The Saddest of Gardens

It's been a while since my last garden update. I've been in a bit of denial about the sad shape it's been in. Was hoping for some positive changes that were worth a quick vlog about but alas...

Here's what's left of the main area. Pretty sparse right now.

 

The tomatoes are the only big plant that seem to be doing fairly well this year.

Big Boy #1 - Cherry - Big Boy #2

Loving the quirky differences between the boys.

Cherry tomato has been working on this lone fruit for weeks now. Silly goose.

  

My original Basil has begun to grow again. Not sure what is going on, lol.

 Thyme that likes to grow sideways, Parsley blooms that refuse to die, Chives that have gone nuts, three new Basil that has overwhelmed the new Parsley and Cilantro in the same pot, Oregano that keeps bolting and attracting flies.

The saddest of sad Bird's Eye Chillies.

Every few days, quail parents come and tear off entire branches of one tree before moving down the line. It's ridiculousness. 

From right to left (the order that they were attacked): Hufflepuff has had the hardest time recovering and was torn into first, Ravenclaw has recovered significantly but has the biggest reaction to being thirsty, Slytherin was torn into last week but is ambitiously recovering now, and Gryffindor is this week's victim and has branches ripped every other day. The ripe peppers it had are often discarded or collateral damage. Sigh.

 The lone remaining pepper. Gryffindor has been the only one to produce fruit so far. I hope they recover well in the monsoon season. If only for the reason that the quails will find better food elsewhere when the desert comes alive.

 The (brighter green) Jalapeños tender leaves were being burnt off, so they are recovering on the patio for some relief. They are doing much better now. 

The two Serrano pepper plants were the favorite snack of the birds, so I brought them inside to recover for about two weeks before bringing them out for more sunlight. This one was the one with three two-inch long fruits and the other was brought back in during the first storm we had- it's too skinny to withstand those kinds of gusts right now.

Also on the patio are is the Strawberry plant.

As you can still see, it's tender leaves were being burnt too. It's recovering a little and making the tiniest of fruits. I hope it starts putting up new leaves again soon.

Gardening this year has been stressful and disappointing. It's not as uplifting as it was last year, but I'm determined to truck along and hope for the best come monsoon season. I'm thinking of starting new plants indoors now, so they may be ready or when the time comes, but am not sure what I would start. Half of my pots are empty now and it's a very sad sight. We'll see how that goes.