Summer in the Southern United States can be a mixed bag of blessings. Spring brings lovely roses like the one pictured below, but Summer brings bugs and humidity. There are a few roses still blooming, but tending to them can be a challenge as the season gets hotter.
The rose seen above was featured during the Twelve Days of Roses series in the article titled "A French Rose: Over the Moon." It is still putting forth a few blooms despite the smoldering weather and Japanese Beetles, who make their annual appearance earlier every year. Perhaps this rose is encouraged by her next-door neighbors which include a prolific peach tree and a courtyard of vegetables, including a few French varieties grown last year. The Zebrune Shallots are performing even better this year, stemming from seeds directly sown into a grow box. Various root vegetables, including the delightfully petite Parisienne Carrots, are showing nice foliage above ground. A few of the French lettuce varieties re-seeded themselves and provided a nice bit of early color, especially thanks to the Merlot Lettuce, whose deep maroon-red color is truly the color of its namesake wine. The Louisiana 16-Inch Long Pod Okra is coming up nicely, as expected from this hard-working plant.
Other French vegetables are showing a promising start in other areas of the garden, including Parisian Pickling Cucumbers and Patisson Golden Marbre Scallop Squash. Last year's French herbs showed signs of reappearing earlier this year, but the mint took over, surprisingly absolutely no one who has ever grown it. Luckily, the Rosemary stays far away from its minty friends.
How could one forget the Mara des Bois Strawberries? This French woodland variety is still tasty and producing berries as of the time of this writing, which happens to be the first day of Summer in this section of the Northern Hemisphere. Wishing you a happy and productive Summer!
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