A few gratuitous work photos

The Office . My boss said he didn't want anymore flowers along this fence line, but if a couple of packets of sunflower seeds should just happen to be spilled around there, I will invoke culpable deniability/willing suspension of disbelief -- whichever one will work best.

So I'm finally at the point when the big, planting phase of the summer garden at work is finished, and the chefs are busy harvesting what I've grown for use in the menus for the weddings we host as well as in our café. This has been immensely satisfying for me and I'm proud of how the garden looks, as well as the poundage it's producing in terms of food. Of course it wasn't all about my skill -- I just got very lucky/blessed in terms of weather and the fact that we had an early El Nino spring. 

Mexican tarragon

Herbs, nasturtiums, zinnias and alyssum

One thing that I'm happy I did is intercrop some ornamentals-beneficials and ornamental-edibles in and around the food crops. We've put nasturtium blossoms on all the cheese plates and in salads and the alyssum and marigolds seem to be attracting the good bugs and repelling the bad.

Squash bed is very squashy.

My Master Gardener classes are also drawing to a close and it will be a huge relief to not have to drive an hour south every week to attend class, although I've learned a tremendous amount and am so grateful for that opportunity to have done so. But clearly July is going to be a slower month for me than I've had in the last five months or so, and I'm grateful for that.

I have a few projects I'll be working on....one is refurbishing two Adirondack chairs I bought for $15 at a garage sale (pics to come). Another is working on some kind of dining room table for our back patio. These are all great things to occupy oneself with in the mornings before the heat sets in.

Mmm, who doesn't love Genovese Basil in summertime!

But until I start those projects, for now this is the time to gaze and savor all that has come out of spring's labors, which were many. What delicious results for the eyes and palate!