Garden Friday

 

 

cactus zinnia

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share our Zone 7b Piedmont garden.

 

Our bed of sweet potatoes is doing fine,

now that we've had some steady rain.

This is one of the easiest plants to grow,

with little pest pressure

(I hope I'm not jinxing myself),

and double the food.

The roots are edible once harvested,

but until then, the leaves can be eaten as well.

 

The melons are enjoying the wetter weather.

A few of these netted bags were added to the larger fruit,

so that they will not break the vines if they get too heavy.

The bags are repurposed from citrus, potatoes and onions,

and are tied onto the cattle panel trellis.

There are SO many lil' melons out there!

 

The okra has grown by leaps and bounds,

as okra is prone to do with any sort of attention.

The straw bales had to be propped up a bit,

as they were collapsing from the moisture.

Making frames for the bales will be on my winter task list.

 

The cukes are consistently giving us food.

I've made refrigerator pickles with some,

and others are added to my daily salad.

The flavor is good and the skin is thin,

which makes for good eating.

 

The basil (you say BAY-ZIL, I say BA-ZIL),

will be used for savory dishes, but also for something new.

I heard about making basil tea on a YouTube channel called

"Roots and Refuge", and can't wait to try it.

 

Meet my dragon's tongue bean.

The only one.

As soon as I noticed this beauty,

the next day the plant dried up.

Ugh.

I will be planting more this weekend,

along with bush beans and a few other goodies.

 

Speaking of unexpected surprises

(and not in a good way),

our first pumpkin patch just decided to die on us.

I was diligent about watering,

before all this rain came our way,

and I even remembered to fertilize it when it flowered,

so I'm not sure what happened.

Haven't spied any bugs on it,

so who knows.

 

Our second patch is doing better.

This one was planted a few weeks after the first,

so I'm crossing fingers that it makes it.

I've always wanted to have my own personal pumpkin patch.

Maybe Linus Van Pelt himself will show up!

 

The mystery squash still shows no signs of slowing down.

It also doesn't show any female flowers on the stem.

The bees are all over it all day long,

but so far, I think it's going nowhere fast.

Ah well, it's a nice vertical statement in the garden.

 

Our carrot crop is still working on going to seed,

although I think it's getting closer.

These are two plants in the same bed,

but notice the difference in textures.

I didn't realize it took so long for this process

with this particular crop.

I have other carrots growing, so that I can harvest as needed,

and I will most likely succession sow some more.

It just makes sense to grow carrots, potatoes

and onions all year long.

We are blessed with a long growing season.

 

The veggie garden is getting fuller by the day,

and after this weekend, it will be maxed out.

Until something else is harvested,

and then it all begins over again.

 

On the flowery side of things,

our pollinator bed is already bursting.

This is one of the beds from the original garden location,

and placed here specifically to encourage pollinators

to work their magic on the veg garden.

When we had to relocate most of the garden beds,

this one stayed put, as there was no contamination issue,

since these were all ornamental plants.

We have a mixture of candy tuft, coreopsis, daisies, 

rudbeckia, sunflowers and zinnias growing here now.

 

 

The front porch pots are filling out nicely.

I love this combination of the fountain grass 

and the pop of color from the calibrachoa.

There is also a sedum in there,

but it has been overtaken!

I'll find another pot for it.

 

 

 These balloon flowers have grown taller than expected.

They have a home in the pollinator bed near the mailbox.

I've had to prop them up because they refused to stand tall

without any support.

They were given to me by a friend,

and I think of her each time I enjoy their beauty.

Gardening friends are the best, don't ya think?

The new chooks are settling in to the routine.

The divider between the two sets of chooks 

has been removed, and they now all mingle together.

I can't say it's been a peaceful transition,

but it sure is nice to have a few more sweet souls to tend to.

And we are getting 2-3 dozen eggs a week.

Bless their little egg-laying selves.

Here's some video shot yesterday during our downpour.

Don't you feel cooler just watching it?

Ah, nothing spells relief from the heat like 

R-A-I-N!

Hope you are blessed with what you need this week!

Garden Friday

 

 

 

It's summertime and Garden Friday is the chill spot.

Several of our Mammoth sunflowers have bloomed

and it brings a smile to my face every time I turn the corner.

What a wonderful, cheery welcome home!

 

This common milkweed has been attracting hummingbirds,

which was a surprise to me.

That alone will ensure that they get planted every season.

We're looking forward to an invasion of Monarch caterpillars

in the next few weeks.

We have many, many milkweed plants near the front porch.

 

The other type of milkweed we have planted

is distributed generously around the cannas

as well as in the front porch bed.

How wonderful it will be to greet these yearly visitors!

 

The hyacinth bean teepees are filling out,

but we have yet to have seen any of the flowers

or striking seed pods on them.

This is one ornamental plant that seems

not to have any pest pressure.

 

The pollinator bed is abuzz with activity.

The rudbekia really went wild this year,

and this plant in the front will be transplanted to a neighbor's bed.

 

 

Look what I spied yesterday morning while doing a garden check.

I had never seen a moth with this color combination before.

It's called a Rosy Maple moth and as you might guess,

the host for the caterpillars is the maple tree.

The caterpillars look very similar to tomato hornworms,

so I can imagine them getting mistaken for those critters.

You can learn more about this creature here.

 

While at work yesterday,

this little cutie showed up.

It actually hopped toward a plant I was watering,

and I was happy to help the lil' thing out.

It's been so dry here, that I can imagine many critters looking for water.

 

In the veg garden, I've left some of my favorite lettuce to bolt and reseed the spot in the bed.

The green oakleaf will be left in place

so that crisp, tender lettuce can be enjoyed for months to come.

 

The pumpkins are rockin' the bed!

So far, so good.

They were fertilized this week,

along with the melons and front porch ornamentals.

 

The sweet potatoes soak up every bit of heat they can get.

I will start becoming better at remembering to harvest leaves for my salads.

This plant just keeps giving, from leaves to tubers.

 

Another watermelon was discovered this week,

with many more flowers on the vines.

Fingers crossed that we get some homegrown fruit!

The okra is doing better since some drip irrigation

was added to help it along.

We are quite late in the season to have it this size,

but it doesn't look like the heat is letting up any,

so hopefully we will still get enough to quick pickle.

 

Our oregano patch is full and lush.

It rambles wildly and is a haven for pollinators.

Would you look at this guy?

He's sun bathing on the arch that covers the chicken coop.

He's practically an honorary chicken,

since he hangs out so much near the run.

At least none of the chooks' food goes to waste.

 

A couple of the girls are molting,

so we're back to getting only 3 eggs most days.

No worries.

We're happy to have whatever they can offer.

They are such a blessing.
 

Garden Friday

 

 

It's a balmy Garden Friday!

The summer heat is cranking out bodacious blooms 

and kitchen goodies around the homestead.

 

These moonflowers grew from seeds gifted me by a neighbor.

I always thought moonflowers were all white,

but this variety obviously has other ideas.

As soon as the sun comes out, they retire for the day.

 

On the other hand, I discovered these unique morning glories

near the oregano patch.

I've never seen this pattern before and it took me by surprise.

 

Our sweet next door neighbor had given me a cutting

from her hydrangea bush.

I simply stuck it in a glass of water and waited about 3 weeks.

It looks like I'll have a new ornamental bush in the garden soon!

 

Our first Mammoth Sunflower has bloomed

in the pollinator bed.

I'm estimating that it's at least 12 feet tall,

and I hope to be able to get the head off to save seeds

before the squirrels climb up the stalk and steal them.

 

The bees seem to be loving the blossoms on the loofah.

 

The first fruit has formed and I can't wait to see this plant take off!

 

Several more squash have formed on the cattle panel trellis.

Last week I was reporting that I had very few female flowers

and only one fruit on the vine.

I may even resow more seeds for a fall harvest.

The bug pressure should be reduced.

 

This lone broccoli plant is making a comeback!

Although it didn't give me a head last season,

it's decided to replenish its leaves and try again.

Fresh seed will be sown for fall planting,

but this one will be left in place.

 

The pumpkins continue to flourish without much intervention from me.

The drip irrigation is a game changer,

and I can see that they really benefit from the consistent watering.

 

The sweet potatoes are starting to arch over the piece of cattle panel

that I placed next to the bed.

I can imagine that soon the panel will be covered with vines.

The leaves of this plant can be eaten raw in salads,

or wilted like spinach.

 

Oh my goodness!

It doesn't take much to thrill me,

but this lil' watermelon did the trick!

 

And when I spotted a few more,

I was beside myself!

With multiple flowers on the vines,

it's a good time to feed this plant.

 

The turmeric resides in a shady spot

near the compost pile.

I'm also keeping about a dozen pots of aloe,

which I have repotted for a local giveaway.

Our homestead is abuzz with activity!

We have so many bees and other pollinators

and I couldn't bee more pleased!

One new task I've taken to doing each day,

is combing through our crape myrtle blossoms for Japanese beetles

and feeding them to the chooks.

They come running when they see the tin can in my hand,

for they know the treasures that abound!

Betty and Wilma chowing down

 

 

I hope your weekend is filled with what means the most to you.

As for me, I'll be right here

with everything I hold dear.