From loyal garden commentor Scout211, mid-May:
This group of photos shows an eclectic group of plants ripening right now in sunny, warm rural Northern California.
Photo #1 [at the top] is one of our tiniest cactus in our cactus garden blooming with beautiful yellow flowers. This is the first year that we have had blooms on this little guy.
Photo #2 is one of our many milkweed plants that we have planted all over our property. It is blooming season for our milkweeds. We actually saw two Monarchs last year (the first two we have ever seen here).
Photo #3 is of our blueberry bushes, currently starting to ripen….
***********
More photos below the fold.
Here north of Boston, I bought too many tomato plants this year. I say this every year, but I may have achieved an inadvertent personal best (felt compelled to order from five different companies to get all the ‘must have’ varieties, and kinda lost track of how the numbers were adding up). The last two dozen (gorgeous) plants just arrived from California, and there’s previous transplants, half-empty rootpouches & bags of potting mix everywhere. The Spousal Unit finally got around to buying a tree pruner so the strip of asphalt that serves as my tomato garden is hip-deep in oak & lilac prunings. And my allergies have been knocking me out for the last couple months, so the rest of the front yard has gone to wrack & seed (although the roses & perennials are faithfully blooming through the weeds & winterkill…
What’s going on in your garden(s) this week?
Continue to the rest of Scout211‘s pics…
Photo #4 is a close-up of one of my tomato plants. Green tomatoes are starting to appear.
Photo #5 is my strawberry bed. I am currently harvesting about 6 strawberries a week, but these are ever bearing so they should be producing more berries soon and they have a long growing season. Last year I was harvesting until the end of November.
Photo #6 is my apricot tree, full of ripe apricots. The Mister plans to try to make apricot jam. We’ll see if he can pull that one off.
SiubhanDuinne
All very nice photos, but those apricots are the winners. And apricot jam, yum! Do keep us informed, Scout211.
OzarkHillbilly
Getting close…. Nice pics Scout, especially liking the cactus to lead off. When it comes to the apricot jam, coming from one who hates all things ‘tech’, may I suggest one of these to take the angst out of the process? All you have to do is get the ingredients together, and put them in when the directions say to. The machine does everything else and the results are always near perfection. I use Pomona’s Pectin for low sugar jams and my wife loves them. There is a slightly different process with it but it is not difficult to figure out how to combine the 2 processes.
SiubhanDuinne
I was so excited by the very thought of apricot jam that I neglected to say how really lovely the blooms are on the tiny cactus in photo #1. Translucent and waxy-looking. Succulents are fascinating.
Baud
It’s been too wet most weekends for yardwork, so my weeds are stellar this year.
satby
Beautiful Scout211. And jam is easy to make, if you go with low sugar pectin you get more of the natural fruit taste too. Once you make your own jelly or jam you’ll never go back to store bought.
Kinda like home made soap ?
satby
@OzarkHillbilly: I have one, and the Pomona is what I use too. Love it!
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Hmmm, maybe good for our figs??
satby
@Baud: been too wet some days and the nicer days are spent doing all the “before you leave” activities. So my neglected dog run has waist high weeds and some of the flower beds are almost as bad.
Thanks to everyone who commented yesterday about the girls. Yes, the year has flown by. Graduation tonight, then packing and getting ready to leave for Qunoot with Valentina going 6 days later. They’ve started to get excited about going home, they’ve been away from their families a long time.
If you’ve ever thought about hosting an exchange student, I’d urge you to do it. It makes a huge difference in their lives and the ripple effect shows up in sometimes surprising ways in the American kids who interact with them. But most of all, it’s a wonderful experience for the host family too. These were the 28th and 29th students I’ve hosted over the years, and each has enriched my family. I saw the results in how kindly my adult kids interacted and mentored these girls. My sons, even my adopted gruff Marine, really made sure the girls felt like they had big brothers. And my daughter in law was a gem. I’m so proud of all of them!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: I would think. Everything I’ve tried has worked very well.
@satby: I’ve made blueberry, blackberry, strawberry, and 2 different kinds of peach (1 cinnamon, 1 nutmeg) the last 2 years running. I want to expand the varieties a little more this year but not sure how much time I will have to dedicate to the project.
Baud
@satby: I forgot to mention the girls. I can’t imagine what the last year has been like for both you and them. The world is so small these days, however, you’ll stay in touch I’m sure.
OzarkHillbilly
@satby:
Deservedly so. Safe travels to both the girls.
SiubhanDuinne
@satby:
I haven’t commented much about your year of hosting Qunoot and Valentina, but I’ve followed all of your stories and comments with enormous interest. What a great experience for them and for you! Thank you for opening your home and your heart to them, and thank you for sharing it all with us.
BillinGlendaleCA
There’s a fire burning out in the west Valley, but it made for a nice sunset pic.
satby
@Baud: @OzarkHillbilly: @SiubhanDuinne: The girls are always tickled to think that there’s a virtual community that wishes them well. Thank you all.
satby
@BillinGlendaleCA: gorgeous!
Baud
@satby: Wait, you told them about us? Bad move.
Baud
@BillinGlendaleCA: I hope you didn’t start the fire just for the pic.
BillinGlendaleCA
@satby: Thanks, it was taken from the parking lot of the local mall so I darkened the foreground enough to get rid of the parking lot and the light poles(Photoshop magic).
@Baud: No, I grew up here.
In other news, I gave up on trying to find the power supply for the drive connected to my router and just bought a replacement. I’m going to get some power distribution stuff and clean the mess of cords I’ve got going behind my computer monitors(I have two monitors).
Raven
@BillinGlendaleCA: I have a large framed photo of sunset looking south over the Manhattan Beach Pier with the Malibu fires in the background. It was done by John Post, famous South Bay photographer.
satby
@Baud: They even went to a meet up in Chicago, remember?
@OzarkHillbilly: The first year I had the jelly maker I also had a bumper crop of tomatoes, sweet peppers, and apples. So tomato-basil jelly, sweet pepper jelly (also great with hot peppers), and jars and jars of Apple butter and crabapple jelly. When Valentina opened a bottle of Cranberry-Raspberry juice and didn’t like it, I made it into jelly, same with the grapefruit juice she opened and didn’t like. And both with low sugar Pomona pectin. I’ve discovered orioles like apple and cran-raspberry jelly too, because they’ve almost cleaned me out of all my stores.
Baud
@satby: oh right. I had forgotten. And now they’re leaving. Coincidence?
BillinGlendaleCA
@Raven: When the kid and I did the hike to Inspiration Point, you could still quite a bit of the damage from the station fire 7 years ago.
satby
@Baud: nope. Outcome.
jharp
In central Indiana it seems to be a banner year for rabbits.
And something is eating the flower tops of my marigolds I plant to keep the rabbits away.
I suspect chipmunks.
Other than that my stuff is doing really well. Tomatoes and peppers look great.
Schlemazel Khan
@raven:
You have figs?!? I thought those needed even warmer climates and I don’t think I have ever seen them in home gardens. That would be sweet.
Scout, those blueberries look like they are getting fat & a very nice crop of them. Cacti in bloom are always a treat and that shot shows why, nice blooms. Thanks for sharing
OzarkHillbilly
Of the past 7 days, it has rained all but one, and on that one it rained until just before sunrise and began to rain again soon after sunset. I’ve lost track of how much rain we’ve gotten but it’s beginning to feel like the rain forest around here. Consequently, I have a bumper crop of weeds growing. This week is supposed to be sunshine every day…. or so they say.
Still, even with all the hail damaged leaves, everything is looking fairly healthy. So far anyway. I know disaster of some kind or another is just around the corner waiting to pounce. We’ll see what it is.
Raven
@Schlemazel Khan: big tree, they are all over these parts!
rikyrah
Good Morning ?, Everyone ?
Schlemazel Khan
@jharp:
The bunnies tore up our back garden this spring. We always get some damage but they ate 2 hostas to the ground & damaged several others. The also were eating my lilies, both day and Asian, something I don’t ever recall having a problem with in the past. I only see a couple so I don’t know if there are just more of them or if they have developed an eating disorder or what. I have seriously thought that rabbit stew would be an excellent return from out gardens!
Schlemazel Khan
@Raven:
That sure would be nice. It is tough to get fresh, as opposed to dried, figs here on the tundra. Though I am not sure I would want a huge tree of them it would be a fun one to have.
NotMax
Haven’t tasted it in nigh on 50 years, but have fond memories of quince jelly.
Locals here sometimes make star fruit jelly or jam, which essentially tastes like – well, nothing so much as sweetened air.
Immanentize
@Raven: When I lived in San Antonio we had a big beautiful mission fig tree in our yard. It had such dense shade, the cat loved to sleep beneath it. And the figs were so wonderful — I learned to make this great fig and chorizo dish…. I really miss that tree!
Immanentize
@Schlemazel Khan: maybe a woodchuck instead? They love hosta shoots.
Ultraviolet Thunder
Lovely garden photos. Our gardens don’t fruit but at the moment we’re thick with Siberian iris, peony and roses.
We finally got needed rain here in Detroit. It started just as I finished mowing the lawn, so I must be living right.
MomSense
@rikyrah:
Good morning.?
Schlemazel Khan
@Immanentize:
I have not seen any around here but thats something to look for I guess.
OzarkHillbilly
@Immanentize: Uugh. Them bstrds are the garden equivalent of a smart bomb. Juuuuusssssst as a melon ripens they are there to consume it entire before I get a chance.
Ultraviolet Thunder
@efgoldman:
We’re in full pollen season in Detroit. All of the car washes are backed up out onto the street.
My wife’s parrot has started imitating her sneeze, really loudly. It’s adorable.
debbie
@efgoldman:
The pollen has been ridiculous. Thick enough to totally obscure my car’s rear window. There’s so much, you can even smell it.
The Lodger
@rikyrah: Good morning Rikyrah! It’s way early out here.
Immanentize
@efgoldman: I have had squirrels that will take a tomato.just as they start to ripen. Then, to really add insult, they take two bites and then leave it on my fence rail right outside my window. Evil!
As for woodchucks, I have one living under my shed right now. We have some.detente (mostly because of my cat) but that won’t last I fear. Smart bombs indeed! (I am forever stealing that, OHB)
Schlemazel Khan
@Immanentize:
Yeah, that 2 bite thing is a squirrel trademark. I wouldn’t mind if they took the occasional tomato and ate it but instead they take 2 bites from every damn one.
We have deer too but bird netting foils them.
BTW – we have seen the rabbits eating so we know they are at least partially to blame.
WaterGirl
I love the blooms on your tiny cactus. What a thrill to have that bloom for the first time!
WaterGirl
@Schlemazel Khan: My garden got the one-two punch this year. The bunnies ate the finer stuff from the top down, but the voles are what got my hosta, baptisia, and a bunch of other perennials by destroying the roots.
Bastards!
StringOnAStick
We were having coffee and staring out the window at 5:30 this am, and saw a juvenile bobcat cross out of the yard. Our yard is xeric and half natives front and back, and the back yard goes to open space with no fencing so we get cool critters even though we are on the western edge of a big metro area. We’d never seen bobcats here until the fall floods in 2013 closed a busy hiking/biking trail network in a nearby valley; I suspect having undisturbed habitat is what brought them back. Of all the wildlife here, the bobcats make my heart sing.
oldgold
This appears to be a wonderful garden.
Each week I amazed and made jealous by these photographic garden reports.
I have a garden. It pales in comparison to the gardens featured here. The only thing I have in my favor, at least from what can discern from reading this excellent weekly chronicle on gardening, is that the soil I have to work with is superior.
maurinsky
We planted our garden this week. Most of it was in by Memorial Day – we planted tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, green beans and watermelon, and we added some nasturtiums, marigold and calendula this weekend. We put in young plants because we are inexperienced gardeners – if it goes well, we may do some seed starting next year.
Gvg
I blamed squirrels for stealing my tomatoes about 5 years back but discovered it was the golden retriever. Her nose told her when they were ripe and she was getting them just as I thought they were finally ready. Ever seen a dog grin with a whole tomato in her mouth?
I had strawberries planted by the front door where my sister could see if they were ripe and grab them. Discovered dogs like strawberries but it gives them the runs. Gave them to my mom.
WaterGirl
@Gvg: My two dogs are tomato thieves, as well! My pups also love berries, so my strawberry plants are now in hanging baskets where they can’t get to them! Henry is a blueberry fiend, he even wiggles his little head under the chicken wire to try get them. He snags a few, but with the chicken wire, most of them are out of reach.
Scout211
@SiubhanDuinne:
These photos are from early May. All the apricots were harvested by the end of that week. The jam turned out great–both batches were the low sugar type. One of the batches he made was apricot-pineapple and that was really yummy.
Scout211
@StringOnAStick:
We have an occasional bobcat wandering into our property and they are very interesting little creatures. Unfortunately, they like to prey on chickens so our hearts don’t sing so much when we see them. We don’t shoot prey but our neighbors do. The last pair of bobcats that were spotted near our area were killed by our neighbors after 3 of their chickens were killed.
oldgold
Gvg: “Discovered dogs like strawberries but it gives them the runs. Gave them to my mother.”
Your mother was given the dogs, strawberries or the runs? (just kidding)
Scout211
@Schlemazel Khan:
Yes, this has been an amazing year for blueberries. The photos are from early May when they just started ripening. I think I have 3 different vaierties in five bushes. There may be enough still on the bushes for one more week. They do freeze well, so that works.
Glidwrith
@satby: Agreed! I just made my yearly rasberry jam and syrup, followed by blueberry jam and syrup. Intense is a good description of the flavor.
satby
Looks like the guy who was going to buy my old junker today is a no show. Sad face.
WaterGirl
@satby: Very sad face.
Scout211
@Scout211:
oopsie!
me: “we don’t shoot prey”
me (meant to say): we don’t shoot predators (even rattlesnakes)
Anne Laurie
@Schlemazel Khan:
Never paid attention to the specifics, but I know there are (Italian-American) gardeners around here who grow fig trees in giant pots, and move the pots into garages or sheds during the winters. I guess either one chooses a dwarf variety, or they can be productive if they’re kept pruned to stay short(er)?
ETA: Logee’s has something: ‘Chicago Hardy Fig’ –
http://www.logees.com/fig-chicago-hardy-ficus-carica.html
Anne Laurie
@Immanentize:
Put a big saucer of water next to your tomatoes. I had that problem my first season out here, and a local told me this trick. It’s the fluid in the tomatoes squirrels crave, not the flavor — that’s why they leave the one-bite remnants behind. I use a cheapo plastic pot planter, which is easy to remember to dump & refill whenever I water the plants. And the birds are grateful too!