Oh yes, I just made a corny poppy reference. Just yesterday, the very first of the white, oriental poppies opened on the Lot. This morning there was another. This year, Audrey II has a lot more blooms than last year. She has doubled in size. Unfortunately, through a combination of sale prices, ill planning, and pure panic, I dropped a cone flower and cornflower in front of the poppy at the end of last season. Both of the perennials are too tall to be in the front of the bed, and are blocking any view of the poppy. Both will have to move.

Speaking of the cornflower, when it bloomed I had no idea what it was. Ms. A and I looked it up this morning as we sat in the garden and chatted over coffee. We believe it is a Centaurea Montana. While looking it up online, it seems to be referred to as both a perennial cornflower and perennial bachelor’s button. Argh! No wonder gardeners prefer the latin names of plants.

Anyway, it was visited yesterday afternoon by a ruby throated hummingbird. This is the second time this season he’s dropped in at the Lot. The night before, he stopped by to check out our chives and archangel that are in bloom. I wonder if the Centaurea is something he’s interested in, or if he’s newly arrived and still shopping the neighborhood market.

In other Lot news, the jupiter’s beard, rose campion, and foxglove all have buds. The peonies are so close to blooming, with the first one beginning to unfurl just this morning. Some allium opened in the back alley bed. All the roses on the lots are full of buds this year. One of the little clematis I purchased has given up on me finding it a home and has begun to bloom. The clematis from last season is busily growing up the pergola.

Yesterday morning I planted the tomatoes and Italian sweet peppers purchased from the farmers’ market. The kale, five color swiss chard, ace pepper, thai basil, and genovese basil were planted this past Saturday morning before the rain appeared. Just yesterday, the pole beans, okra, and cucumbers broke through the ground. We will need to get some supports in place for the climbers. We attempted a cradle last year for the cucumbers, but when the cucumbers began maturing on the hammock-like supports, the weight of it uprooted the plants. This year, a more vertical approach will be taken.