Spring is finally showing itself in the form of warmer weather and less wind. I’m going to have to adjust the watering schedules pretty often as we go through waves of hot and cold, but there probably won’t be any rain for the rest of Spring and Summer. All the plants are really starting to show off in the form of larger and larger leaves, but most of them aren’t actually growing many new leaves (yet). I’m crossing my fingers and hoping they get nicely settled before the next heat wave, or else I might lose yet another pair of tomatoes.
If you’ve got a garden you want to show off, don’t hesitate to hop into the next round of Six on Saturday posts! To find out how these posts work, check out where it all started! And don’t hesitate to drop me a link to your garden in the comments.
I’m looking forward to seeing many happy plants!
1
The olives tree is starting to show off at the start of spring with some lovely little buds. I can’t remember if the little tree made any buds last year, but if it did… they never turned into olives. This year I’m determined to do what it takes to get my first batch of home-made olives! (If you have any hints on how to make sure this tree stays happy, please let me know!). It’s living in a square planter with a fair amount of dirt. I’m hoping that it’s enough for this little tree to feel right at home.
2
After the cold spells and fierce winds of winter (and the death of the first two tomato seedlings), this little tomato is showing off. I’m not sure why it likes this corner so much after the last tomatoes didn’t, but I certainly don’t mind. Now all I have to do is keep this from getting root rot like the previous tomato, and we’ll be on the road to a future olive/tomato antipasto. It’s slowly become my goal to be able to make my own antipasto from scratch, which I’m hoping these plants are picking up on.
3
The sunflower doesn’t have many leaves yet. What it lacks in quantity, it makes up on sheer size. For a young seedling, it’s already dwarfing any of the seedlings that were started at the same time. And the flower bud it’s forming is looking like it will be a sizable and happy pad of florets. From how it’s growing just a single bud, I’m thinking it’s probably an annual variety. These are my absolute favorite – I love a giant sunflower hanging over in the sun, swarming with happy bees. I’m hoping the hummingbirds that visit the balcony will also call it home.
4
The Ginkgo was a little late in waking up from hibernation this year, but it doesn’t seem any worse off for that. The Winter went a little long and was fiercer than last year’s, so I’m sure the tree just wanted to rest from all the wind and rain. In just a few weeks, these leaves are going to be bright green pads of happiness. I should weigh the tree before and after to see how much leaf weight it puts on!
5
The cress just won’t stop growing, and I’ve decided to give up on trying to eat it into oblivion. Five separate cress plants have all decided to bloom together, which probably means their seeds are going to be dropping right back into the planter and getting another set of these fierce plants going. I should probably look into how to save seeds from this sort of plant… It’s been tasty whenever I’ve eaten it, but I’ve eaten so much of it over the past couple of months that I just needed a break from eating cress. My mistake – it won’t stop growing.
6
The Billy Balls are doing a wonderful job of getting thicker and taller! Still not many additional leaves to speak of, but they’re thick enough that I can feel the weight of each leaf when I hold them. Two of the Billy Balls are still on the small-ish side and haven’t done much to grow since they were transplanted outside. Two others are a medium size and have grown at the same speed as each other. The fifth Billy Button – sitting in its own planter alongside the paperwhites – is growing to a truly astounding size. I’m thinking the depth to which the roots can go might have something to do with this, but I won’t really know unless I decide to dig these up and check if the roots hit the bottom. They all know I’m not going to do that to them, so they continue growing at whatever pace suits them. I can’t wait for little balls of sunny happiness!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you had a pleasant time checking out the plants. If you’re in the mood for more nature, please stay in touch!
Mindful Foliage 
I like your photograph of the olive – a glimpse of flowers through the foliage. I will have to try cress. So far, I have struggled with poor yields from the greens I have tried, so suffering from surplus would be a welcome change.
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