Time for Phlox

The phlox is blooming! Above in the perennial garden and below the original plant next to the pond which came from a friend.

This bee was still asleep as I photographed the blossoms.

A closeup of Natascha phlox. See its striped blossoms?

Cathy in MN asked to see my finished project: the mosaic stepping stone.

And finally the hibiscus is producing saucer sized blooms.

What a Difference July Makes!

It's happened! It was hidden in the leaves so when I went out for the garden update photos yesterday I missed it entirely. But later when I went to harvest the cucumbers for refrigerator pickles (a la Daphne's Dandelions) I saw it. I let it sit for the day and today it's being celebrated! THE FIRST RUTGERS TOMATO! Yeah!


But back to the difference July makes for a moment. Each of my three eggplants has a fruit hanging from it.


The peppers are loaded with lovelies in fact I picked some last night for the evening casserole recipe.


The zucchinis are producing and I have to pick every other day now to keep ahead of them. I picked four yesterday and only used one and there are more to be picked tonight.


Cucumbers are doing super. Great taste too.

The butternut squash is up. This was a late planting and I hope it has enough time to produce for me.


Tomato plants are loaded and despite the wilt I had on a few branches which I think was due to overwatering and the occasional hornworm (4 picked this morning), the tomatoes are lovely. And now my first ripe one.

Rutgers on the fence. The ones on the mesh trellis (not pictured) are responsible for the first ripened fruit.

Amish paste.

Goldie

Here's the damage the bunnies have done to the green beans. I harvested three beans today - all that was there - and pulled the plants.

The new beans are under chicken wire but since this photo yesterday some of the seedlings have disappeared. I don't think the bunnies could fit under the wire so it may be cut worms or slugs.

I made owl faces on old cds which I've hung on the fence. These and the hope that as the bunnies get bigger they won't fit through the wire fencing are what I'm counting on to prevent further damage.


Ah, July and so much yet to bring into the kitchen to enjoy!

Day Lilies

One of my favorite all time flowers is the day lily. At my house in Columbia as we landscaped the backyard in the 1980s I bought a day lily collection from Burpee. I can't remember how many different varieties it was, but they all went into one large triangular bed next to the new brick patio. Over time they had to be divided so that by the time we moved from there in 2003 there were day lilies all over the yard.

When we moved into this new home in Fall 2005 I had big plans for gardening. In the spring my first day lilies came from friends. They were the simple orange variety.

Another friend gave me some, also orange. I brought some back from Emily's rental home in Chester, VT and they were also orange. I was lamenting that I didn't have any from my old home to my parents on a visit to them in Chambersburg and my dad promptly dug up some he had in the back near their patio for me to take home. They are my favorite, made all the more special by how they got back to me.

Soon they will need dividing and I'll have to find places for them to go.


I have since purchased four varieties of day lilies, pictured below


and several varieties of stella d'oro day lilies.

A good friend just last week brought me some that she had gotten from me oh so many years ago. They haven't flowered for her of late because they were so shaded so she doesn't remember what color they are. They are newly planted and I don't think I will find out their color until next year, but maybe they'll surprise me. Like this one below which was a surprise. I remember planting it last year but can't remember where it came from. It's color was a pleasant change from the orange.

Post script: Yes, deer love day lilies! Each spring as the first shoots come up I spray with Liquid Fence every two weeks for the first couple of months then once a month thereafter. It's the only way to enjoy these flowers.

Harvest Monday - July 4th

I started the Harvest Week last Monday picking this green pepper which didn't have much that was eatable.

The next day I picked two Cubanelle and two green peppers, green beans, zucchini and some basil.
Thursday I picked these zucchini that went into a shrimp stir fry.

The garlic was harvested last week and is drying in the garage.

More cherry tomatoes which are very sweet.

The single zucchini went into a salad and I steamed the green beans. The bunny is enjoying them too. The onions were part of my onion harvest. Now I know how you get pearl onions! That's the size these were so I added them to frozen green peas.

Sunday I braided the onions after they had hung to dry on the fence for two days and then got rained on early Sunday morning. I have to rethink how I grow onions. They are not very large.


These are the bullnecked ones which I'll have to use first.

This morning I got two more cherry toms and two cucumbers for the 4th of July dinner tonight.

See other harvest at our host Daphne's Dandelions.