Three weeks after The Storm that Ate Downtown, the back garden has recovered.
The removal of the towering sunflowers has allowed okra to flourish.
Okra, (Abelmoschus esculentus) is a member of the mallow family, has beautiful (edible) flowers, and loves heat, I discover.
I am harvesting daily from this happily exuberant, colorful okra patch, situated on what was a dusty, hard packed driveway, prior to my arrival as custodian of the #6thavenueshala .
There is an unseen understory of carrots, chard and spinach in this area too, while the fuzzy, buzzy bees love the flowers, especially the Tithonia (aka Mexican sunflower)
A second planting of bush beans alongside the calendula (for making healing calendula salve) and an heirloom San Marzano tomato, (the prized Italian paste tomato historically grown in the volcanic soils of Mt Vesuvius), properly pruned and caged, edge the front where garlic and kale began the season six/seven months ago.
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