Figured we could all use a nice sunny picture to start the day. From intrepid commentor Watergirl:
These black-eyed susans were a happy surprise. They are just on the cusp of being in our zone, so I mulched and mulched them some more, and they came back this spring! Not sure if you can tell from the photo, but the flowers are huge! They looked super sturdy so I didn’t think to surround them with anything, but they were knocked flat after a big rain. If I’m lucky enough that they come up next year, I will definitely provide them with some support.
Several people were kind enough to comment on my porch last week but the photos didn’t show much of it.
Totally unrelated to anything… Peppers! This is just the part of my pepper crop that I harvested this week. I got about the same amount earlier in the summer, plus the ones I harvest in ones and twos as I cook supper in the summer.
I had planted my gerbera daisy in the ground along the side of my porch in the back yard, but it fried in the sun within a couple of weeks, so I found an empty pot and planted it and moved it to the side area. It’s such a happy plant and people are always asking if it’s fake. It is not!
I couldn’t resist a close-up of my black-eyed susan vine – so much happy flower from a $7 plant every spring.
I think I shared a photo of my pink hair grass last year, but it’s one of my favorites so I am including it again. Had three of the pink hair, but the voles ate one of them over the winter. Does anyone know of a good way to get rid of voles? The traps did not work.
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Here north of Boston, I picked the last brave batch of tomatoes yesterday. Next year, Ramapo goes on my must-have list. Along with Paul Robeson, Black Prince, Bear Claw, Cherokee Purple, Japanese Trifele, Vintage Wine, Opalka, Tasmanian Chocolate, Sun Gold, White Currant… Also new (to us) and now on the must-find list: Chocolate Sprinkles (a cherry variety) and Tati’s Wedding (early, productive & delicious).
I’m glad I broke down & decided against taking this year off, but reducing the number of plants was a good idea, and next year I’m planning to cut back even further. I keep buying more “just in case”, and then by Labor Day I’m sick of struggling to keep up with the day-by-day maintenance — even if it’s nice to have extras in the freezer for sauce over the long dark months. There’s a couple of varieties I really like that just don’t want to produce for me (Kellogg’s Breakfast, Blondkopfchen) and some others that I keep buying just because they’re “reliable” (Carmello, Marianna’s Peace). We’ll see if I can hold my resolve come February, and the luscious pictures in the (online) catalogs!
What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?
Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Midwestern Oasis, Pt. IIPost + Comments (195)