Why My Garden Looks So Full in Early May
I'm just at a different point in my gardening journey.
I keep getting the same comment this spring...
“Your garden already looks so full!”
The underlying assumption seems to be that I’m somehow ahead of the game, that my garden has filled out quicker than average this spring.
But here’s the truth: The way my kitchen garden looks right now has very little to do with what I planted a month ago, after all danger of frost had passed.
Let’s break down some of the things you see in these photos:
Garlic ... planted last October
Wildflowers ... mostly perennial, sown or planted last fall, or the fall before that
Other flowers ... winter sown
Chives and green onion... pretty much year-round
Chamomile ... planted last fall, protected all winter, planted in February
Nasturtiums ... direct-sown in March, almost a month before frost-free date
Strawberries ... perennial, some planted last spring, some planted late winter this year
Lettuce ... planted last fall, protected all winter
Thyme ... perennial, planted years ago
Rosemary ... semi-evergreen, planted years ago
Cilantro ... bolted, saving for the coriander seeds
Parsley ... bolted, saving for the seeds
Carrots ... seeds sown in winter
Peas ... planted in February
Arugula and spinach flowers ... bolted from the greens I ate on all fall and winter
The squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, dill, peppers, ground cherries (the summer stuff)—if they were all that I had growing right now, the garden wouldn’t look lush in the least.
I do like it looking full, even with all the bolted stuff flopping over; I think it’s lovely.
But what’s more important than how it LOOKS, is that’s all of that stuff is, and has been, producing long before we got to summer garden season. And, it’s helping protect and attract pollinators to the summer stuff from the day it goes in.
This is probably the fullest my garden has ever looks by mid-May, and I think that’s just part of the journey. I’ve been gardening since 2015 or 2016, and this is my third growing season here at this house.
The longer you’re at it, the more you train yourself to think of the garden long before April and you have a garden already producing when the big box grocery stores start running their “weekend warrior” ads.
And you keep finding ways to cram more plants in, because, well, why not?
So if your garden looks lean, don’t fret. It will hit its stride.
And subscribe if you haven’t yet, as I share a lot of what I’m planting throughout the year specifically to help new gardeners develop the instinct and intuition around the timing that gets the whole thing humming year-round.
Well done!