Garden Friday

Something wonderful arrived in the mail last week.

A gift from my farmer friends Faye & Lynn down south.

He raided his stash of tumeric
and sent me up a mess of it!
There was plenty to plant and share with fellow gardeners.
Tumeric is one of the best foods for inflammation.
Once it gets to growing, I'll show you what it looks like.
The leaves are edible.

The weather has been conducive to working outside,
so a few projects have been worked on.
There is always another project... 

One thing I crossed off of my list
was to fashion "cages" out of some of the grapevine
to protect the newly planted beautyberry from the mower.
I like the look and think I will work on making
other garden structures using the leftovers
from the wattle fence project.

This Freckles variety of lettuce
started taking off this week.
It's just as well, as there are other varieties that are bolting.

Nasturtiums have been planted in several locations 
around the veggies, to deter pests and add some color.

 The beets seem to have awakened this week too,
with a good dose of rain to encourage them right along.
Next week's cooler temperatures may help these do even better.

The garlic and shallots will be harvested in the next two weeks.
The beds will then be planted with sweet potatoes
and butternut squash.
I'll need to build a trellis or frame to accommodate the climbing vines.

 Surprisingly, the okra germinated earlier than expected.
There are two varieties planted,
the standard Clemson Spineless,
and the Bradford Family type that I grew last year.

 Cucumbers have a good start in the straw bales.
A trellis was recently added behind it to support the climbing tendrils.

Some of the strawberries in the straw bales are doing fine,
a couple of others didn't transplant well.
I'm hoping with a good soaking that they will bounce back.

 All is not well, however, with the beans.
Something's been after them,
but I have a solution in mind
and will work on finding what I need this weekend.

 The apple tree is loaded with fruit
and I'm keeping an eye out for spots on the leaves and fruit.
Several folks have told me that apples and peaches can be grown without spraying,
so I am inching back toward hope.

Tall Verbena

The butterfly garden has filled in well,
and everything seems to have suddenly just taken off.

 This dwarf variety of Joe Pye Weed is looking healthy and strong.
It is one of the best butterfly attractors.

gaillardia in bud

and in bloom

 These gorgeous blossoms jumped out at me when I was weedwhacking.
What a unique composition of color and texture.
Wish I knew what it is.

 These peonies belong to a neighbor across the street.
They are so amazingly complex, yet delicate.

garlic bloom

This weekend's rainfall is a welcome gift.
Even though it prevents many outdoor activities,
there is always a way to dodge the raindrops 
and get something done in the garden.
Working on the wattle fence will be priority one.

Here's hoping you get just the amount of rain your garden needs!