Friday, July 28, 2006

Caterpillar and My First Tomato of 2006



Happiness is picking your first beefsteak tomato from your garden. Tomorrow, I will enjoy a toasted tomato sandwich for my breakfast.
We had a beautiful rain this AM and the garden is thriving. I noticed that my yellow beans and daikon radish seeds are pushing through the ground - the beauty of nature is all around-even in the caterpillar who is devouring my dill plant.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Too Hot!!!

This week has been too hot to garden much-we had to water the garden last night as it was getting pretty dry. My gardening is mainly dead heading plants. My old fashioned flocks (phlox?) are finished but will flower again when it cools down. The blue bells are trying to produce blooms but are going to seed quickly. Lawns are starting to dry out a little. We had some rain through the night for which we are grateful. The greenhouse plants are trying not to wilt . I haven't did any potting there as my injured wrist is preventing that, so I just water everything and talk to the plants...I now wear a splint...it is really helping me feel better. My neighbour shared a cucumber and his yellow beans with me....yummy!

Monday, July 24, 2006

Planting beans

Yesterday, I planted some yellow bush beans and hope to have produce by mid Sept...if dates on the seed envelope are correct...also planted a small row of Daikon radishes. It looks like rain tonight...that would help the germination.The garden looks good....I cut off the flowering broccoli...into the composter it went...sad to say. I hope to get new broccoli heads growing on the stems...I will watch the growth carefully. I have been eating my green onions...they are delicious.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Poppies!

I love poppies-they grow profusely in my garden and the red frilly flowers usually last one day, then blow away in the wind, leaving a poppy seed head on the stem. I usually leave the the seeds to dry a little, shake some seeds back into the garden, clean the leaves off the stems and hang them to dry in a bundle, enclosed in a paper bag (to catch the seeds). This year - I have collected at least 5 bundles - they are drying in the garage.
I will use them for floral arrangements and give some to my sister in law, who wants to use them in a wreath that she is putting together.
It is cloudy here today-I will be in the garden- pulling out lettuce which has bolted and doing a little weeding.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Where did June go?



I have not "blogged" since May-mainly because my hubby & I went on a road trip to Alberta which ate up the month of June for us...we had a wonderful time....spent time with my brother and his wife in Calgary...helped a little with their garden. Their garden is growing fabulously...they had nice weather early in Spring and planted their seeds...I was amazed at the beets, carrots, lettuce and all in general. My brother grows some veggies in raised beds to keep the heat in and maybe beat the early frosts they get in the west.
We drove to Edmonton with my brother and his wife, stayed at the Fantasyland Hotel and the West Edmonton Mall-but, on the way there, we went to St. Albert and visited Lois Hole's greenhouse. I have never seen such a beautiful maintained greenhouse-I enjoyed seeing the Alpine plants-we just don't have the variety in Ontario-could it be that we are missing mountains here? Speaking of mountains, we had a day trip through the Rockies which - literally - take your breath away.
Since we arrived home, I have been spending all my spare time weeding the garden....we had a lot of rain and heat and the weed growth is tremendous....the garden looks very good now. The Shasta daisies were gorgeous this spring. I have some surprises-"love lies bleeding" reseed itself and is growing everywhere...also...purple mallow....and morning glories....I didn't plant as much as other years so it is nice to see the blooms.
I must get serious about drying herbs now.