well - nine red, and nine green (I think the name might be Dutch flat? I can't recall, I'm not really a Cabbage Girl). I have just one brussels sprout plant in the ground - she's chillin' with the cabbage. I'm a sucker for funny looking plants, even if I can't ever bring my picky self to eat a brussels sprout.

My batshit-crazy neighbour (yeah, more about her later) gave me some feverfew plants, in exchange for some of my two year old parsley. Score. I divided my chives and moved most to the new herb garden in the backyard. Oh, and red onion sets are in - I must've planted fifty of the damn things. No, I don't like to eat onions either, but I do use them in cooking. More importantly, I have people who want to buy them.

I planted a bunch of parsnip seeds at the far south end of the garden, where I can forget about them til November or so. Oh man, I LOVE parsnips. Seriously. One of my favourite foods.

Oh, and I interplanted mizuna (mustard greens) amongst the peas.

The Big Giant Huge Herb Garden With The Pond In It And A Hammock In It Too is coming along - whee! I'm terribly excited about this. Tomorrow I'll be working on constructing my three foot high tortoise-proof fence. Yeah, three feet'll be enough - tortoises aren't great jumpers. So far, that garden doesn't contain much, but oh, it will - right now, it's mostly the onions and chives, along with some columbine, yarrow, and poppies, and the wee viola that Dusty planted All By Self at his little preschool program - aww.

I just realized tonight that I haven't started my eggplant, and I bought a really pretty variety from Baker Creek this year too - damn. It's probably too late to start from seed now.

I do love this time of year, just going out and peeking in on all the perennials - it's like Christmas. I have this habit of picking up half dead perennials at the grocery store, hardware store, etc. at the end of the season for next to nothing. Then, come spring - woo! Life!

In my front perennial/herb bed I have echinacea, globe thistle, daisies, bee balm, blue flax, yarrow, campenula, hollyhocks, lemon thyme, sage, gazanias, columbines, lavender. And it looks as though my Egyptian walking onions have indeed been a-walking! They're coming up all over the place. I adore crazy-ass plants like that.