Agriculture

I absolutely do not approve of killing bees. In fact, we are in a bit of a crisis with a diminishing population with the suspected cause being the use of pesticides, notably neonicotinoids.

I do not fear bees, I am not allergic, and I can happily co-exist – except that they are eating my house.

Or, rather, they are tunneling into the wood that makes up my house so they can lay eggs and have lots of babies.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the prettiest flowers in the garden started to bloom. This great cut-leaf Japanese peony, Paeonia tenuifolia, opened its simple ruby-colored petals to reveal bright yellow stamen. The finely cut foliage, reminiscent of the most finely cut foliage of a Japanese maple, allows the plant to be interesting in the mixed border the rest of the growing season, too.

I was in Shepherdsville at Country Corner Greenhouse earlier in the week and picked up some good-looking sweet potato slips that are finally ready for the garden. Up until last week it has been too cold for this southern crop.

The cool spring has finally ushered in May flowers! I love cut flowers from the garden. There is a simple, happy satisfaction that comes from picking a bundle of peonies for the kitchen work table. Just be sure to shake the ants off first. The other thing about a cool spring with adequate rain fall is that the weather is acting as a sort of preservative: all those beautiful blooms are lasting much longer than normal.