Yesterday we took down both hoophouses and put up bamboo tomato supports. The tomato plants are large, flowering and even have some tomatoes already. These are the tomato plants that I started indoors on February 1 and then transplanted into the hoophouses on April 4 and 11th. The peppers have survived, but they are not as impressive as the tomato plants. They are small, and have a lot of growing to do. The marigolds that I started indoors on March 1 and transplanted into the hoophouses are bushy plants with lots of flowers. They stand guard around the tomatoes hoping to ward off pests. The Swiss Chard, basil, and nasturtium that were directly seeded into the hoophouses on March 7 are coming here and there and promise to do well with the tomato plants. Overall, the winter/spring hoophouse growth has been a success, except for the broccoli. Starting the tomatoes in the beginning of February gave them a great start, although those plants almost outgrew the window sill. So now that the hoophouses are down for the summer, the garden will progress as any other Eastern Pennsylvania garden, except that I will be harvesting much earlier. The hoophouse will go back up in early October. 
I finally finished mulching the front perennial garden and it looks beautiful. The mulch definitely defines the plants and showcases each one. But what a job it is! It took me 7 hours to mulch the whole garden and I am glad that it is finally done. And although the constant rain has been depressing, it made weeding so much easier and mulching not such a hot, buggy chore. While walking through the garden this morning I noticed an odd green shape on my sedums. Upon closer inspection, I found two Luna Moths having an interlude. This year is the first time I’ve ever seen these beautiful large green insects other than in a museum. Maybe I just never noticed as they are very well camouflaged.
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