This is my only rose bush. I planted it about 3 1/2 years ago and it hasn't grown 1 inch since then! But it's still alive; that's a plus. It's a Peace Rose, a tea rose. The coloring is so beautiful - a pale pink on the outer edges of the petals, to peach, to yellow in the center.
The temperatures are now in the 80's during the day and we had at least 12 hours of heavy rain 2 days ago, so everything is exploding into bloom or fruit! This is also, unfortunately, the time when insects (flying or crawling) really invade the garden. Most of my plants are in containers, so they are being visited by flying insects that are trying to eat all the young vegetable buds before they grow into full-sized veggies. They are attacking my strawberries before I pick the ripe ones; they are flying around my tomatoes like bees making honey.
I'm wondering if these flying insects might be the "love bugs" we get down here at this time of year. I suspect that they are not because I don't remember love bugs attacking my vegetables last year at this time. The bugs I have look similar to small flies and there are hundreds of them around my plants. I don't want to use any chemicals on my garden, so if anyone knows what they may be, let me know so I can find a safe option to get rid of them.
(Above) The azalea bonsai I received in early March has begun producing pink flowers on it today. I was worried about overwatering it, but it must be doing well.
(Above) This is the first time I've tried growing bush beans and I'm pleased that they look so healthy and so far no insects have tried to eat them (cross your fingers). I've probably jinxed myself by saying that. Anyway, they've got flowers on them now so I'm really eager to eat the first fully developed green bean this year.
I've picked and eaten zucchini, strawberries, potatoes and tomatoes from my little container garden this year and I can't even begin to find the words that describe how much flavor there is in a home-grown fruit or vegetable. They taste the way they were meant to taste originally, I guess. I eat them the same day I pick them, so there isn't time for them to lose an iota of their flavor. Full taste. Wonderful! That's why I find it so rewarding to grow a little garden, I suppose.
Speaking of potatoes, I have to say that planting potato eyes that have sprouted really gives back about 10 times the amount you planted. One eye has produced anywhere from 6 to 12 potatoes; some small, some medium. If I could be patient and wait a little while longer, they would all be bigger, but I had to make some potato salad for dinner yesterday. Below is yesterday's little haul.
I have a second butternut squash beginning to form. I think you can see both of them in the photo below. The larger one is at the top of the picture, just left of center, and the new one is at the bottom with the blossom still attached.
And below is a not very good picture of my Hungarian hot pepper plant which is left over from last season. It produced very well last fall and lived through the cold of winter. Now it's come back and it looks like I'll get a few more hot peppers this year, as well. They are really hard to see because they are the same color as the leaves, but there are 2 teeny peppers in the photo.
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