Spring has sprung...

(... Fall has fell, Winter's here and it's cold as hell, as my dad likes to say.)

But no, really - Spring! It's like a Van Gogh painting around here. Here's my favorite of the large variety of irises appearing around the garden:

And I have to share the progress on the tiny greenhouse, literally bursting at the seams:

All three bean varieties are out of control - the empty holes you see are the plants I've already had to remove to their own pots. The fennel on the far right is looking lovely and feathery, the tomatoes, watermelons, padrones, collards, and pumpkins are all doing wonderfully. I'm still finishing prepping the beds but this round should be planted in the next week. The padrone peppers are the ones I'm most excited about - a farmer friend introduced us to these a few years ago, picked small and sautéed in olive oil until soft, then sprinkled with salt. I haven't had a lot of luck with standard peppers in the past - it gets really sunny and warm here in the day, but very cold and often foggy at night, and I think they really like more of a southwestern heat. But Geoff had great luck with these at his little farm on the west side of town (before he moved to his swanky Napa digs), so I'm crossing my fingers.