2026 CW19 - What’s GROWing On?
The Big Picture: Beds and Rows
Our layout this year is a mix of structure and tradition. You can see the wide view of our in-ground rows, which are looking incredibly lush and filled in. For a different perspective, you can also see a view of our raised beds, where everything from herbs to tomatoes is thriving in close quarters.
Summer Squash
The squash are currently the most dramatic residents of the patch. You can see the vibrant yellow squash blossoms peeking out from under massive green leaves, while the other image reveals the reward for all that flowering—plenty of young yellow squash ready to grow.
Beans and Peppers
Finally, we have some heavy hitters coming along in the pepper department. Here we show off our bell peppers, which have already reached a mature size and are looking glossy and healthy on the vine. Not to be outdone, our bush beans have created a solid carpet of green and are loaded with delicate white flowers. It won't be long before these make it from the garden to the kitchen!
Party in the Front
Heading up to the front yard we are met with the continued dazzling display of flowers. This year’s hanging baskets continue to earn their position as the “Best Hanging Baskets Ever” for the Bosarge household with their display of overwhelming Coleus, petite Dahlias, and fluorescent Potato Vine!
Down the house a bit we are met with an extremely fragrant display of Gardenia blooms! You may recall that we moved most of these to the back fenceline this year after continued problems with the concrete foundation leeching and the Gladiolus suffocating them, but one of the stronger Gardenia’s was left. We also have a view of a first for this season Day Lilly putting on a display of dusty rose petals.
Around the corner is a special little Agapanthus complete with a few extra blooms branching from the main stem. This is a behavior that we have not observed in Agapanthus previously, but we are excited to see where this whimsical mutation takes us! Also, if you recall we collected a dying Dianthus from the clearance section at Lowe’s. It is doing great, and we are seeing new blooms every week! It seems to enjoy its new home.
The After Party - Gladiolus
If the hanging baskets and the assortment of perennials are the party, the absolute deluge of Gladiolus blooms is the after party! My personal favorite, the Priscilla Gladiolus with its white and yellow centers surrounded by a vibrant pink lining, has come to full maturity!
The Pink Gladiolus continue to put on a show, couples with the smaller, less dense blooms of the Wild Gladiolus. Thes Glads may not have the same size and density of the selectively bred varieties, but I find their texture and orange/yellow pattern to be quite captivating!
Most of these Gladiolus struggle in the rain, and we end up finding them broken and laid over on the sidewalk after any moderate storms! Fortunately, this gives us a great excuse to harvest some Glads from the front and place them in arrangements throughout the house! You can see one such arrangement (with some guest star Dahlias!) on our Kitchen Island in this image.
Bugs, Bugs, and More Bugs!
Simultaneously one of our favorite and most dreadful garden experiences is the surprise of a new bug! Unfortunately, these little guys are not always a welcome sight! Take for a example our recent invasion of Army Worms and baby Hornworms in our tomato patch! These little slimy lumps of destruction can take a once bountiful tomato patch to a wasteland overnight without a keen eye and timely intervention!
One of the most welcomes sights in the garden is the sudden appearance of an assortment of bees jumping from delicate bloom to fluorescent flower! This week, we saw bees on everything from the freshly opened Liatris to the continuous stream of Zinnias and the early morning Squash flowers!
Beyond the unwelcomed guests and the busy bees, the garden is also filled with special visitors like the Moth on the Chaste Tree and a Ladybug found deep in the throat of a Gladiolus flower.
Business, No, Party in the Back [Too]!
Moving to the backyard, the blooming sensation continues! The roses are continuing their early spring show with more blooms from the Peggy Martin and fresh shoots of soon to open buds on the Red Knockouts!
The Hydrangeas are continuing to produce fresh vibrant flowers framed by their ever-healthy wax green foliage! Also, the Jacobinia, a new plant for us this year, has fully opened showing off its fountain of white blooms!
Finally, our backyard bulbs are blowing up! The Tigridia has shown its first signs of color with a delicate pink bloom, the Liatris is continuing its slow presentation with a few whispy pink tendrils beginning to show at the tip of the stems, and the deep maroon Dahlias are really coming into their prime!
Under the Tree!
Moving to the back, we continue to enjoy the Live Oak along the back fence with its Resurrection Fern decorating its girthy branches and the magical hanging baskets holding their Dragon Wing Begonias and Silver Falls.
A little surprise awaited us this week under the Live Oak along the stems of a young Elephant Ear plant. Here we find a VERY COOL slime mold developing on the stem. This is actually a soil born Protist which finds its way to the surface to reproduce. These tiny yellow balls, perfectly spaced, suspended by tiny white trunks provide such a fun, Dr. Suess like character to the garden.
New Plants!
This week, we welcome several new additions! First, we found a volunteer Magnolia tree sprouting under one of our Maple Trees. I quickly harvested this free loader and transferred it to private pot! Also, Sara found herself with a new (to us) car and within the hour we had filled it with plants! In this case, the haul of Jasmine is part of a Mother’s Day gift which I’ll share more about in the coming weeks.
Supervisors!
This week was a little light on supervisors! Scout spent most of her time lurking in the shadows of the back fence line and Henry never sat still enough for a picture! That leaves Yoda as the only Guardian of the Garden. The OG, the GOAT, the Tiger!
