Sedums

The former owners must have loved sedums--clumps of these hardy plants are all over the yard. Not my favorite, but I am learning to appreciate their good qualities. Not the least of which is their tolerance of the crummy soil here.

This is the beginning of the bloom. As we move into fall, the tufts will turn pink, then darken to crimson as the season progresses. Even into winter, when the tufts go brown, the sedums still look interesting.

Gladiolas

My gladiolas are blooming one at a time. I suppose that way I can appreciate them for their individual beauty! Here is a before and after comparison.

The ones alongside the shed seem to be the healthiest. A bunch of those look set to bloom...maybe together.

These along the fence have been struggling, but the soil is quite thin.

Peppers!

My peppers are coming along nicely. I need to pick the Hungarian Wax as soon as I figure out what to do with it! The others are still pretty green. The grape tomatoes are ripening more slowly now, too, but still looking pretty good.

The herbs are mostly doing well, too, although I'm sure they'd all like to be watered more often. At least I can get the containers watered pretty quickly, it's all the rest of the ground-planted stuff that takes a time commitment, since I have to drag the hose all over and fill the watering can for the more distant specimens. Sunny days are nice, but the drought is tough on my babies! Thyme, sage, and oregano seem to be doing the best. I have to keep an eye on the basil to keep it from going to flower--if I pinch them off on my way out to work, my hands smell like basil all day. . .

Check out the local temperature and rainfall numbers here.

Progress of the Ferns

Remember how sad the ferns looked a few months ago? After spending the winter in the basement windows, they were looking pretty scraggly. Here they are more recently. They've been filling out very nicely--happy in the sun!

Screen in Process

Chainlink fence has its place, I suppose, but it doesn't do much in the way of screening out problem views. Check out the big propane tank midway up on the right. It's even uglier in real life--a good amount of the paint is chipping off.

I'm thinking a line of flowers and foliage will be much more appealing, especially once it fills in. These knock outs have been in for just a couple of years, along with the crepe myrtle and forsythia further up. There's one tree in the middle that remains unknown--among the ten free flowering trees from the Arbor Day Foundation last year. Once it's big enough to get flowers maybe I'll figure it out! The nice shade tree on the left came with the yard.

Who Knew?

Did you know that radicchio gets flowers? Okay, so I shouldn't have let it bolt, but once it started I was curious to see what it would do (it looked rather like something from a SciFi channel promo when it started to go). First it got this weird knob-like thing on top, then it went all spiky, and now it has pretty blue-purple flowers kind of like chicory. Turns out, radicchio is Italian chicory! Saw it on Gourmet Sleuth. Go figure.

Here's the bolting radicchio. I'll post the flower shot when I finish the roll of film. (That's right, I don't have a digital camera yet.)

And here it is with flowers!

Is it Just Me?

Is it just me or is it too hot to work outside? I will admit to being a wimp when it comes to heat. (How long until Fall?) And yes, I am glad every day that I don't work outside this time of year and yes, I truly appreciate those who do! No matter, I can still enjoy looking out the windows and seeing the flowers in bloom :)

I did have to do some watering and general pre-mowing yard clean up last night, but the payoff was seeing a deer bound through the back yard! I know they've been here, by what's been munched on, but I've never gotten to actually see one in the yard. My neighbor and I just watched her jump the fences and head on down the neighborhood. Pretty amazing as close as we are to really urban sites. But then, I suppose we're living in her neighborhood, not the other way around.