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| Miniature hollyhock in front of daisies. |
Being ready to deliver a baby at any minute has limited my energy and ambition for tending the garden. And since we've had no rain for two weeks—and little before that—most of my outdoor time has been spent watering, trying to prevent my plants from dying in the blistering heat. Therefore, the veggie garden (and every other bed) is being invaded by weeds, and though Hubby got me a huge pile of mulch over a week ago, I have not been able to spread it. Luckily, one of my garden buddies came over to help on Saturday and together we weeded and mulched a couple of sections, though to my eye, I still see the weeds before the flowers.
But what more can I do—I can hardly bend over!?
Brief update on veggies:
**Harvested my beets yesterday and roasted them for a beet, goat cheese, and arugula salad today for lunch. Yummy!
**The carrots are ready to go, but they are stuck hard in the ground. I can't pull them out without a shovel. Cavan loves eating them right out of the ground, washed by the hose, of course.
**The brussel sprouts have little sprout buds beginning. Hubby is very excited.
**Our broccoli plants each have excellent heads growing.
**The cucumbers are producing like crazy. We've eaten seven giant cucs this week and there are a ton more growing by the second.
**Picked our first cherry tomatoes today. Our tomato plants in general have TONS of green fruit. We are going to gorge in the matter of weeks.
**Only one pepper on the three pepper plants. Hmmm. Hoping for at least three per plant, so the plants pay for themselves!
**Two nice sized eggplants growing on the three plants. Again, hoping for more fruit to develop.
**Only seven of the 18 corn plants grew from seed. But those seven are doing great.
**We have our first zucchini to be ready in a couple days. Tons more flowers on the three plants, as well as our three yellow squash.
**The strawberries got destroyed by chipmunks, but came back none the less. No fruit this year, but that is to be expected for the first year.
**The peas are still producing, though the plants are turning yellow and dying in the heat. I'm surprised they lasted this long, as they don't like hot weather. Will plant at least two full rows of peas next year!
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| Cosmos. Just threw down a packet of seeds! Love them! |
Flower update:
**My cosmos and zinnias are blooming profusely. LOVING both of these annuals that I grew easily from seeds. The zinnias I bought are neon pink and purple with three-inch flower heads. Awesome!
**The roses are slowly coming back from the deer buffet. Still not many blooms, but at least there are buds. Praying the deer stay away (but that is another post all together).
**Planted a new border of hostas, heuchera, lilies, rhodedendron, zebra grass, veronica, and phlox. The baby plants are not enjoying this hot, dry streak. I'm trying to water every other day. Hopefully they'll survive.
**My monarda (bee balm) bloomed, but the stalks completely flopped over and are laying on the ground.
**My four o'clock annuals are now blooming! Beautiful yellow flowers with pink streaks.
**All of my hydrangeas (except one) are blooming and doing great. I have a white/peach variety, a purple variety, and a blue variety.
**The lilies—all eaten by deer. Damn deer.
**The deer ate several of my cone flowers, but a few survived and are blooming. Can't wait till next year when they double in size.
**Crazy daisies! Fantastic!
All in all, despite my inattention over the last few weeks and the constant deer damage, the garden looks pretty darn good. Lots of color right now, even without the lilies and roses.
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| Broccoli heads. |
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Second garden bed: brussel sprouts, cucumbers, broccoli,
peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes. |
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| Red cabbage in foreground. Carrots in background. |
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Endless summer hydrangea. This pic is a couple weeks old;
it is covered in flowers now. |
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| Aster. |
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Lysimachia. They are no longer in bloom
but made June very colorful. |
