Garden Friday

(Not sure why, but the spacing is off on this post

and I couldn't fix it.  Ah well...)

Happy Day Before Summer!

We hope you enjoy this garden tour on this last day of spring 2020.

The Yukon Gold potatoes are getting ready for harvest.

We have a 3X8 bed half filled with these buttery spuds.

Although they haven't yet flowered,

they seem to be ready for picking,

as the green stems are falling over,

as is common when harvest time draws near.

The first one picked will be cooked up this weekend.

The garden expanded a bit this week.

A trench was dug from the straw bales

so that we could bury the drip irrigation

out to this island bed I'm calling The Pumpkin Patch.

There were some crepe myrtle trees planted here

once upon a time,

but they were taken down because they shaded the garden too much.

The plant you see in the background is a beautyberry,

which will help to feed our feathered friends.

Our first pumpkin popped up this week.

The snap peas are still doing well on the arches.

Each day I pick a handful for snacking or adding to a salad,

and this promotes more pea production.

For the first time since I've been growing peas,

I noticed some funky shapes among them.

As long as they still taste good, it really doesn't matter

what they look like.

beet greens

I spied a few green beans growing in the straw bales.

This is one harvest I really look forward to.

I never get tired of eating green beans.

The cantaloupe being grown in a container

shows the first signs of fruit.

The melons develop next to the female flowers.

Looks like we've had no trouble with pollination.

leek collecting rain

rain barrels overflow

So far this week,

we've gotten a full three inches of rain.

No need for the irrigation, which is just fine with me.

Let Mother Nature do Her magic!

I'll have to get a photo with me standing next to these monsters.

They are the Mammoth sunflowers

and they really live up to their name.

These giants dwarf everything around them.

I really need to get a measurement on these,

they are simply amazing!

In this area where I sometimes place seedling trays,

a few ornamental plants have taken hold.

More mulch needs to be added to cover the cardboard.

coneflower

lavender

The first black swallowtail was spotted on the milkweed

in the front porch bed.

I'm not sure if you can tell here,

but, this one has a defect on the right wing.

It didn't seem to affect its flight.

Although I planted dill (one of this butterfly's host plants),

it hasn't yet come up.

It also lives on parsley, rue and fennel.

I better get to planting some more herbs!

On Tuesday, we woke up to 53 degrees.

Quite a surprise for us,

but for the plants as well.

Things will start warming up now,

as summer officially starts up.

We will no doubt be blessed with more color in the ornamental beds

and bounty from the veggie garden. 

Grateful for it all.