Random photos

Apparently it doesn't take a lot to grow romaine lettuce from seed!

Also, you would think that the squash plant was done producing but apparently not....

Last, the Autumn Blaze is starting to turn!

Fall Clean Up Part 2

Today I focused on the back yard and re-planting/transplaning the bearded irises that I saved from the garden. So I marked out two spots on the north end of the bean bed where the irises would go and planted them there.

I also moved the Agastache from the south end to the north end near the Linden. It was growing too close to the smooth Aster and both needed room, so a transplant was in order. I think it looks much better now, actually. The Agastache is such a dramatic plant on its own and it was "buried" behind other plants. Now it's more prominently located and can really shine.

I also started taking down the last bed out front. I cut down all the Black-Eyed Susan heads (and gave about half to my sister for the prairie they're trying to seed) and the siberian irises.

Tomorrow the lawn needs to be mowed and I have to move the Coreopsis as well. Eric is planning to overseed the front yard and trim back the Juniper out front.

Here are some finished photos!

The re-organized bean bed

Lucky inspecting my work.

The coreopsis got moved to the other side of the aster

The Autumn Joy sedum bloomed.

The Agastache and one of the columbine got moved to the other side of the salvia.

The Smooth Aster bloomed as well.

A close-up of the Yarrow.

A close up of the Aster.

The honeybees love it!

Fall Clean Up

We spent 2 hours yesterday and I spent 5 hours today trimming bushes and generally cleaning up the front garden beds.





In one of the barberry bushes, though, I found this:


I'm pretty certain the nest wasn't there this past spring when we did our last trimming. I'm sure I would have seen it.


It's a very tiny nest. I don't know whether to leave it be or remove it. I have no problem, in theory, leaving it be, but it's right along the walkway and I can't see, with the bush trimmed back the way it is, a bird using it again.

Also, the zebra grass got its tufts.

Bean Bed Updates - September

The thing that makes the bean bed difficult is that there were so many deep-rooted plants in it that keep cropping up. Like mint and chives. Those things are damn near impossible to kill. So, after having discovered that missing a couple of weekends of weeding the bed that it allowed it to turn into a jungle, I gave in and applied RoundUp to the half of the bed. Then we spent several hours removing the dead weeds. Nothing feels better than a weed-free bed:


Even better, some of our fall blooms have started to come in. I have to admit, even though our choices seem sporadic, the overall effect has been of having something blooming at all times. The staging has been great.

Neon Sedum

Bushy Aster

Bushy Aster - Close up

It WORKED!

We've been seeing the usual garden variety moths in our butterfly garden but nothing spectacular. Until today.


That's an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. It was really enjoying the nectar from the gayfeather and neon sedum.

Clean up

I took a long weekend to catch up around the house. Vacuuming, dusting, organizing, yard work, etc. The end result is so satisfying.

First, the front walkway. About a week ago, I caved and sanctioned Eric to take some RoundUp to the weeds. We had tried managing them by hand but it's nearly impossible to get the root out when it's coming up between the bricks.

Before

After

BeforeAfter

We also tackled removing the old grass reeds so that the new pretty growth could be seen better. The upside is it looks great!


The downside is the grass is sharp and my arms are all cut up.


And, one quick inside the house thing - we purchased shelves and Tupperware bins for the basement and organized that.






Last, but not least, a new bloom for you:

I wonder how one sells veggies at the Farmer's Market

I'm not kidding.

Last Thursday I went out to the garden and picked anything worth harvesting - some more squash, beans, peppers, jalapeños. I used some of them for dinner that evening. The rest I set aside to store.

Then we went out of town for the weekend. Today I walked out to the garden and immediately retreated to get a basket and my shears.

I ended up harvesting about 1 lb of beans, 3 peppers, a dozen red and white onions, 2 squash, and a dozen jalapeños.


Dinner anyone?

Perennial Photos

Buds on "Apricot Delight" Achillea

Gayfeather

Blooms on the "Chocolate Chip" Ajuga

The starting blooms of the "Golden Jubilee" Hyssop

Tickseed and Gayfeather with Achillea in the background

Tickseed

How are we going to eat all this?

On Friday I harvested 5 summer squash, each about 6"-8" in length. There are more on the vine that will probably be ready in a day or so.

Today I picked some more beans. There are about 4 peppers that could be picked. And maybe as many jalapenos. Our onions are also doing very well - we've picked a couple for salads.

But the plants that make me worry the most?

Those are our tomato and tomatillo plants. Keep in mind, Eric's 6'5" and he's standing on the raised bed. Those buggers are HUGE. And, oh, full of tomatos

In other news, we have an infestation of cabbage worms. See this guy?

He's been laying eggs on our collards and broccoli. And the evil little larvae have been munching holes in the leaves. So I sprayed the plants down with some insecticidal soap. I'm generally tolerant of garden "pests" but not ones that ruin my crop.

Added link to food blog

I added a link of the side to my food/cooking blog, What Recipe?, since it's starting to feature more and more recipes using our home-grown produce. Bon Appetite!