Our 2011 Garden

We got a later start on our garden this year, and although I'm really not sure about the relative timing of plants getting into the ground with respect to last year, this year's plants were started later indoors and may have been smaller when we put them in the ground. We had to get them on a drip line before we went on a road trip at the end of last month.
The chocolate mints, in two pots, are growing like crazy, and we're thinking of starting more pots so we can give some away.
We've planted fewer vegetables this year, partly so this squash can have more room than last year's had, partly so the chard can have more room, and also so we can plant more flowers.

Friday morning, a little more than a week after the squash photo was taken, the temperature dropped below freezing, and currently the little guy doesn't look so hot: leaves have wilted and dried some. The squash, basil, a newly planted melon, and oregano were covered last night, and we'll keep covering until we get some summer-like temperatures (even spring-like temps would be helpful).
And so, this is how the back garden looked on May 27th, just after the drip line went in. There are little chard plants, the squash, two or three tiny tomatoes, green bean seeds against the far wall, and lots of flower seeds scattered everywhere.
A little more than a week later, yesterday afternoon, the back garden has larger chard plants (still hard to see but on the left), and the tomato plants look like they have survived all the chilly mornings. The larger plant towards the back, behind the pot of chocolate mints, is the honeydew melon MOH planted after we came back from our late May road trip. No seedlings have sprouted.
Here's the front garden as it looked on May 27th: a chocolate mint pot, two tiny basil plants almost drowning in the water of the newly re-established drip line, and lots of flower seeds in the ground.
And here's the front garden yesterday afternoon. I've taken matters into my own hands and planted a few nursery flowers from the big city — marigolds, a lavender, some little daisy-like flowers, and the some oregano. Possibly some little seedlings have sprouted; probably they are common weeds. Across the street in a barren spot, I threw out some wildflower seeds: Cosmos and bachelor buttons. These aren't on a drip line, and will require watering by hand.

As it turns out, we needn't have bought plants from the out-of-town nursery — a local hardware store has put in a couple greenhouses and has quite a nice supply of flowers, herbs, and vegetables (and other things including trees). We had lost our only nursery last year to the go-out-of-business demons, but now we have a replacement. I hope it does well.

In the meantime, MOH has started new squash seeds indoors in our heated seedling mat, along with seeds from our ballon flower.