Composing this post on the evening of Mother’s Day, I’m reminded of some of the ordinary, smallish experiences of mothering that have lodged deep in my soul. I’m glad for a day of reflection. My husband and I picked these small alpine strawberries this afternoon. As we savored each one after dinner, I recalled sweet, poignant parenting memories.

Another diminutive harvest included the first few blueberries from our new ‘Bountiful Blue’ patio plant.

We pick a large handful of ‘Seascape’ strawberries every day and find sumptuous uses for them.

I’ve been pulling carrots as needed but over the weekend we did a FaceTime with my 3 year-old Seattle grandson as we pulled more of those that are ready. ‘Bolero’ is always a solid performer in my garden. It’s a sweet, French carrot in a useful cylindrical shape. The purple and white carrots are from a Renee’s Garden tricolor mix, grown mostly for the best purple carrots I’ve found.

I met up last week with a friend vacationing here from the East and shared some garden gifts. Her last garden frost could be expected about now and she likely has five months until the first one. With my first garden experiences in New England, it’s still a wonder to me that I can grow food year-round.

The roses finish their first flush of blooms. ‘Ambridge’ is a favorite and pairs incredibly with the nearby ‘Dalmatian Peach’ foxglove which I hope will self-sow. The Mediterranean purple cerinthe compliments the peach flowers and comes back reliably every year.

To see What I’m Planting Now in the vegetable garden check my new blog page. Access through the menu icon in the upper left of every page.

You may enjoy seeing what other garden bloggers around the world harvested last week at Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Happy Acres blog.

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