Notes from the garden today (aka, too tired to write much):
I headed outside this morning expecting to spend a couple of hours weeding. Instead, I found that my strategy of packing in the plants was working. The flowers, vines and vegetables had pretty much crowded out any weeds, so my weeding took all of about 20 minutes.
With so many plants packed into the kitchen garden, it also means that real estate is hard to come by here at Bumblebee. I finally picked the last of the tomatoes on the plants that had rallied nobly against the fusarium wilt so that I could plant broccoli. I’m eying the Armenian and Burpless cucumber patch now because I have to find room for the Brussels sprouts and collards. And where will I put those savoy cabbages? Thank goodness the lettuce and spinach are planted.
I always marvel at the beauty of the garlic chive blossoms. But guess what? If you let them go to seed you’ll be dealing with thousands and thousands of little garlic chive plants in your pathways. Take my word for it. Don’t let them go to seed.
Why haven’t I planted Russian sage before? Note to self: Plant more Russian sage.
The container plants are lush and full. I recall reading in some design magazine that the container should be mostly concealed by the plants. No problem here. Do you see the container? I don’t see any container.
So, how are things in your garden this August?
Recently posted on Examiner.com:
Garden glove review: Foxgloves Ergonomic
Ragweed season: Let the misery begin
Want local foods? Hire your own backyard farmer
Robin
One of my plans when I first started blogging was to create an online journal of what was going on in my garden.
Somehow, that never really happened. I had other ideas I wanted to explore and topics I wanted to write about. I suppose I also worried that no one else would be interested in my little plot of land. I also worried that if I wrote too much about what was happening in my backyard, people wouldn’t come and look over my virtual fence and chat.
Well, now that I have my gardening column on Examiner as a forum for non-personal garden topics, I can get back to some of my original objectives and make Bumblebee more about my own gardening space.
So let me tell you about my day…
Today I marveled at the perfection and beauty of my squash plants. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that they won’t stay this lovely. These perfectly formed and perky leaves will start to wilt. The bugs will discover them and chew tiny holes in them, some in lace-like patterns. Some leaves will wither and yellow even as the squash starts arriving by the bushel full.
But for now, I love these squash plants. They are perfect. They are mammoth. My hand cannot even reach from one side of the leaf to the other. Today, they represent the potential of abundance and are an ornament to my garden.
Today I also picked blackeyed peas. I have never grown them before, but a family friend gave me some seedlings she purchased at the local Amish market. Frankly, it was during the throes of spring planting and I just plunked them in a convenient spot. They are, perhaps, a bit crowded. And at first I thought they would need some sort of trellis to climb. But they have done just fine here, shooting up their long pods above the plants.
It was very satisfying picking a whole bucket of these beans today. Tomorrow I will shell them and find some appropriate dish to highlight their freshness. Secretly (okay, secret’s out), I am grateful that the men in my house do not like blackeyed peas. ALL MINE!
I also admired my pink bed today. When I planted the cock’s comb seedlings in the bed near the cone flowers I didn’t realize they would intermingle so companionably. But now I think I’ll do this again, since it’s a winning combination.
The cone flowers also make me smile because they are from a clump of flowers given to me by a friend about four years ago. I always think of her and her husband when I see them.
I also started harvesting the seeds from my spent cilantro plants. These coriander seeds will be a fine, fresh addition to some dish. I’ll need to begin exploring recipes soon to take advantage of the new harvest.
So, aside from the watering and bush squishing, that was my garden today.
What was going on in your garden today?
Robin
Sometimes it just feels as if I’m on a downhill runaway train!
So if it seems that I have been ignoring my Bumblebee Blog here, it’s not because I haven’t been thinking about it.
As some of my friends know, I am now writing a garden column at Examiner.com, the growing national news service. Learning the Examiner process, developing my editorial calendar and identifying sources and resources has taken time. Little things such as work (I have a job!), other writing projects, family vacations, house guests, family emergencies and nearly cutting off my finger with my uber-sharp Felco pruners–twice–have also been major time suckers.
But the flowers and veggies here at Bumblebee continue to grow, as do the weeds. In fact, I’m still trying to get back on top of the weeds that sought world domination while I had the nerve to go on a week-long family vacation.
In the Colonial theme garden, where I do my most intensive gardening, I decided to experiment with some new veggies this year, including tomatillos, blackeyed peas and a wider variety of heirloom tomatoes, including Paul Robeson, Black Sara, Goose Creek and Cherokee Purple. I’m also growing pattypan and crookneck squash, malabar spinach, strawberries, all kinds of peppers and herbs.
I’m happy with the decision to add more flowers in containers in the theme garden. They add more color than I can squeeze into the beds and it also forces me to head out with the water hose every day since container plants dry out so quickly.
I have started another garden area that we are currently calling the North Garden. It used to be the Poop Garden because that’s where our old dog Winifred used to, well, you know. Winifred has been gone for a few years now, so I figure it’s safe to expand our vegetable growing in a spot that she used for her own production.
Frankly, I’m still struggling with the organization and plant content of the North Garden, so I’m not really ready to post photos. But I will before the end of summer, if only so you can shake your heads and feel sad for how miserably I’ve failed.
Now that I’m writing a column over at Examiner, my posts here in Bumblebee will be largely
Thanks for visiting. Drop me a line or comment and let me know how your garden is doing.
Ciao!
Robin
