Bloom Time

Right about this time of year, as spring is dwindling and summer is ready to burst onto the scene, gardens take center stage full and lush. Except mine. It occurs to me that because this is the planting year of my perennials that they will not exactly look abundant. In fact, they look a little anemic. My black-eyed Susans are still barely more than seedlings even though they've been in the ground since March. Hmm, maybe that's not a good example, but all in all everything looks slightly --- thin.

The vegetables are another story. The early girl tomatoes are not only blooming, they are producing fruit which is copius and ready to ripen. Yipee!

I also discovered my lilac bush has doubled in size since planting. For this, I thank the worm poop sticks that I shoved in the ground with it. Hooray for worm poop!

Most wonderful, however, are the blooms, simple flower blooms that I feel like I've worked so long to see. The purple coneflower, grown from seed, is now a bountiful bloomer (see photo). The colors are so bright and so intense that they make me happy just looking at them; they give me such a great vibe.

Now the next thing I'd like to learn is how to use the medicinal parts of the plant, since purple coneflower is, after all, echinacea. Next step -- plant wizardry!