though not as warm as yesterday, the temperature was still in the 60's. with the 2nd bombing suspect captured, there was a sense of relief, but my parents were still glued to the television, everyone sharing tidbits of information and rumors about the ongoing investigation. after having some pan-fried raviolis for lunch, i was out in the backyard cleaning up the pile of dead wisteria and grape vines in the southeastern corner.

it'd been 10 days since my last thorough inspection of the garden and a lot had changed. the peonies were just about to break out of the ground more than a week ago but now they were stalked more than half a foot tall, with bundles of leaves. elsewhere, on the other (eastern) side of the yard, hostas are emerging (it helps that no roofers are trampling these tender shoots).

the kale seeds have sprouted (RB1), sending out 3 lines of tiny green leaves. in RB3 some leftover radish seeds from last season have germinated. what's interesting is that radish seedlings look a lot like kale seedlings, just bigger. could the two plants be related somehow? or maybe just a coincidence. in the southwestern corner, garlic chives are doing well. they were just relocated last spring, so they didn't have time to get established last year, but this season looks to be a good year for them. garlic chives are great because my parents use them in a lot of recipes (but mainly for dumplings), they grow back every season, and once they flower they attract a lot of pollinating insects (although more closer to the second half of the summer). in that same area are some transplanted lovage.

lilies have also sprouted in the bed behind the garage. they were planted last year so they didn't have a good chance to get established. i'm hoping this year will be better for them. i think there are a mixture of several different lilies, some purchased last year, some transplanted last year but were grown in a pot the year before. since they're all buried, it's hard to know where they'll sprout out. maybe they'll need to get re-adjusted once the season is over.

my father and i went to burger king to pick up some dinner. i had a painful visit the last time i was there. we also had some champagne grapes (from russo's), which my aunt brought over for my mother. i thought champagne grapes were supposed to be tiny, but these were regular size. that had seeds (which i eat, too lazy to spit them out) and a really nice flavor, much better than the normal grapes you get in supermarkets.

updates from my grow closet back at home: