Welcome to
The Maple Hill Hop.
This is a hop for folks who love the outdoors.
Feel free to post about anything that's going on
OUTSIDE
in your neck of the woods,
no matter the season.
no matter the season.
(Please share only outdoor posts.)
*Please link back to Maple Hill 101.*
We had an unusually cool weekend (60's),
so it was great weather to get outside
and enjoy the garden.
Alas, it was probably our last blast of
"spwinfall", and we'll most likely have summer
until mid-October.
Here's what's growing right now.
We're still enjoying the baby kale that's taken to the shady areas of the garden.
We are starting to see insect damage though,
so these may not be around much longer.
The eggplant is doing wonderfully.
Another variety was planted this week,
the Mixed Finger Eggplant we got from
Mary's Heirloom Seeds.
Can't get enough of this stuff!
Some stray leek are doing well in a shady area in a big pot.
The parsley and basil keep it company there.
We have more planted as a border in a couple of the beds.
After griping to my garden coach Lynn about the birds getting my first ripe Roma tomato,
he provided me with netting and poles to render them helpless.
It's working.
Ha-haaaaaaaa!
Take that you naughty birds.
The former veggie bed still houses some eggplant
and one lone broccoli.
I just couldn't bring myself to tear them out
when they are still producing,
even though these things are growing elsewhere.
I'll add to it slowly, creating a flower/herb bed.
I did add some melon seeds to it though.
It's the only area where I have room to let something ramble,
although I'm thinking about trying to grow them on a tipi
so they don't get too wild.
I'd say this farmer needs more room to grow, huh?
Summer squash came up this week
and I have no idea where I will put it.
Sometimes it's just fun to see if stuff will germinate,
especially if the seed is a bit older, as in the case here.
Lynn also gave me a bunch of dill seedlings.
We don't use much in our cooking,
but they do attract black swallow butterflies,
and so they are more than welcome to share the space.
This is the gloriosa daisy.
It comes back year after year.
Once they open up, the contrast between the dark green leaves
and the bright yellow aster-like blooms is so cheery!
So glad we added these to the garden.
We have a smattering of cluster sunflowers
starting to crop up.
The gloriosa lily seeds were given to me by my friend Faye.
They are the tall stalks (leaning) in front of the bean trellis toward the left.
This is the first time I've grown these,
and they are just about ready to pop!
These lillies are bowing out for another season.
This plumbego just doesn't quit.
It really likes its spot near the rain barrels.
Some native milkweed seeds have been started,
so that we have plants to sell to folks who come to pick up free caterpillars.
I'm startin' my own cottage industry!
It's always so much fun chatting with folks about these amazing critters.
A lot of people have forgotten how the life cycle works with cats and butterflies.
We enjoy sharing what we know.
We're also now getting the gulf fritillary caterpillars.
Just another source of fascination.
That's what's happening here in Central Florida.
What's going on where you are?
HOP to it!
We had an unusually cool weekend (60's),
so it was great weather to get outside
and enjoy the garden.
Alas, it was probably our last blast of
"spwinfall", and we'll most likely have summer
until mid-October.
Here's what's growing right now.
We're still enjoying the baby kale that's taken to the shady areas of the garden.
We are starting to see insect damage though,
so these may not be around much longer.
The eggplant is doing wonderfully.
Another variety was planted this week,
the Mixed Finger Eggplant we got from
Mary's Heirloom Seeds.
Can't get enough of this stuff!
Some stray leek are doing well in a shady area in a big pot.
The parsley and basil keep it company there.
We have more planted as a border in a couple of the beds.
After griping to my garden coach Lynn about the birds getting my first ripe Roma tomato,
he provided me with netting and poles to render them helpless.
It's working.
Ha-haaaaaaaa!
Take that you naughty birds.
The former veggie bed still houses some eggplant
and one lone broccoli.
I just couldn't bring myself to tear them out
when they are still producing,
even though these things are growing elsewhere.
I'll add to it slowly, creating a flower/herb bed.
I did add some melon seeds to it though.
It's the only area where I have room to let something ramble,
although I'm thinking about trying to grow them on a tipi
so they don't get too wild.
I'd say this farmer needs more room to grow, huh?
Summer squash came up this week
and I have no idea where I will put it.
Sometimes it's just fun to see if stuff will germinate,
especially if the seed is a bit older, as in the case here.
Lynn also gave me a bunch of dill seedlings.
We don't use much in our cooking,
but they do attract black swallow butterflies,
and so they are more than welcome to share the space.
This is the gloriosa daisy.
It comes back year after year.
Once they open up, the contrast between the dark green leaves
and the bright yellow aster-like blooms is so cheery!
So glad we added these to the garden.
We have a smattering of cluster sunflowers
starting to crop up.
The gloriosa lily seeds were given to me by my friend Faye.
They are the tall stalks (leaning) in front of the bean trellis toward the left.
This is the first time I've grown these,
and they are just about ready to pop!
These lillies are bowing out for another season.
This plumbego just doesn't quit.
It really likes its spot near the rain barrels.
Some native milkweed seeds have been started,
so that we have plants to sell to folks who come to pick up free caterpillars.
I'm startin' my own cottage industry!
It's always so much fun chatting with folks about these amazing critters.
A lot of people have forgotten how the life cycle works with cats and butterflies.
We enjoy sharing what we know.
We're also now getting the gulf fritillary caterpillars.
Just another source of fascination.
That's what's happening here in Central Florida.
What's going on where you are?
HOP to it!
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