They tell me in sweet fragrant meadows of dawn and dew

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The worm he licks my bones

The first bulb has emerged (but it has flowered yet) from the pumpkin-or-squash plant (I will have to double-check with my dad on what type of plant this is).

I encountered a very long worm, a tiny orange spider, and several ants, all in the same proximity. It really goes to show how much life there is in even the smallest places.

I haven't planted the other plants yet, but the some of the tomatoes are starting to grow! I'll post a picture of them once they're red. I also feel like I've made the garden too organized. You see, I visited my grandma's garden the other day, and she grows several of the same herb in the same area, not in rows like how I do. She is able to use her space more wisely. I might use the same strategy, so we'll see!

Fixing a Hole

The herbs have been doing well, except the other day I discovered that the infamous mint has escaped from the garden plots and into the pathway! I removed it, but I wasn't able to completely remove the roots and now there is a hole in the landscape fabric. I closed it off with a rock, so hopefully the mint won't grow back.

 

I've discovered that many ants live beneath the garden too. I knew before that there was a village of ants in the back right corner of Plot A, but I guess they've migrated to the front right corner! I's also almost time to weed the plots again. There are difference types of weeds depending on the season. These ones look like they came out of Jurassic Park! I think they look very pretty in the water, but they're taking away nutrients from the herbs, so I'll have to get rid of them.

Here Comes the Sun

My dad bought additional plants (including tomatoes!) from the swap meet a few weeks ago that have yet to be planted. I will plant them sometime this weekend in Plot C. I didn't realize that each individual herb would take up so much space, so I've decided not to plant flowers in Plot C anymore in order to dedicate the area to herbs. My dad brought up the idea of planting flowers in some pots and putting them around the garden, so that's definitely an option!

The other day when I finished watering the plants, I encountered some more earwigs (and a spider!) among the lemongrass. I couldn't get a decent picture of one, but today I was able to. And on another note, I noticed how "hairy" some of the plants are getting.

 I will make some sort of structure (perhaps out of bamboo sticks) so that the plants with tendrils can coil around something. The plants have been creative and have coiled their tendrils around some green onion and a plastic barrier. With no where to go, some of the tendrils have even formed a bundle.

Overall, the plants in the soil are looking good. They're much bigger than before and have been receiving plenty of water. I've also found plenty of gardening tips and ideas on Pinterest that would better the garden, and Spring has brought a lot of sunshine with her. The garden is doing well!

He got muddy water

The other day I was watering the garden, and a pool of water began to form. It reminded me of what Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut currently living in space abroad the International Space Station, had said in a video:

"We are going around the world eight kilometers a second. The sun and the earth are sort of in a fixed geometry, but we’re moving, so the angle between us and the sun and the earth is changing, and therefore the reflection of the sunlight changes, so we get a sun glint off the surface, and you can see water on the surface so nicely in the sun glint... pick out rivers and lakes and ponds. You can follow a whole river as the sun glints along it, something that you could barely see normally, and you catch the sun’s glint and it glows like a silver worm or a vein of ore, and then the angle changes and it’s as if someone turned the lights off on the river, and it wakes up."

Chris Hadfield's view of the Saint Lawrence's mouth from the ISS.

The water was just a puddle until the sun illuminated, and it mirrored the sun in its intensity.
  
Today I noticed that the water from the hose was beginning to erode the soil. The plot isn't leveled, with some soil stacked higher than other areas, so when I water the plants, it streams down and mimics a river. I also noticed the return of the mint. The roots are so frustrating. I'll be sure to trim the roots next time before I plant a plant.

Plant Wars: Return of the Mint

The earwigs weren't present today on the lemongrass, but snails were! I actually think snails are quite charming, although they are considered a garden pest.

To sum up this post, the garden has become so diverse. It has so many facets to it, and it surprises me everyday. I notice its new things constantly!

Find me in my field of grass

I've been watering the herbs, and earlier today I decided to trim the lemongrass while I was at it. All was going well until I noticed an earwig perched on the underside of a grass. It caught me by surprise, but I ignored it and continued to trim the dead sections of the plant. Then I realized there wasn't just one; there was a whole colony (maybe I'm exaggerating). But I put down my scissors and stopped gardening for the rest of the day. I researched if earwigs and lemongrass had any relationship, but nothing came up oddly.
Anyway, later this week I plan on planting some tomatoes and chili peppers! They'll add nice new colors to a blanket of green. Since tomatoes are fairly easy to grow, I'm going to use seeds from grocery store tomatoes. Hopefully no other bugs are attracted to them.

Desmond has his barrow in the market place

Today my dad and I went to the swap meet and purchased ten herbs, including mint, basil, and oregano. When I went to the backyard later in the day, I was surprised to see that new weeds had already sprouted up, even though I had recently weeded them. Like Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park would say, "Life found a way." My mom and I weeded some of the ones not in the plots to make the garden a bit more aesthetically pleasing. I had to cut off some overgrown roots from the new guys to prevent another Mint Root Invasion of '12-'13. And this time, I added tomato cages to some of the herbs so that they would grow neat and orderly in an upward direction. My next mission to plant some tomatoes and peppers in Plot B.