Summer Bounty

I haven't kept up here as well as I wanted to, but just had to get in here to add a few pictures and give a report on the garden.

We have some late summer roses in bloom; they look a bit tattered, but I guess the heat will do that. I'm glad they are blooming because last year after the first gorgeous show, none of them bloomed again.





We have quite a lot of squash in various places, and have enjoyed zucchini and yellow squash so far. We have several large spaghetti squashes, and Elton's pumpkins are beginning to set on. If the blooms are any indication, he is going to have quite the pumpkin patch.

The most interesting thing in our garden is how this squash has intertwined itself into the sagebrush that is growing above it. I may have mentioned that this is the only squash that has not been attacked by bugs, and I believe it is due to the aromatic sage. As you can see, the squash has blossoms so the sage has not inhibited its growth. Every time we go out and see how many more runners this squash has set out, it makes us laugh. Sage and squash, who'd a thunk it? You may not see any red tomatoes in this shot of our tomato patch, but we've had plenty so far. It sure took them awhile to get their act together, or perhaps I was just anxious. Anyway, they are producing now and if these green ones are any indication, we should have plenty to enjoy. They should continue to give us tomatoes until frost - yummy! Of all the garden veggies, tomatoes are the ones I love the most.

pickin's

Here is our first summer squash! We've already had zucchini. This little fellow is destined to become part of tonight's dinner. Yum!

Cucumbers are nearing readiness, tomatoes are profuse but still green. I am still carefully watching the growth of the eggplant. We shall have more good things to eat, very soon.

the latest from the garden

I was out this morning to work in the yard and garden. It was warm and felt humid; I should have gone out earlier than I did. But despite my discomfort, I got some things accomplished. I trimmed the yarrow and other plants that were once again blocking the sidewalk. I trimmed the bushes that were blocking our garage door entrance (not the big garage door, but the side door). I cut off some of the long, gangly rose branches. Then I set to weeding the vegetables. I began with the pumpkin patch and worked my way over to the zucchini. The pumpkins have blossoms, and we have a zucchini that is pretty much ready to eat whenever we want to. The cucumbers and corn were particularly weedy so I spent awhile on them. The corn in this part of the garden is not yet very tall because it's in partial shade from roses, but it is trying valiantly. I was thrilled to discover teeny little cucumbers growing, about 2 inches long. Yay! I weeded around some peppers and eggplant that are along the front edge of that garden area. That was about all I could do; I was dripping in sweat and it was so hot.

We have noticed that our yard is attracting a lot of honeybees and swallowtail butterflies. How wonderful it is to be outside and see these buzzing bees and magnificent butterflies!

We now have lots of green tomatoes, and all the squash is blooming and/or has tiny little ones growing. We have one beautiful purple eggplant that we've been watching every day. It's going to be so delicious!

My herb garden is a bit weedy right now, but things are going nuts. The lemon balm is huge, the dill is tall, and all the others are doing well. I've used some chives as well as tarragon. Having fresh herbs is one of the wonderful pleasures of life.

Today's pictures part one

The pictures I posted earlier today were taken a few days ago, so I just now went out and took some "current" ones.

Here is our backyard patio area. The only shade we have is from the patio umbrella, unfortunately, so when it gets hot we have to wait until a bit later in the evening to enjoy being out here. Late evenings are wonderful, sitting at the table with an aperitif, tiki torches lit, and the stars above.


One section of the vegetable garden, showing our corn, tomatoes, and various squashes. Methinks the squash will soon overrun everything else, but that's all right. We like squash!

My ever-growing herb garden! You can see how the lemon balm (center) has filled up its spot in the rock ring. Everything is growing beautifully!

much rain

This is shaping up to be one of the rainiest Junes on record for Boise. It doesn't "feel" like summer, but it's been great for the garden. Things have been growing like crazy.
Elton and Kolchak in the back yard, our patio and "wall" of lilacs and vines along the chain link fence.

We have these little pink flowers in various spots around the front yard. They are perennials that come back every year but I have no idea what they are.

Our front doorway, with Japanese maple on the left and Oregon grape and "mystery plant" on the right. I severely trimmed back the "mystery plant" earlier this spring and it was like sticks; I thought I had killed it. Now it is so lush that I am going to have to cut it back to get into the front door.
Roses and flowering quince along the west side of the house; an area that is a bit neglected because we rarely go to that side of the yard.

Lavender is just beginning to turn bright purple!

The east front side of the yard, with Scotch pine, mullein, flowers. This big fluffy shrub is growing in our front yard.....






This morning, I've been out trimming the yarrow that is encroaching on the sidewalk. If I let it go much longer, it would have reached across to the "fluffy bush" and made the sidewalk impassable.

I also planted catnip seeds in my herb garden. I have some fennel also, but knowing how tall it gets, I must think about where I want it to grow.

We have blossoms on our tomato plants as of this morning (yay!) and all the squash are getting bigger each day. Elton is still harvesting strawberries and has replanted radishes in hopes of getting a second crop.

My herb garden is growing almost too well. The lemon balm, basil and dill have all taken off, and the little tarragon that looked so forlorn after I dropped it at the store has bounced back well.

After the rain

This morning I tackled the weeds in the garden along the west fence. Quite a job, but I had to get them out so that the various veggies in there can survive, and so we know what we have. I avoided one area; the calendula looks too much like cabbage and I need Elton to help me distinguish them.

I discovered that one of the peace roses has bloomed in the rose garden, and I am so happy. Peace roses are my favorite and I'm so glad we have them. Among all the roses, this is my favorite. The roses, however, are getting very leggy. They are sending up tall branches that
are all leaves, and I need to cut them back. Not sure if I should do this, so I'm going to consult some sources to find out if and/or how I need to go about it.

Also took a pic of the patio pots. There are lots of peppers, as you can see. The peas are probably a lost cause but I can't bear to pull them out just yet. The spinach has gone to seed and I'm hoping to use the bit of lettuce that is there before it does the same. Elton's radishes have been a success. They are beautiful, round, red, and spicy. He is thrilled.

Discoveries

I puttered around the yard and garden yesterday, and would have enjoyed it more had it not been so humid. We don't get much humidity here, so it affected me strongly. I have worked in the yard quite a lot, and never sweated like I did yesterday. Still, I managed to get some things done, and found a few surprises as I meandered around the yard.

These lovely pink flowers are blooming in front of the house. Snapdragons? I'm not sure. I bought some purple lobelia a few days ago and set them in a pot beside the front step. They should fill in and be beautiful there. I also moved my birthday gift pink azalea into a pot on the other side of the step. I have to keep it watered well, as it was quite droopy when I transplanted it, but after a good drink it perked right up.

I weeded one section of the vegetable garden, and now you can really see Elton's zucchini and corn, which have really taken off with the warm weather we've had. The tomotoes are growing and look very healthy. Elton's strawberries are beginning to turn red, and he plucked his first red radish from the patio planter yesterday. He said it was very spicy and good. As quickly as those radishes grew, I'm thinking that we can harvest these and plant more to get another crop.

The most surprising discovery I made was when I was weeding out near the sidewalk. I confess this is an area that is somewhat neglected, because it is filled in with mullein, yarrow, and other plants that don't require a lot of maintenance. I found a plant that I had not recognized before, but having planted a small sage herb in my herb garden, I certainly knew what it was now -- a nice big sage! I felt quite stupid that not only did I go out and buy one, but that this was there all along and I had no idea what it was.

And then.... I was watering the west side of the house, which I tend to forget about since it's not a traffic area and the shrubs there are largely self-maintaining: roses, flowering quince, mint. Near the back gate on that side I made an even more amazing discovery: another sage plant, this one very big, and in flower (see photo below). I was delighted and felt stupid all over again.

Elton set out cucumber plants and we cleaned out two more pots and he filled them with pepper plants. Our patio is quite full of lovely growing vegetables! The peas are flowering, but I believe the hot weather has probably been the death knell to them. My lettuce is going to seed after only one cutting. Ah well, I can plant more in the fall. The thai pepper plant is beginning to form buds. And my herb garden is thriving. I can see that the sage has grown, and the seeds I planted are beginning to sprout. The cilantro is doing particularly well.
I trimmed up the plants that grow along the sidewalk, as they were beginning to encroach. The yarrow, Oregon grape, and the big "mystery bush" that has delicate white flowers, all got a haircut. I watered the hens and chicks, and noticed that the yucca is sending up its shoots and will be flowering (I guess that's what you call it for yucca) soon.

We've noticed that the zucchini has been attacked by some sort of bug, the leaves have little holes in them. Interestingly, the one he planted near a sagebrush is untouched. I suspect that the pungent odor of the sagebrush drives away pests, and may be a good place to grow things. Just have to be sure not to plant them under it where they won't get any sun.

update on the garden

It's been about ten days since I blogged last, and the garden has grown a lot since then. I added a few more herbs to my herb garden, and a friend gave me some terracotta stakes with names of herbs on them, so I will be placing them in their proper spots today. I don't yet have any thyme or rosemary, so I must get those two herbs added.

The onions have really grown a lot, and Elton's zucchini and all the other squash he's planted is coming up. I'm afraid we are going to have more zucchini than we can possibly use, but we will give it away and freeze some. The tomatoes are growing slowly, but they look healthy. Elton's strawberries have tiny little green berries on them, and more blossoms, so we will be enjoying sweet treats soon. The pots on the patio are doing well, especially Elton's radishes. The leaves are beautiful; we just hope there is something growing underneath them! My peas are looking good but I have not had one bloom yet. With the weather warming up, I suspect I may not get any at all. We had fresh lettuce once and it's growing again. Hopefully we can enjoy some more before it gets too hot for it to do well.

We were away Memorial Day weekend, and when we got home, the poppies were in bloom, as were several of the roses. There are more roses about to pop. It's going to be beautiful when they are awash in color. We have calendula all over the back yard, the flax is still its gorgeous periwinkle, and we even have a gladiola in purple flower. My Mom called them "flags."

I need to do some weeding and weedeating but otherwise things are looking pretty good.

the herb garden is begun!

Yesterday I spent quite awhile digging and pulling weeds out of this space to install my herb garden. I wasn't really sure how much room I would need but I think this is about right. As you can see, I left the flax in place (I can't bear to pull it out), and also a couple of tiny violets. There were dozens of calendula popping up and I imagine some of them will come back. That stuff is incredibly self-propagating.

Anyway, what we have in the foreground in the first picture is cinnamon basil. Just past it in that small section on the left is lemon balm. Toward the back in that circle of rocks is dill, and the sage is behind the tall flax at the front of the garden space. I also have some seeds that I will plant in the open spots. In the other photo, you can see the sage on the bottom right in its circle of rocks, and the dill just to the left above it.

I had an allergic reaction to one of the weeds that scraped my arm. My forearm was red and swollen but, oddly, didn't itch. I put some benadryl cream on it, and it's better this morning but still a bit red.

Today I must spray Roundup on various weeds, and I should start working on preparing a spot for my seed mat. We are going to be gone next weekend and I don't want to wait too long to get it going.

A few garden photos

I've been out working in the garden this morning. I weeded the onions and strawberries and prepared the place where I am going to put in my herb garden. While I was out, I took a few photos.

<----Right outside the front door beneath the Japanese Maple are these little flowers that I discovered this morning. This is right where I am planning to lay down one of those seed mats. Now I have to work around this! If anyone knows what they are, please let me know! There have also been some tiny white flowers growing in the same area, from a plant that looks like tall lawn grass. I'm not sure exactly what to do now with the seed mat, since there are things growing in this spot that are obviously perennials; I've seen them before but didn't realize they would pop up again. Arrgh!!

This is the far eastern side of the back yard, and our -------->
patio. You can see the lilacs are in bloom and the foliage underneath from some sort of climbing vine that has beautiful blue/purple flowers. They could be morning glories but I'm not sure. You can see that I'm a bit unschooled on what plants are.....! There are a couple of the patio planters in which we have planted various vegetables. A better close-up of some of those follows shortly.









<----- Calendula growing outside our basement window. The calendula is so profuse in the back yard that it is almost an invasive weed. I love it and hate to pull it out when I find it growing; however, we have quite enough of it! The oregano that ate Boise! This herb is trying to take over the rose garden. I cut it way back last fall and you can see that it hasn't been deterred at all. I hate to admit we haven't used any of it for anything, but I'm hoping to have the chance to enjoy some of it later this summer when we have tomatoes, in some fresh homemade spaghetti sauce.


Big sagebrush and flax growing peaceably <----together in one of the back yard flower beds. I love having sagebrush, and the flax is my pride and joy. Its periwinkle blue flowers are so wispy and ethereal. I cut the flax back last fall and held my breath hoping that I hadn't ruined it. But it came back this spring as lovely as ever.

My red onions, freshly weeded this morning. I've been meaning to get some onion sets as well, but just haven't done it. We love onions and can't wait until they're big enough to eat. --->
The onions are in the other flower bed, on the far west side of the back yard. Elton has also planted peppers, eggplant, and seeds for so many other things I can't remember what all he's done. There's corn, cabbage, kohlrabi ... yum!







<--- Roses! Just about to pop open! I have no idea what they are called so don't even bother to ask me. The only ones I know that we have for sure are peace roses, which is my favorite. Last year all the roses bloomed beautifully and when they were done I cut the spent blossoms, but they never bloomed again :-( Not sure what I did wrong, but I'm going to do my best to rectify it this year.

Someone's dog in our yard .. oh, wait, that's <----Kolchak, my dog. She is lounging near the patio planters. In the long purple one Elton has planted radishes (they are growing well), the one below it has peppers, and those are my peas off to the left. We also have lettuce and another pot with a Thai pepper, and more radishes. Elton loves his radishes and is anxious to see if these will grow into edible goodies.




<---Kolchak again, with the lilacs and mystery blue flowers in the background. These plants are all growing along a chain link fence, and our neighbor's yard is right on the other side. We are afforded wonderful shade and privacy thanks to the dense growth of these plants.
Below: Elton's freshly-weeded strawberries. With any luck we should have some soon!! There were a few plants here already, but he bought a few more this year and added to the patch. You can't tell which ones are which; the new ones have taken off like crazy.













So these are the first of my planned ongoing photo record of the yard and garden. This afternoon or tomorrow I hope to get back out and put in my herb garden. The tedious preparation process is over - now I get to have fun!!

Frost in May?

We had to cover up the tomato plants tonight because they are predicting possible frost tonight. That's right, it's May 12. This is ridiculous. It's been a cold, windy day and I am just about to make some hot tea just to warm my hands up.

The plantings we've done so far are looking good; at least the ones that have come up. Elton's radishes are going crazy in the pots; I swear you can see how much they've grown each day. I'm so tempted to pull one up and see what's underneath, but don't want to waste them. The lettuce is about ready to eat, and the peas should be blooming soon. The strawberries are abloom and we should have some soon if the *&!@):^% weather ever warms up. I expect things to really take off when that happens. If ever.

I will continue with the yard description in a subsequent blog:-)

About the yard/garden

In addition to being a diary of my adventures in the garden, this will also be a place of record-keeping for my own reference so that I may look back in case I forget what I planted where... or when I planted, sowed, whatever. For anyone who loves to garden and has information or feedback for me, please feel free to comment.

I'll be adding pictures soon, but this text description will be beginning of your acquaintance with my garden. When I use the term "garden," I am referring to our front and back yards, not only the "garden" proper. For we have many unique and wonderful plants all over this yard, and all deserve recognition and remembering here.

The front yard is our face to the world as it drives by on our street. Nearest the street are two raised beds on either side of the sidewalk that come from our front steps and down to the street. Lying across it is the sidewalk that goes up and down the street. These raised beds are on the street side of the city sidewalk, and are bordered by decorative red rock. Within the raised bed on the west side is a huge, old tree (I have yet to determine what it is). This tree has big leaves that cover the yard every fall, and old branches that have dropped off during windstorms, one of which broke the rearview mirror on my car. There is yucca, yarrow, hens-and-chicks, tulips, mullein. Later in the year there will be other mystery flowers that grow and bloom and die.

On the east side of the sidewalk to the street, the other raised bed features a wonderful big sagebrush (artemisia tridentata), more yarrow and yucca and mullein. This sagebrush has self-propagated into the red rock east of it and I've considered digging up the plants and putting them somewhere else, but I haven't done it yet. There is another tree, and I am unsure of what it is.

Crossing the sidewalk into the yard proper that lies in front of the house, there is a border along the sidewalk on either side of the walk that goes to the street. On the east side is an Oregon grape, yarrow, poppies, lavender, mullein, and mystery plants. The lawn goes up toward the house but is quite small (yay) and against the house is a shrub (don't know what it is, but it's spiny), an Oregon grape,and another unidentified shrub. Under the shrubs are mint and lavender, as well as hyacinth in the spring, and other mystery flowers.

On the east side along the sidewalk is more lavender, yarrow, mullein, and a cool bush that has little white flowers. There is a rock path that curves up from the city sidewalk to the gate that goes to the side of the house. The rocks are basalt, so rather a reddish brown color. On the east side of the path is a scotch pine and a flower bed of sorts with mullein, yarrow, and other mystery plants. The lawn on the east side is the same size as the west. Against the house is a big tree/plant with yellowish green waxy-ish leaves. Next to that is a cedar-type shrub that is probably too tall and overgrown, but I'd need a ladder to trim it. Then, next to the front steps is a Japanese maple. Under the trees are lavender, poppies, tulips, hyacinth. I'm going to plant shade-tolerant flowers as well, because this is the north side.

There isn't a lot of room on the west side of the house, just a strip of lawn and some shrubs and roses. A flowering quince reminds me of my Mom, because she liked that plant. Then you come to the west side back gate.

The east side of the house is where our back door is, and when you enter the gate from the front yard, there are various ground covers and plants covering the chain link fence. Periwinkle, snowberries (aka corpse berries , some sort of vines...

I will continue the description of the back yard in my next entry.