Looking at my photo library, I realized I have taken a ton of images. Yeah, I know, they don't weigh anything, except on my heart to get them into blog posts!
Here what's going on in my
late June garden.
I had to pause for a moment, admire my new
mulched pathways around the garden, and of course take a picture of one of the pathways that had been the most weedy and yuckiest to walk through and work in. No matter that the mulch was patchworked with red, brown, cedar, and other colors (whatever was on sale and in recovery bags and half price at Lowe's!). I think it's a beautiful thing!
The herbs--basil, parsley, and rosemary--seemed to be picking up in growth.
Rosemary.
There were several yellowish leaves on the basil, so I picked off the worst ones in hopes that they'd grow strong (they're
huge now!).
The rhubarb was looking good! I think I'll be able to harvest some this year. I have two plants--one given to me by my friend Debbie, and one given to me by my mom when she and Dad moved last spring.
Below, my squash was growing rapidly and expanding beyond the initial cheesecloth covering. I've got a whole post about my butternut squash if you're curious--click
here!
The garlic scapes were growing and curling, and I ended up leaving them alone. Maybe next year I'll harvest some of them and cook up something wonderful. The Lord knows I definitely have enough "seeds" that replant each year! We're still working on using up the garlic from last year--I have about a pint of peeled garlic cloves in my freezer.
I planted my onions (below) late, so they're pretty small. I'm hoping to have at least a few decent-sized purple onions for salads later this summer.
As soon as I see little green tomatoes appearing, I go on Tomato Watch. Here's what I found on this late June day:
Plus, lots of flowers mean lots of future tomatoes to enjoy!
A check on my strawberry plants revealed that it's pretty much the end of the season. The below image shows how I keep birds away from my strawberry patch: I attach used pie tins to a wooden stake with string, then plant them around the patch. I plant the high enough so that when they swing around in the wind, they don't shear off any of the plants' leaves. Supposedly, the shiny aluminum and the tins swinging around deter the birds. It seems to work--I had only 4-5 strawberries that got eaten by something, a bird or squirrel maybe.
A strawberry blossom at the end of the season.
I have never been great at growing sweet peppers, and this year I tried
Giant Marconi, a variety of sweet green pepper that is longer like a California pepper, and thinner-skinned. They grow to a smaller size, but they produce more peppers per plant, so I figured I'd try them. They're decent, though I really do love green peppers, and their thick, crunchy skin.
Also, in the above image you'll see that I use Velcro garden tape to hold up my plants. It works very well, and since friends and neighbors have given it to me the past few years, I use it! I'm going to end up breaking down and purchasing it next year; I love it that much.
Ha--you thought I wouldn't get away with a flower picture in here, but here is one of my day lilies, pretty much the only flower that is currently growing in my back yard. :)
I have beautiful jalapeños this year! I planted only two plants, but they're producing prolifically.
Okay, that's pretty much it for the update. I never did take an "overview" shot from our pool deck like I usually do. You'll have to be satisfied with all the individual and close-up images for now. Trust me, there are more updates to come and I have the images to prove it!
Back to life,
Christine
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