Clear skies, cooler days and it's time to start thinking of fall clean up. The spring and early summer perennials are dying back and even starting their basal growth, so the first place I always look is the xerigarden.
It is one of my best two-season spaces, with the sedum just getting ready to burst into bloom and the agastache and salvia finishing their cycles and ready for a trim back. This year, that also meant cleaning up the herb garden that now shares the space.
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| The smaller of the two basil plants. |
Mostly I have kept it under control, but there were still two huge basils that I had planned to pull out. It's time for pesto making!
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| The larger basil waiting to be "picked" |
Apparently basil loves the cooler, more rainy summer that we have had. The proof is in the size of these plants. Most summers I am lucky to get them to survive, much less thrive. But this year I had plants that looked like woody shrubs!
Note to self: more water for future summer.
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| Strong new stems coming up. |
And I learned something new. As I starting hacking off big branches to get back to the ground so I could pull up the plant .... I discovered new growth at the base! I have strong new stems growing. So a change of tactic and I left those new stems for late season picking. (I put in a new plant two weeks ago, but these are ready for picking now.)
Tomato Pie for dinner and pesto for ... well, pesto! It's that time of summer!
I ran out of time and didn't plant any basil this year. Oh how I miss it. Enjoy your tomato pie and pesto.
ReplyDeleteIt is so great being able to eat stuff you grow. Pesto will remind you of summer all winter.
ReplyDeleteWe should trade basil for peppers! My tomatoes are schluck, well, except for the cherry toms, and I haven't even tried peppers for years.
DeleteYou need to get back on two feet and worry about gardening next year! Glad you are better. Will think of you when we have pesto sauce on our pasta in December!
DeleteDon't you just love the scent of basil? I grew some over the summer and snipped it as often as I could. I often thought about pesto...I love it but have yet to find the perfect pesto recipe. If you have one, please share! I am addicted to Vietnamese mint...it has a bit of a liquorice flavour to it. If you ever come across it, I highly recommend it!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Webb....xx
Grew one "Thai" basil this year and it reminded me of the basil one gets in Pho .... so maybe "thai" in the States is "vietnamese"? it definitely does have that liquorice taste.
DeleteFor pesto, I shall cruise the 'net. Never have enough to make pesto, so will throw myself on the mercy of the folks "out there".
Basil is the only thing I don't have a problem growing. I actually made chicken in a coconut basil sauce last night because I had so much of it :)
ReplyDeleteMy lavender did well this year, too. That may say that they like the same conditions. Basil coconut sounds good - kinda Thai?
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