Late July gardening (garden post 8)

I have had a better schedule, combined with better weather, which means I have been to the garden. :)

By the way, wowwee the weather! We've had some crazy (awesome) thunderstorms the past few nights! I have woken up to thunder and lightening, and the hubby and I have been down memory lane of our childhoods in Florida. I think real tropical thunderstorms are something we both miss, strangely enough. There is just something thrilling and beautiful about a proper storm! I've been so happy to get a taste of that here so far North! :)

Back to the garden... Please note the weeds were out of control when I went the first time. It seems I am the only one able/willing to weed regularly ---> it looks bad when I am away for a long period of time. Then again, I love weeding when it's bad and seeing the direct outcome of my work. 

Silver lining, people, silver lining! :)

But yes, let's ignore the weeds in the pictures, because the pictures were mostly from a few days ago, pre-weed control.

 Clematis... we planted it in the fall last year, with no expectations of it making it through the winter...but lo and behold, it's proven to be a hardy little plant!!

This is what we call "Sally's flower". This is some kind of forget-me-not that blooms late in the summer and once it's done blooming the seed pods are little sticky buggers. My parents often bring their dogs, long haired coton de tulears, to the garden with us...and Sally (the less intelligent one) has a knack for getting herself tangled every year in the sticky seeds. Hence the name, Sally's flowers. (My mom has actually saved seeds she's pulled from Sally's hair and planted them the next year). :D

I think we might try to eradicate this flower this fall and plant more roses in its place. It's kind of a shame since the bees love it so, and the color is just so amazing! If only it weren't a pain in the butt with those seeds!

Hubby's corn has really taken off. They haven't gained much height, but all 4 plants have multiple ears of corn developing. Can't wait!

Um yeah. Raspberries. By the bucket load. 

We are practically drowning in them! 

Not that I'm complaining! I feel so lucky to get to eat them for lunch. :)

 

My mom's friend gave us some special flower seeds this spring. One of them was this uniquely colored  cornflower. There are some pink ones on the way, too. I can't wait for the photo opportunities to be had when the whole row is a-bloomin'. :)

Our cucumber patch is doing a bit better. It's still slow growing compared to last year. Today, I saw some flowers on it finally! 

Our pumpkins and zucchinis are blooming like crazy, too. We actually picked and ate two of them tonight! :) Yum!

We've been eating a lot of the greens we planted. Above is some of our spinach, below our lettuce. It's so green and lush, I love it! Too bad the snails do, too. I hate competition.

A definite must for next year's garden is to plant a wider variety of lettuce.

And look into natural snail deterrents. I've heard egg shells and coffee grinds help. Hmm...

 

Remember these little brussel sprouts? I started them about a month late indoors, took a chance bringing them outdoors and planting them, lost about half of them to the elements...but some still persisted. 

I doubt these will have time to produce anything, but it gives me immense pleasure to see them persevere. 

And hope for next year! I will definitely try to start all the seedlings on time!

Oh and the peas. Oh the lovely green peas. So lush, so beautiful, so tasty.

The currants are just about ripe. They're a little tart still, but have managed to stay safe from bird attacks. :)

.....And the other big producer (after strawberries and raspberries) is our potatoes. Lots of them! Our favorite way to eat them is baked in the oven like steak fries. I looooove my homegrown french fries! 

I've been preserving some of our berry harvest by packing them in the freezer. 

I like to make mixes of berries and fruit. We had some fresh apricots and nectarines that were just a tad too soft for our taste, so I cut them up and froze them with some raspberries. That will make a delicious cobbler later in the fall or winter. I think I will freeze some more combos like that while they're in season and cheap!

I also like to freeze strawberry-raspberry mixes. They're delicious eaten in any which way later. 

I only have FIVE days left of work this summer.

I still can't believe I've survived and adapted, lol!

After that, thesis time must start, followed by 7 weeks of clinical training. 

Even still, I can't wait for August, I have a  good feeling about it! :)

Thanks for stopping by!