My weather app is inadequately preparing me each day, or maybe it just can’t keep up: We’ve had temps in the mid-90’s, all the way down to the low-50’s with both intense sun and rain showers. May is increasingly becoming a month in which Anything Goes. But finally, between tests and essays online, and anxious trips to the store for supplies, I was able to dodge the weather and cut some flowers for a May arrangement.
I love this new vase, a perfect mix of art and science! It also really highlights the more fragile blossoms, of which we have many this time of year (summer flowers seem much more sturdy somehow). I knew I wanted to highlight the red Flanders poppies, so called because they flourish in a meadow called Flanders in Belgium. During the Great War, they did not bloom for four years, but after war was over, the poppies began blooming again. They symbolize the hope that seized us all after the war. And I figure, we could use a little hope right now, yes?
Poppies don’t last long in vases, but apparently you can extend it by searing the ends of the stems with a match. I don’t bother, because I appreciate their ephemeral qualities. I’ve combined them with other delicate blooms from the garden - white columbine, purple Foothill penstemon, and fragrant sweet peas.
The garden is very much a riot right now, with all kinds of flowers opening up, vines twining, vegetables starting to produce tiny fruit, and bees everywhere. We’re back to getting 5-6 eggs a day and I am freezing some for the next low-production point. I just crack two at a time into little mason jars and stick them in the freezer. I’ve been cutting and drying herbs like crazy, and my plantain “confit” (as Adam calls it) is about ready to be mixed with melted beeswax and made into a salve. More on that later (first we have to get some beeswax from the hive!). I have a long list of woody plants to prune, now that they’ve finished their spring bloom, and more straw to mound on potatoes, and seeds to sow! I just have to get through finals first.
I’d very much like to hear what’s happening in your gardens. I’ve certainly heard of more crazy weather (i.e. snowstorms) in other areas this spring. How’s your garden looking?