Maple Hill Hop 7

Welcome back to the 
Maple Hill Hop.
Feel free to share what's going on outside your door!

The first order of business is to announce the recipient of our giveaway!

Congratulations to Kat!
She will be receiving 
two bars of Apple Pie soap
and an 8 oz. bottle of Vanilla lotion from
Staci@LifeatCobbleHillFarm.
Email me at naturegurl1111@gmail.com
and we'll get them out to you!  
Use it in good health, Kat!

You can find an amazing array of Staci's handmade products here.









Now, on to the Hop!

There has been ample time to work outside in the past week.
It's so rewarding to be able to harvest and nurture your own food.
Our progress is slow, but steady.

Here's the veggie garden a couple of weeks ago.

Here it is now.
I use the morning glory vines to separate the squares in the bed.

This white variety of eggplant will be ready for harvesting soon.

marigolds

Eggplant, lettuce and a few stray zinnia seeds will be filling this pot soon.

This variety of eggplant is purple.
I'm not fussy about color, as long as I can relish it!

We've been harvesting green beans for a couple of weeks now.
Someone has helped himself to the leaves.
Yesterday on bug patrol, I found him and 
(shhhhh...) gently placed him in my neighbor's yard.
(Hey, he doesn't grow green beans!)

After being inspired by Tammy's post on planting garlic,
I decided the time was right.
I bought these organic heads from our grocery store.

The  cloves were separated,

and placed in the ground.
Truth be told, I'm probably a little late getting these planted,
and we may not even still be living here for harvest time,
but someone will be gifted with something delicious for their kitchen!

It's been unseasonably warm this last week or so.
Hope it cools off for Thanksgiving.

star jasmine

nasturtium

The rattlebox has but a few blooms left.
They are ready to take their long winter sleep.

 The dried seeds pop right out of their shells
and scatter throughout the garden,
ensuring that they make a return visit.

The saltbush is changing as well.

This tree creates a snowy effect this time of year,
with buds bursting into these delicate and soft  blooms.

That's about the closest we'll get to a dusting of snow here!

What's going on outside where you are?