Late summer garden magic

These sweet calendula and chamomile blossoms bring such joy, simply by existing.

We were away from our plot at the community garden for a little over a week due to weather, followed by yearly glacial flooding in the surrounding area. When we left, the plants were still small (it’s been a slow growing season this year), only the occasional blossom on the calendula, chamomile, and volunteer borage plants. We returned to find everything (even the radishes and arugula) in full bloom, towering lemon balm (overwhelming the nearby oregano and sage), rhubarb attempting a second round of growth, and carrots in desperate need of weeding and thinning. So much lush new growth and so many beautiful colors. I spent an hour or so gathering chamomile and calendula blossoms to dry (always in that order, iykyk), weeding, and thinning the carrots - leaving just in time to beat the bugs and summer sun.