What a weekend this will be as we move from sweltering temperatures to very chilly ones. We have neighbors coming for nibbles in the back yard tonight and I’m hoping that the rain will hold off. On Sunday, my friends and I will be shivering as we eat ice cream sundaes for our annual spring outing.
Enjoy this first weekend of June!
Years ago, when I lived in a city apartment, I grew basil in my first community garden plot. A nearby plot was gardened by a group of young men who were iron workers. They had joined their plots to make one huge garden that flourished. Their tomatoes were staked to metal rebar topped with orange caps. Their garden was tidy and lush. Their basil looked like shrubs.
One day, one of the gardeners gave me advice about my skimpy looking basil plants, telling me that I needed to pinch them. I was speechless with surprise as he proceeded to break off the tops of all of my basil plants. I couldn’t image walking into someone’s plot and “pinching” their basil without permission. But, it was done and I was too polite to complain.
That season, my basil plants grew tall and wide. They were beautiful. From then on, I directed all of my gardening questions to the neighboring garden experts.
- Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Basil — A good guide for growing basil, with information about how to properly “pinch” them. (almanac.com, Yankee Publishing)
- The wonky appeal of a wild flower bouquet — I’m going to employ some of these techniques in my summer bouquets. (House & Garden)
- 4 New York City Hall Weddings — These wedding stories make me happy. (Cup of Jo)
- Strawberry Passionfruit Lemonade — Another delicious lemonade recipe! If you remember, I shared a couple last weekend. (Love and Olive Oil)
- Striped Sweatshirt — I like this summer sweatshirt with its classic navy and white stripes. I have an older version of it in solid navy and it is very soft and comfortable. (J. Crew Factory)
- Italian Salsa Verde — Top anything grilled with this sauce for a little extra flavor. (Sea Salt and Sailor Stripes)
- Goodness: ‘Gift of Adoption’ Marks 5,000th Child Given a Home–Covering the Fees to Keep Siblings Together — What a wonderful story of keeping siblings together. (Good News Network)
About the photo: An old wheelbarrow in our neighborhood filled with chives, garden greens, and a box of pansies resting on the handles. It turns out that this is a work-in-progress. I walked by it yesterday and a potted geranium shared space with the pansies.