SWEET RELIEF

The sun never came out today and it was chilly! My garden loved it. Now, maybe the weather man will follow through with the promised 40% chance of rain tomorrow. I watered anyway.

In the sunken garden the columbines are in full flower. Note the oranges- pill bug and snail traps. On the spot composting!


The iris have been truly spectacular giving weeks of blooms.

Buebonnets, poppies and pink primroses all vying for a spot in the limelight.

Sweet smelling Zephirine Drouhin at the far end of the garden.

There used t be a pot of this plant here and when I moved it this rose grew from out of the cracks in the paving. It must have come from a root. It stays.

These little spider zinnias have grown from seeds planted this year. They usually show up in the fall from seeds that overwinter. I bought new seeds this year.

Wild onion.

The herb garden is finally starting to look a little tidier.

The espaliered pyracantha with a flush of new leaves and blooms. Where are those cedar waxwings?

The vegetable beds are filled with tomatoes.

Patti pan squash under netting in the hope of thwarting the squash vine borer.

Sedum has replaced the creeping thyme between the pavers.

How many years has this purple skullcap lived here? I have lost track. But see the poor blue flax plant peeking out from underneath. I wonder who will win?

Square bud primrose, Calylophus drummondii.

A pot of Dahlberg daisy, stocks and alyssum, seeded in the fall. Behind I have a pot of nasturtiums. I see the flower buds down at the base of the plant. Fingers crossed.

MONDAY HARVEST

I still have a few summer crops producing well. Patty pan squash started 6 weeks ago, Juliet tomatoes seeded themselves and are a tremendous producer. Small but tasty. Peppers seeded themselves from last year. Not the prettiest but they taste OK. A fresh crop of Swish chard and radish( that purple one is a stray and my name for it is jalapeno radish!). Peas are in flower and I hope they produce before we have hard freeze.

BOUNTY FROM THE GARDEN

Today I picked the last of the beets from the garden. They were a second crop planted some time in March and I wasn't even sure if they would produce that late in the season. Now I wish I had put in more rows. We love pickled beets. You know what will be on the table tonight; beet tops with roasted beets. Tomatoes are in abundance and I am managing to keep down the numbers of leaf footed bugs by giving them the creep and grab treatment. These will probably be the last of the patty pans as the plants are going into a serious decline......and not due to the squash vine borer but the heat and humidity.

The Italian romas are all going to be roasted and frozen for use in the winter.

I have two kinds of yellow tomato. The first is the yellow pear which I picked up at Garden a Go Go at Diana's house. I can't remember who gave it to me but thank you anyway. It has been a great producer. Maybe I will be serving some them next Saturday for Garden a GoGo at my house!

The second I have no idea. It produces medium sized round fruit which have a strange translucent look; not terribly attractive. They are quite tasty although the heat is causing the skins to become a little tough. I probably would not grow this one again- even if I knew its name.

Either way it all makes for a great insalata caprese.

Or stuffed squash with beet tops/beets.

Yesterday I pulled out all the garlic and it is drying out on the gravel. Not the greatest crop but enough to keep us going for a few weeks. I think the garlic is better suited to sandier soils and mine might be too heavy. So the beds will mostly lay dormant until later in the year when the fall/winter crop will go in.

These are the reason we garden behind walls. Mama and baby eye me through the cedars. There is also another mama with twins.

This lone deer is a regular visitor behind the back garden. Always looking for a handout.

"Green tomatoes, red tomatoes, tomatoes with blossom end rot, beans, beet stalks..... I don't care. Just send them my way. I'll compost them for you"

Otherwise I'll just have to eat agave!

WHO'S BEEN EATING MY DINNER?