Harvest Monday

How soon we forget. I went back to last year's postings for August and read my laments that the zucchini wasn't producing and there were no green peppers. I was celebrating tomatoes and eggplants, however. This year the zucchini are just about done for the season, the peppers are mass producing, the tomatoes are satisfactory and no eggplant. What a difference from one year to the next.




Most of my tomatoes have been frozen, eaten or the last batch made into tomato jam. We are eating peppers but I could freeze some too. The basil you see above was washed, dried, chopped and drizzled with olive oil then frozen in a bag flattened so I can break off bits to use in the winter.

See other harvests at Daphne's Dandelions.

August Flowers

Thank goodness for black-eyed susans. Like the energizer bunny they keep going and going and going. That means the primary color in the perennial garden is yellow. There is pink with the hibiscus opening one or two flowers each day and the phlox blooming for who knows how long yet.




Along the glen most of the hostas have bloomed and their leaves are looking tired. Where they get lots of sun, leaves are showing their distaste for sun and heat by crisping along their edges.

A hosta bloom singled out looks like a lily. These are the last of the blooms for this year.

The planters are holding their own so long as I keep them watered well. The raccoons have stayed out of them mostly. There was a visit last night and it got into one of the succulent pots and did some digging. For what? Who knows!


These were the last pots planted in an effort to save impatiens from bunny teeth. These pots have filled out nicely and look so nice on their stump perches.

More stump sitting pots that have taken to their shady locations, filled out and are looking nice in this August heat. They help give the impression that the shade is cool and relaxing.


These hanging baskets were in full sun on the deck and now on the swing along the glen they are doing much better. They're out of reach of the ground hog but in reach of the deer. No problem yet and they got a good dousing of liquid fence.


Come and sit for while and enjoy the shade!

My Vegetable Garden in August

As with any gardening endeavor there are successes and failures. This year the peppers are a big success but the eggplants were a failure. I have no photo of the latter because I pulled them earlier this week.

Bell and Cubanelle peppers on Friday.

Among the tomatoes the Goldie and Rutgers are successes but the Amish paste are a disappointment.

I keep having to trim back the dying portions of the Amish paste. It's trying to put out new growth.

This one Rutgers is dying too, but the other plants are doing fine.

The Goldie is still flowering so there's hope for more tomatoes to come.

The zucchini were great while they lasted and though there are three plants hanging on despite the attack of the vine borers they are not producing at the level that they were and I wonder if I shouldn't pull them soon if no more fruit are visible.



Cucumbers have been an easy success. The deer have eaten some leaves on the outside of the fence but that's okay. Many more cucumbers to come.

In the too soon to tell if its a success or failure are butternut squash that I planted late.

Also broccoli planted weeks ago but only one seed germinated or survived the heat. I planted more today. I hope this one doesn't succumb to the heat, too.

In the same bed with the broccoli are two rows of lettuce that are doing okay. They get shaded by the netting which protects them from the bunnies. Spinach sowed at the same time did not survive. I will try that again later this month.

Finally, the bush beans will probably be a success. This is the second sowing of beans which became a prized attraction in my garden with the bunnies.

Wordless Wednesday - More from My Garden Visiting