Artie chokes four for a dollar

That's the punchline of an old joke about a bandit named Arthur who, while robbing a grocery store, strangled four people, but only got away with one dollar. The clue that it's an old joke is the idea that you can actually get four artichokes for a buck.

These artichokes will bloom later in the summer.

Two of our artichoke plants continue to survive, putting out a handful of chokes each year. We don't harvest them because they're tough and not very big. They also attract aphids like crazy. I spray soapy water on them a few times a year to keep them under control. I also use the hose's hard spray to wash them off from time to time.

In other garden news, I got all the tomatoes planted on Thursday. The day was cool and overcast, a good combination for planting seedlings. We're expecting a relatively hot and dry few days now. I think the tomatoes will like that.