Watching the plants grow.

My garden is getting big. The green beans are six inches tall, with the zinnias and cosmos not far behind. The nasturtiums look like some kind of mini Dr. Seuss umbrella plants. Everything seems really happy, with the exception of one of the Red Pearl tomatoes, which I think got nibbled by something and only has one tiny little leaf so far. But it's still growing, so I'm just going to wait and see what happens.

So everything is doing great. And yet, it's not quite exciting now as it was a week or two ago. Satisfying, yes, and still magical, but not quite as exciting. Now when the green beans grow an inch in one day, it doesn't mean they've doubled in size like it did when they first emerged, so I don't notice it as much now. I still find myself walking to the kitchen window to stare at the little plants several times a day, but now its more just to enjoy the sight of them, instead of looking for new growth.

And then there's the mint and thyme, the only two plants that have yet to sprout. I think the mint just didn't germinate for whatever reason, and a few days ago I planted some new seeds. But the thyme takes such a long time to germinate, I can't tell if it's just late, or if I should start again. According to the seed packet, I've just gotten in to the time frame that it's expected to come up. I think, though, if it doesn't come up soon, I'm going to try starting it and the mint in pots, where I can keep a closer eye on them and make sure they're ok. Both have such incredibly tiny seeds and need to be so close to the surface of the soil that I wonder if they just got pushed too deep by the rain or got washed away. So we'll see. I haven't given up yet!

There was one cool new thing that I noticed last week: the garden is moving now. I don't mean that it got up and is walking around (though that would be kind of cool...), but that some of the plants are now big enough to wiggle in the breeze. When all the seedlings were tiny, they didn't really move much, even in the middle of a thunderstorm. But last week I was sitting and watching them, and I noticed that the leaves of the green beans and the zinnias were moving gently when the wind touched them. I don't know why, really, but it struck me as a kind of milestone. They look more alive now. When I peek at them from the kitchen window, it looks like they're waving at me.

"Hi Disa!"

My ABC's are all up now, too. The arugula was first, followed a couple of days later by the sweet basil. The cilantro just came up this morning. I think it's kind of funny that they came up in alphabetical order...

I have an arugula fairy ring!

The little basil sprouts are so familiar to me. Ever since I was tiny, the beginning of summer has been marked by trays and trays of tiny basil plants being readied for planting in my Dad's field. In the seed starting trays he uses, they're so densely packed that they look like moss from a distance. Now I have my own little bunch!

Alex's Dad is here visiting us from Wisconsin. Yesterday he came home from his exploring with a pack of yellow marigolds for me! They're really pretty, and will look really nice with the red marigolds already planted in the garden. Thanks, David!

Yesterday morning I went outside at dawn to look at the garden, and I noticed that the young nasturtiums trap the dew on their leaves in really interesting ways. The water forms perfect little beads that sit delicately at the very edges of the leaves. I spent way too much time taking pictures of them, trying to capture a bit of the magic. Here's some of what I took.

That's all for now! Thanks for being on this adventure with me!