Garden Friday

Welcome to Garden Friday!
The blooms are loving our summer-like conditions
and gifting us with amazing color!

In the veggie garden, the Swiss chard is doing fine,
despite the spike in the temperature.

 The squash has tripled its size in a week
and is getting ready to wrap itself around the trellis.

 The Yukon Gold potatoes that make up half of this bed
show signs of slowing down.
They will most likely be ready to harvest fairly soon.
We'll know when the greens start to die off and turn brown.

The sugar snap peas have been a tasty snack
when I'm working outside.
The trick with these is to keep on picking,
so they will keep producing.
No problem there!

This cantaloupe was transplanted to a container a couple of weeks ago.
It's flowering, so I'll give it a good dose of worm compost 
and watch it respond.

The strawberries have started putting out runners
which spill over the container and take root.
I'll be placing some organic soil mix all around it
and giving them ample room to grow.

The lone parsley out there is going to seed,
which I can save for next season.
Additional herbs have been seeded, including 
basil, dill, and more parsley.

I'm digging the Cylindra beets.
They are a first time crop for me,
as I've always grown the Detroit Dark Red.
These have been so easy and really needed no coddling.
I'll plan to plant more in the fall season.

These gardening gloves have impressed me.
I'm fairly hard on my gloves and these have kept right up with me,
and as you can see, they wash up very well.
They are made by Atlas.

 Our front porch garden is looking pretty good,
although there a couple of spots I'd like to fill in with something.
We've been getting lots of pollinator activity here,
as well as visits from birds, squirrels and lizards.

 I wish the camera did justice to the color of this lobelia.
Here it is paired with euphorbia and it's a dynamite duo!

 This coneflower has a guest,
can you see it on the left side of the bloom?
Coneflowers are one of my absolute favorites!

With a little less rain this week and a rise in temperatures,
it feels like summer, although the calendar says differently.
This weekend may find me at a plant swap with a friend,
so I might have something new to report next week.
Maybe I'll even find something for those bare spots in the garden.
Ya never know!