Saturday, July 31, 2010

TOMATO SUMMER!

this summer is terrific for tomatoes, if not for people. i only planted one variety, brandywine, after being burned by late blight last year. ok, that was a mistake. however, all my friends are trying to give tomatoes away, so other varieties are not hard to come by. here's how the potager looks today:the sunflowers had a tough start and are just beginning to bloom...
i've got a severe vine borer issue this summer and have tossed all the plants save this one, which has a nice sugar pumpkin. i've had to remove the borers from it's stem... i hope the plant can hang on for the rest of the summer.
passiflora today, with lantana in the background...
this year's bounty includes cucumbers, rainbow chard and string beans, in addition to tomatoes.
and so far the corn experiment looks promising!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

TIGER SWALLOWTAIL BARES ALL

gf has really gone downhill, just like a tabloid. but look at the shameless display this butterfly put on for me! it completely obscures its helenium 'mardi gras' perch...obviously, the favorite libation is echinacea 'sundown'
can you hear? "nom, nom, nom..."
it let me get so close, i used the macro...
no dignity whatsoever... thanks for the show!
day lily 'bermuda queen'
lily 'scheherazade'
most of the peaches from the dwarf miller nurseries tree! quite tasty once they ripen, these are about the size of an apricot... i'm really glad i bought this little tree...
note to self: 6 japanese soyu cucumber plants are too many for my family! my neighbor is trying to make pickles from them... thanks...
typical daily harvest... note to self, too many beans this year also...
my tomatoes are about to ripen, how exciting after last year's blight. anyway, i took this seed pod photo for sophie munns and homage to the seed... it's a baptisia australis. these pods become like rattles once the seeds are mature. sohpie, do you have these in australia?

Sunday, July 11, 2010

HOT, DRY JULY

the veggies love this hot, dry july... brugmansia 'pink beauty' echos the shape of the trees behind...echinacea 'coconut lime' is loving the weather...
pumpkins are making blossoms all over...
a few little butternut squashes are growing larger...

helenium 'mardi gras' is the fireworks this year (i'll divide it next spring or it'll take over!)
flowers and fruits abound...
the tomatoes, foreground, love this weather, but have yet to ripen.
the cat birds continue to meow at me for trespassing in their territory!

Friday, July 02, 2010

CURRANTS CONTINUED

happy 4th of july... i did mash and cook the currants...
then put them in an old pillow case, suspended by the pot rack, to strain...
and cooked the juice with maybe a bit too much sugar, this year...
i use an old martha stewart recipe and a scraggly mix of jars... i'm not fancy...
here they are all snug in the fridge to jel... i only got 5 little jars, and it took me about 6 hours, including picking the fruit! currant jelly has such a singular flavor, so it's worth it!
here was a harvest this week. i'm giving away beans and cucumbers quite a bit these days...
and a recent shot of the potager...