What a difference a month makes! Here in Bozeman, May ended with a generous pour from Mother Nature, but June decided to play the dry card. If my garden had a motto for June, it would be “Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!” I had to purchase a new hose attachment and have been making daily rounds. But despite the weather’s best efforts to keep things parched, there’s a lot of exciting action happening in the garden. It’s truly amazing what a little water and a lot of hope can do!

Flourishing Flowers

I am very pleased at how well some of the plants I put in the ground last year are doing. Some beauties really do thrive in the face of adversity.

• Catmint is back with a vengeance and is absolutely huge! It’s like that tiny plant from Cashman’s spent the winter doing push-ups.
• My lavender also decided to make a grand reappearance. I wasn’t sure since I don’t think it was labeled Zone 4 hardy.
• The clematis is practically bursting with blooms. It’s definitely earned itself a fancy new trellis for next year to show off even more.
• I added some new residents: Iris and Lupine are settling into their sunny spot on the southeast corner of the house.
• Foxglove and a mystery companion are doing well on the northeast corner, thanks to frequent drinks when they were just getting started.
• Poor Kinickinick on the northeast side is having a tougher time. It looks like it’s waving a white flag, probably wishing for more sun. Lesson learned: even tough native plants have their preferences!

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The Edible Endeavor: From Beds to Berries

My vegetable patch is a busy hub of activity, with some old favorites and new experiments showing off.

A gooseberry bush has taken up residence on the east side of the house. This was purchased on a whim after we had an amazing salad in Cusco that starred these incredible fruit! I didn’t have anywhere to plant it, so that’s why it ended up in that corner. It’s getting about four hours of sun around the summer solstice, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that’s enough light for it to really thrive.

Another whim . . . My trusty 4×8 raised bed from last year is still going strong, and I decided it needed a friend, so now I have a new 6×8 bed right next to it. More room for garden shenanigans!

• Those parsnips from last year? Well, they’ve gone to seed and are about as appealing as chewing on a tree root. Most have been evicted. Lesson learned — plant these in the fall and harvest them in the spring.
• One of my shallots from last year looks almost ready for prime time. I might be pulling it soon for a taste test! The rest are still pretty small. Not sure what went wrong here.
• The asparagus from 2024 is sending up some new, albeit very skinny, shoots. Maybe next year we’ll get a real harvest. It’s like waiting for a teenager to wake up, but with more patience.
• I’ve got a mix of big strawberries from a plant exchange and some plucky wild ones from the Calvert Mine area. Fingers crossed for a berry boom!
• Ground cherries are growing LOTS of fruits, which is always exciting. “Once you have a ground cherry, they are always with you.” I read this somewhere. Should I be scared?

• The zucchini is flowering, hinting at the future mountain of squash I’ll be trying to give away.
• Small Radishes are ready for harvest. Speedy little guys! I will plant more soon for another harvest.
• My purchased cucumber plants are flowering, while the ones I grew from seed are still a bit on the small side. Patience, young cucurbits!
• Same story for the tomatoes: purchased ones are flowering, homegrown ones are still taking their sweet time.
• My first batch of cilantro has been harvested and the rest is going to seed. Time for a new planting! Overall the cilantro is doing well.
• Basil and dill are happily growing. They seem to like the raised beds.
• The onions are still very small. It’s a slow and steady race for them. Maybe I need to fertilize?
• Not quite sure when my walking onions are ready to be harvested. If anyone knows, send me a postcard!
• The first pods of sugar snap peas are ready for picking. A true garden treat!

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Along the Back Fence & Front Patio

Even the less obvious spots are contributing to the garden’s bounty!

• My raspberries along the back fence are starting their first, albeit small, harvest. Every berry counts!
• The blueberries are forming fruits, and I’m practically pouring coffee grounds on them daily. They must be buzzing with caffeine!
• My jostaberries also yielded their first small harvest.
• The wheat is forming heads. It’s cool to see, but I don’t think I’ll be baking a loaf of bread from it anytime soon!
• The beans along the fence aren’t looking so hot. They must not like our Bozeman clay.

On the front patio, where it’s mostly shady:

• Mint, oregano, parsley, and snap peas are all doing wonderfully.
• The chives are also thriving.

Lessons for Next Year

Gardening in Bozeman is truly an exercise in learning and adapting. Every year brings new insights, especially with our short growing season, sometimes brutal heat, and soil that thinks it’s a pottery class. For next year, I’m definitely going to focus on succession planting for things like radishes, fenugreek, parsley, and cilantro so I can enjoy them all season long. It’s like a garden relay race!

The stars of this year’s show, the plants that really seem to love our conditions, include radishes, zucchini, ground cherries, cilantro, and nasturtiums. They’re the overachievers, the ones that make you feel like a gardening genius. I’m also planning to go big on snap peas next year. They do so well on the front patio and I think the west fence would be a perfect spot for even more of those tasty pods. As for the wheat, while it’s interesting to watch, it’s just not practical for a harvest in a small garden like mine. It’s cool, but not cool enough to take up valuable real estate!