August Bloom Day

The boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum ) was late and during the Spring I searched for it, wondering if it would come back..and here it is in full bloom towering over the fence. It was planted last year, and the pictures from last summer show how much this has grown from year to year. A Native American remedy for colds and flus, it is thought to stimulate the immune system. To the right is catmint (Nepeta faassenii) flowering, going quite wild.

The San Marzano tomatoes. This plant was not very happy a few weeks ago so I am glad to see it perked up and is bearing some fruit.

My potato crop. Small, but fun. I planted a red, white and blue mix and all 3 colors grew. This was my first year growing potatoes and I need to find out a little more about growing them to see how I can increase the size.

The turtlehead (Chelone spp?) is just starting to bloom. I love these and they bloom at the perfect time when many other things have finished.

Garlic chives, which bloom in summer, have just opened up. In the background is a veriegated oregano gone wild, and the marigolds trying to make their way through.

The marigolds were very happy this year, planted around the tomatoes. Behind them is a very happy lemon thyme.

I love second blooms. This is a shrub rose tucked on a slope that isn't very visible, and I noticed it was reblooming.

And the final day lilies. I have a large collection of all kinds of day lilies around our pool, and they have been blooming profusely for a month or more. But these are the last ones and they are true beauties.

August Garden Progress

Even though we have had a rather cold, rainy summer the new garden has been doing well overall. Okay...so the tomatoes are still green but I have been overrun with cucumbers and zuchini and the garlic harvest this year was fantastic.
Some highlights...

The nasturiums that were planted around the center circle Hawthorn have been spectacular this month. This was a last minute idea, and I used unsold plants at the store so they are a mix of different kinds and colors. Some looked small and a bit forlorn, but as soon as they were in the ground they were amazing. As seen in the picture left, they have totally filled out the circle. Here are a few closeups of these beautiful, and tasty, flowers.















I used a climbing trellis for the cucumbers for the first time this year (from Gardeners Supply). It worked great, and it is so cool to see the cucumbers hanging off the back of it. It isn't quite tall enough as the cucumbers are vining back down it, off it, around it, anywhere and I think next year I'll get a second one and put them back to back in a teepee like structure. Here's the front and the back view:












I've made pickles, salads, given cucumbers away and they are still coming. Think another batch of pickles is on the agenda soon.

Surprisingly, the peppers did well in August. I had planted a yellow sweet pepper called Banana I think (I lost the tag) and they are so pretty.

And all the herbs have taken well and growing vigorously. The catnip is quite large, the mint was planted in containers and already overflowing them and the tarragon is ready for some tarragon vinegar. Parsley, lovage, oregano, thyme and basil are all quite full and I've been using them in cooking all month. It's time to start drying and freezing them and make some vinegars but I love to see them out in the garden and get rather sad about cutting them all back in anticipation of winter.

One of the special plants I put in this summer was a boneset plant I bought at the International Herb Symposium in June from Zach Woods Herb Farm, an organic herb farm in northern Vermont. Their plants are always wonderful and the boneset is in full bloom and done quite well for its first year. Boneset is a wonderful plant in the back of a garden where its height can really highlight other plantings. And I love to get a plant as a reminder of a special place I've been, it always gives it a special meaning. Medicinally, boneset is used for colds and flus and especially to break fevers by causing perspiration.

I also noticed in the garden this month a large number of butterflies. I'm not great at identification, but this one really loved the dahlias.

Well I guess that's it for now. As the season winds down, I'm starting some plantings of lettuce and spinach for the Fall and starting to think about plans for next year. I just hope those tomatoes ripen - anyone have any good ideas on what to do with lots of green tomatoes?

July Garden Musings

When I wrote at the end of May about needing patience in gardening, I didn't know that we were going to have the rainiest June on record and that planting was going to be more delayed than I had even imagined!

But I persevered, catching windows of time here and there in between rain storms to continue planting. I had taken a workshop a few years ago about soil and it was drilled into me not to work soil that is wet. I tried very hard to follow that, but wet soil was the norm in June.

The perennials were all planted and the gardens mulched. Slugs have appeared in abundance and seem to love cilantro, but I've been trying to control them with an organic product that seems to be working. The garlic was the only thing that was able to be planted last year, and it seems very happy. The currants transplanted well this Spring and are fully of berries, providing a pretty backdrop to the garlic. And bordering it is lemon balm, which after all the construction came back up on it's own!

The plant search continues with some spots needing "just the right" plant. I searched all over for an apothecary rose (rosa gallica), an old heirloom traditionally used by herbalists and ended up buying one online. It is small but seems very healthy. I know it will grow large, so there are a lot of annuals around it round now, as is the case with many of the perennials that were planted. I just don't like the look of lots of mulch and the annuals are adding a lot of color and interest, Here's a picture of my small little rose bush before the annuals were planted...

And now mid-July, the garden is looking good. The Hot Kaps that I used were wonderful and I've already picked a 10" zuchinni from the plants I started from seed. I was so proud of it (see picture) and my husband even remarked with amazement "that's from our garden?" The bed I had with the zuchinni and pumpkins is overflowing and there should be a good crop of both this year.

And the espaliered apple tree that I put in 5 years ago has apples for the first time! When the garden was redone we discussed taking the tree out, but I'm so glad now that it stayed. The apples are a bit hard to see in the picture, but they're there!



How is your garden growing this year? Feel free to post comments and pictures!