The Garden – end of July 2014

Such a lovely time in the garden. I’m staying up much too late writing this entry, but I have to, as everything will change tomorrow I’m sure! Things are growing so fast!
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In the front yard the small amount of sunflowers that came up are looking great, but no where near the huge stand we had last year, I’m still not sure why. We do love these though. That bush in the front is dying, I have no idea why.
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In the backyard the marigolds are taking over. I’ve never had them go nuts like this. Most were from a six pack of sad tiny starts I got for free outside a master garden sale. I love the cosmos, but next year I also want to plant zinnias, my mom has some that are amazing.
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More flowers, with veggies tucked in and the bean teepee center of this area. The girls love it. I love that they come out here and snack. Cherry tomatoes, beans, apples, berries of all kinds. It makes me so happy that they love all the fresh food.
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Opposite side of the yard a bit of a mess of things I squeezed too close together. After snapping this I decided to clear out a bit of the butternut squash vine, thinking it was doing nothing. The section I chose to cut out of course had a mini squash on it; the only one on this huge vine. ARGH. Hopefully happy bees will help me get at least one more. I’ve never succeeded in growing my own from seed before. The cucumbers have mildew, but that’s nothing around here. Pepper and tomatoes are good, I’ve brought in a few of each.
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The opposite view, many more almost there.
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I hope this nearly perfectly prepared bed will yield me some good late fall/winter veggies. I have been very carefully keeping it moist so that my seeds will germinate. The swiss chard came up great. I was surprised how well the carrots did, but I don’t see any onions. I’m going to order more seeds, as mine were pretty old.
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Look an eggplant! No, I’ve never cooked an eggplant, but isn’t it pretty?
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Down below pumpkins are coming along. Thank goodness! I’m counting on these for long storage food from my yard. I’d love to have stuffed pumpkins in the very deep of winter.
 
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I made some melon hammocks. When do I know how to pick it?!? I must do some research. Same with these:
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Should I pick and store my honeycrisps? I have been eating them fresh, and they are a bit tart, but overall so lovely. I dried all the ones from my under pruning accident. I talked last time about not pruning my apples as much as I was supposed to… and  a big branch cracked and broke off. HORRIBLE. The break was terrible and into the tiny four year old trunk. I so hope the tree survives, otherwise it’s at least three, probably four more years without apples. SAD FACE.
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Which means I should probably take care of my asian pears before the same thing happens to them. I did some emergency picking today, but I have to get out there with a ladder (not so easy with the kids).
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I’m including this so you can see our plum tree I mentioned in the last post. See how high up the ripe ones are? So close, and so far away. I did snag these from my mom’s:
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Her and my step dad don’t care for plums. I have heard this from quite a few people this last week. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!? These are little bits of heaven, truly! I think they are damson plums? I’ve been trying to figure out what these kind are, any one have ideas? These are similar to ours, but not exactly the same.
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I am still chipping away at the chips in the driveway. I covered the back corner of the yard with cardboard and put a thick layer of chips here. It was getting a bit mucky. I’m still not sure exactly what we are going to do back here. It was supposed to be a play structure. I’ve been day dreaming about a pond and ducks. Or pretending my yard was bigger and somehow putting in a swimming pond. Ya, I’m obsessed with them, they looks so awesome. Always dreaming of the next thing.
What are you doing or dreaming about in your garden?
 
 

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5 Comments

  1. Okay, your front porch is just darling with all the lovely sunflowers! And the garland… I LOVE it! I planted my cosmos in a pot, and sadly they didn’t make it. They were taken over by ants and couldn’t be saved. I have a pot of zinnias that I love! I will definitely plant more next year. They are perfect cutting flowers. Eggplant is really yummy roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. And I know it can be used in lasagna too, but I’ve never tried it. Your back garden is looking lovely as well. Those plums are amazing!

    1. Julia,
      Oh no on the ants, we had a lot this year too, I put out Terro a few times (I know, but they were so thick!). I have a post planned about the garland, it was so fun to make!
      Amber

  2. Everything in my yard died. I need to empty the potato bag to see if any grew, but I’m doubtful. The tomatoes are still chugging along, but I’ve gotten 2. Dexter keeps figuring out how to get at them and then he rips the plant and eats all of the tomatoes, ripe or green, he doesn’t care. Darn dog.

    1. Mary don’t worry so much about the potatoes, you should dig them up and see what is there. I believe they grow the tuber part we eat after the plant flowers and dies, so it may not be a sign that all is unwell. Even though mine looked absolutely horrible I still got 4 potatoes, and my plants never even really grew.
      Amber

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