How Does My Garden Grow?: July 2013

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Watering

It has been raining about one-quarter inch a day for the last few days. This works out quite well for me :) Some of the containers need a bit more water, but the main beds are doing just fine with the water from the Lord.

The zucchini are coming in at a rate I can almost keep up with. (I did give one away to my Mom.) Zucchini bread is on the way. And the old family recipe "zucchini mess," probably with some frozen for the winter. A few patty pan squashes, mild and delicious steamed or sauteed with a little butter or Parmesan. Tomatoes are beginning to ripen. I know all of the sudden there will be a lot (never too many), but for now I am savoring them one at a time.

Corn is coming along. Here it is amid a few pots of tomatoes and herbs.

I have learned that tassels and silk are two different things...

The squashes still have lots of flowers. There is a bee in this one, although I'm not sure if he was gathering pollen/nectar or taking a nap. No yellow summer squash have set fruit yet. They were supposed to be the first to be ready to harvest, so perhaps they missed their pollination window during the heavier rainy weather of a couple weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the cosmos, cleomes, and zinnias are really starting to bloom en masse, nicely encouraging the bees to stop by and pollinate and the hummingbirds to feed and entertain.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

More Flowers and Some Veggies

More flowers have just been waiting for a little sun. There was a little break in the humidity, too, the last couple of days, but the weather guessers say that is about over and the 90-and-above-with-spotty-showers weather is back tomorrow. Yippee.

Bumble Bee and Lady Bug on Coneflowers

"volunteer" Cleomes in the veggie garden

Purple Coneflowers

First cosmos to bloom. Lots more on the way...

Hydrangeas.

Rose of Sharon.

There are three spaghetti squash so far. At least, that's how many I saw. There may be more hiding in there. They aren't near ready yet. This is the first time I have tried growing spaghetti squash. I hope they do well...

Spaghetti Squash!

Corn! And tomatoes, and basil, and dill.

A few ears of corn are forming, silk is showing. I am so excited! It is special corn bred to grow in containers. Looks like it is working!

Corn tassels

Zinnia - candy tuft

Zinnias

the first zucchini of 2013

I did find another zucchini today. It needs another day or two. I'll try not to forget it and let it become a giant monster. Some beans are showing, too. Yummy summer produce!

First Zucchini of 2013

As I understand it, the rainy days have kept the pollinators off work lately, so some plants are a little slow to set fruit. I am hoping the current sunny spell will correct that and more squash is on the way, along with the ripening of the green tomatoes.

Meanwhile, I found this one zucchini and a few small ripe tomatoes...

So I sliced them up and made a little dinner:

1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
2 small tomatoes, cut into chunks
olive oil
2-3 Tbls pesto, to taste
1-2 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into small bite-size pieces

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in frying pan (enough to coat pan bottom) over medium-high heat, stir in pesto, then stir in zucchini. Saute for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1/3 cup water and cover. Reduce heat to medium and let cook about 5 minutes. Uncover. Add tomatoes and continue cooking until desired degree of tenderness.

Divide mixture onto two plates. Sprinkle mozzarella bits onto each--it will melt a little from the residual heat. Mmm...

(Yes, I made the pesto with fresh basil from my garden a couple weeks ago. But you could use store-bought.)

Serves two as a side dish.

Friday, July 05, 2013

Flowers in the Rain

Let me be very clear: I like rain. I have always enjoyed rain. Thunderstorms or rainbows, love it. I really appreciate not having to water the garden, even beyond my appreciation of rain for its own sake. I do think that a few consecutive days of sun without rain might be in order about now. Just a few. 1.75 inches yesterday (plenty of which ended up in my basement thanks to the Melvin crew, whose company shall remain nameless, that failed to properly install my new downspout last summer). Sprinkles today, more predicted for tomorrow. Really, the tomatoes are crying for some dry. Not to mention my sneakers.

But, I promised flower photos, and flower photos I shall show!

I'll start with the coral rose that came with the house, that blooms twice a year, no matter what abuse I, the weather, and whatever workers might be hired for household maintenance do around it. I am really more of a no-effort knock out rose person, and I do not baby this rose (although I did dig it out then replant it, along with the herb garden and coral bells, when I had the drainage work done at the back of the house a couple summers ago), but I do stop to appreciate it every time it blooms. It is beautiful.

the bud

the rose - always just one bloom

Lots of flowers around the hummingbird feeder seem to be working. I do have regular visits from hummers, not a big crowd, but that's okay. Sometimes I get to watch the little guys fight. It seems kind of silly, since there are plenty of spots at the feeder, but it is what they do, and it is actually quite entertaining.

Some perennial and some annual flowers. I always plant some red salvia, even though they are not my favorite, because I know the hummingbirds love them. My butterfly bush came back this year, has grown quite a bit, and just looks great. I am very happy.