Gardening

I admit I'm not much of a gardener.  I really don't enjoy playing around in the dirt.  However, every spring I head to my local Lowes and pick up an assortment of herbs.

I usually get 3 or 4 basil plants, some mint, oregano, and as a tribute to Simon and Garfunkle - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.  Most times they don't amount to much, they either die or go to seed before I get a chance to harvest them.

This year is different.  I didn't buy my usual assortment, but did buy about 6 basil plants, some mint, parsley and oregano.  I heard that putting used coffee grounds in the soil feeds the plants, so I thought why not.  I couldn't do any worse than in previous years.

I don't know if it was the coffee, all the rain we had earlier, or after all these years, my thumb has become green.  My basil is thriving.  I have made 5 batches of pesto, plus I've taken some leaves for salads and there is still plenty.  I haven't harvested the mint yet, think I'll do that this week.

 

As you can see, I don't put them into the ground, I keep them in pots.  At the rate they're doing this year, I may be able to take them into the house in the fall.

 

 

While I was checking the plants tonight, I saw a pot of soil from last year that I had abandoned to the elements.  Among the weeds, there seemed to be some basil leaves and on the other side of the pot, some mint leaves.

 

Ah yes, this is a very good year.