Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Working in the Garden on a Rainy Morning
I woke up this morning to the sound of another torrential downpour and after much consideration over a steaming latte decided I would not be deterred. There would be enough breaks in the rain and places to shelter; I would proceed with plans to work in the garden.
I would target my herb bed where the rosemary had become a tree crowding out everything else. Out he would come to be replaced with a smaller version that hopefully would be contained. I would add another variety of lavender to the bed and surround it with some new varieties of mint. One simply cannot have too much lavender.
I would plant the fuchsia starts along with some basket stuffers and hope they do better than last year. Isn’t spring gardening (like spring baseball) all about hope?
And I would stop to admire the delicacy of the azalea, the faithful and often underappreciated workhorse of the Northwest garden.
That would have to do for today.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Can you really plant lavender, who likes it dry, and mint who likes it wet together where you live? Certainly wouldn’t work here, but I know lavender grows well in the NW….love Blue Heron Herbary and all their lavenders.
My lavender has always done very well and nothing can stop mint which almost becomes invasive. Although we are very soggy here most of the year, we are very dry in mid to late summer which the lavender appreciates. 🙂
Our rosemary has also taken over. But it has a nice fragrance, so we left it to grow. We don’t have the right soil for azaleas here, a plant we would love to grow.
Best wishes, Pete.
Hi Pete. I too love rosemary but needed the space it had taken over. So the new one will hopefully stay small enough for a couple years. And both rhododendrons and azaleas grow like crazy here, given the right spot. Thanks as always for your comment. 🙂
Your garden looks beautiful; ours is more utilitarian, with beautiful highlights. I’ll suggest lavender to my husband, who is the garden planter. Planting a bunch in Effieland, and also some chamomile, would keep her calm! Lavender would be a trooper here in the semi-arid steppes.
Thank you. 🙂 Lavender should do great there. The cats love it and so do the bees. They love the catmint too! I shall have to try chamomile as well! 🐝
I’m not so big on bees. . .but they do pollinate things. . . .
The honey bees love lavender and ignore people… They really are very friendly.. 😊
That’s a very tidy garden 🙂
My husband is responsible for the bones of the garden. He makes the beds and I fill them! 😊
Send him over here, please!
😊😊😊
Oh goodness, these photos are simply amazing! I adore your raised beds and the choices of herbs you’ve chosen. Lavender is indeed heavenly 🙂
Aw thanks so much! My husband built the beds for me and does the heavy lifting in the garden. I have the fun part to fill them with living things! And lavender is one of my favorites. 🙂
You two make a great team! 🙂
Thank you! 😊