Good Thursday morning on this last day of May. It is very cool this morning--only a bit over 50.  And cloudy.  With a bit of a breeze.  We haven't had any rain yet.  So I think it is time for some gardening pictures and update.  First up--one of the two spearmint plants from cuttings from the plant I bought last year.  Like all mints, these behave much like the weeds they once were.  I have already harvested two dehydrator trays of leaves earlier in the week.  They root so easily that taking cuttings may be the best way to get next year's plants.

 This is one of the new mints this year--orange mint.  I harvested one tray from this plant.  Another candidate for cuttings later in the season. I am looking forward to adding it to my hot tea over the winter.  Hmmmm--may do that with the iced tea this summer.

 I added savory to the herb line up this year.  Mom found some herbal/spice mixes that are good salt substitutes that call for savory.  She finished up the store bought stock so, when I found seedlings at our favorite farm market, I picked up two.  I haven't looked up the specifics on how hardy it is or if I can propagate by cuttings.  I find herbs are a bit difficult to start from seed.

 This is the view of the right side of the patio.  I have corn planted at the back, the three blueberries on the board between the two back containers, plus basil, sunflowers, patchouli, stevia, tansy, pyrethrum, love-in-a-mist, peppers, tomatoes, mints, roses, butter bush squash, beans, cucumbers, and vine peach in the various containers.

Here is a close up of my mini-roses.  I rescued two of the plants last year.  A friend saw them at a Walgreens store and thought they would make nice gifts on a Mother's day.  I got one just because she thought I would like it.  (I am not a mother.)  Mom let me take over hers.  As usual with stores like Walgreens, the plants were crammed into a small pot to make a nice but temporary show.  I trimmed them back, reduced the number of plants to the strongest from each pot, and transplanted them into larger pots.  They overwintered in a large container and this spring I put all three in one of the large pots I got at the end of last season.  I added another rose last year that has a heavenly scent.  The only scented mini-rose I have found so far.  Just love walking by it.

Sage and lemon verbena.

 Another new herb--variegated marjoram.  We visited one of the other farm seasonal farm markets earlier in the spring and found this item.  One of my few truly impulse buys.

 Second year for this rosemary.  It spent the winter indoors and I was not at all sure it would recover. It is not hardy in my zone and I think it didn't like the lower light levels inside over winter.  This year I am going to try using one of the daylight balanced fluorescent lights to provide more light for all of the inside plants.  But it is coming back nicely.

 This is one of the heirloom lettuces.  Isn't it pretty.

 Oregano--one of two.  The other (not shown) I started from seed.  Again, starting this herb from seed is difficult.  I didn't think I would get anything from the seeds I planted.  And one is not a very good sprouting yield.

Another pot of really pretty heirloom lettuce.

 The mini-greenhouse is still in operation.  That is where I will keep the lettuces and spinach going this year.  I did put a bit in the beds in odd spaces but the greenhouse seems a better place.

And this wild monster is my two-year-old German thyme.  I need to cut it back a bit.  But I got quite a bit of thyme last year so I probably won't harvest any this year.  It spent the winter in one of the big containers and I wasn't sure it had survived.  Clearly--it did.

Enjoy!!