Bolt (v.)

It is May and I have yet to write anything since mid-march regarding Georgia, my garden friend.

Georgia and I have been spending many nights and weekends together. Seeds that were planted in the fall produced to mix reviews and I've been pulling plants from her beds & planting mostly flowers in and around her for the summer months.

Much like me, my broccoli babe does not do the heat and bolted. I'm letting her go to seed so we can try again in the fall to grow broccoli.

BOLT (v.) Gardening term that loosely means “It’s too hot for me to thrive in these hostile work conditions.” But rather than go to HR to complain, the plant turns in its notice. Like most of us working out a two-week notice, it develops a case of “IDGAF”, and stops producing fruit and “goes to seed.” The plant gets leggy and unsightly and will eventually turn brown. It looks like a dead, worthless plant, but you gotta keep it around longer than you want, much like management needing you to work out your notice, if only to train the new person. Or in this case, to harvest the seeds for next season from the dried out plant.

As a non-Florida native, it's taken me a long time to realize and adjust to the growing seasons here. It really does run seemingly opposite of the Midwest seasons I grew up with, and I still find myself each spring wanting to plant so many things. But after 20 years in this state of purgatory, I now accept that everything struggles to thrive in summer, including me.

Lemon balm going wild, along with sweet basil, lemon basil, and cilantro. we’ll see how long they last before they too protest the heat.