Happy hump day, friends!  Sorry for the late post – one of those weeks.  After being out of the office in a training conference most of last week, I feel like I’ve been on the phone for three days straight this week (which is my least favorite thing ever).  My to-do list keeps getting longer and longer and between work and parenting, I don’t have time to breathe or do anything else – including garden, as you can see.  This isn’t the only space I’ve been neglecting!

The whole garden is looking pretty burnt out and sad.  I’d like to blame the Virginia summer, but the truth is it’s no hotter this year than any other summer.  We’ve had one heat wave so far, and otherwise, just an unbroken stretch of days in the low 90s.  (And yeah, temps in the low 90s is not a heat wave here.  To get that honor, you need a few days up near 98 or breaking 100.  Otherwise – nope, normal summer.  This is Virginia.  It’s HOT.)

My herb corner, pictured above, has been a mixed bag.  The lavender is doing decently well, although it’s a little droopy with the heat today.  I picked up some chamomile and golden sage at the farmers’ market to replace the lettuce that bolted last month; neither one is sprouting particularly quickly, but they’re not dying either.  And Nugget insisted that we get a pot of pet grass.  The farmers’ market ladies helpfully explained that our cats would enjoy eating it.  I said we don’t have cats, while Nugget wailed “I waaaaaaaaaant it, Mommy!” from deep inside his plush dinosaur costume.  Yeah, we’re that family.  So I bought the pet grass, solicited a promise from Nugget that he’d take care of it, he didn’t take care of it, and it promptly died.

Also dead: one of my blueberry bushes.  I came home from Washington to find one blueberry bush glossy green and thriving, and the other completely brown and crinkly.  My mom just shrugged.  I yanked it; haven’t decided what I’ll plant here instead.  Beans, maybe?  Or a climbing squash that I can harvest in the fall, if I can find one small enough?

The mint is still prolific, but is looking a little leggy and needs pruned like whoa.  It’s on my list for this weekend, if it can make it that long.  Sprinkle some salt for me.

As usual, the mixed herb pot seems to be doing best.  The chives are looking a little burnt out, but there’s plenty of green in there.  The rosemary is hanging in – that’s one hardy herb, and good for all kinds of home uses – and the lemon thyme has spread out and made some sort of carpet in the rest of the pot.  I didn’t know it would do that, but I can’t say I hate it.

Definitely a neglected space.  I feel badly about that, but I can only do as much as I can do.  Steve has been out of town for most of the past week and he just got back, so maybe with someone else to pick up the slack around here I can catch my breath, beat my to-do list senseless, and get this garden back under control.  One thing’s for sure: my August task list is going to be a long one.

Do you have a garden?  How’s it doing?