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?

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!

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...

"HOMAGE TO THE SEED"

just mailed my submission(s) to sophie munns "homage to the seed" postcard show in Brisbane, Australia, mid July. how fun for me to design something new. because i couldn't make up my mind what to send, i sent some seed-y cards, but also cards with the potager in spring...
summer...
fall...
and winter. sophie can curate them whatever way fits in her show.
please contact sophie if you wish to make an entry!

SOLSTICE CURRANTS

usually i harvest the 'champagne' currants around the 4th of july, but the heat this year caused early ripening, so i picked them tonight, ahead of a forecast storm.i cleaned them...
this is maybe 3 quarts, and it took me 2 hours to pick and clean them to freeze. hopefully i'll be able to make jelly saturday morning, before a family party, so i can bring them.
last night, the brugmansia 'pink beauty' was blooming... last august it had over 20 flowers blooming at once!
earlier in the week, this doe let me within 10 feet for a photo (no telephoto lens here.) note the scar, and if you enlarge the photo you can see evidence that this doe probably has a fawn hiding somewhere. she is just across the street from my house, and i hope she stays there!
we do have less deer invading the gardens this year, so i haven't had to protect the day lilies.
the potager today. i have harvested lettuce, rainbow chard, peas, 2 carrots and green beans. you can see the corn coming up in the foreground.

ORNATE PISTIL

arisaema fargesii nuzzlling...irresistible echinacea 'tiki torch'
southern magnolia with petals like a magnetic field around the ornate pistil... worth a closer look?
the back of the cuddling arisaemas...
the potager... so far a great year for the tomato plants, i hope it holds up... corn is small yet in the foreground, i just planted cabbages & parsnips in the upper left corner where the spinach was. everything is going pretty well so far... and the deer haven't made too many visits to the rest of the garden.
the champagne currants look ripe under their net, but have not sweetened at all... they should be good by july 4th...
this one in the 'cat bird seat' is watching me photograph the arisaema from the dogwood in the front shade garden...

JUNGUST

last summer was cool, rainy and tomato blight ruled. this summer is a scorcher. we're having august dog days in june. well, the toms are happy, while the rest of us are sweating. this is rose 'dainty bess.'baby grasshopper perches on dainty bess.
i'm pretty happy with this white iris photo, but i don't even know how i got so much contrast. the light was really nice, though.
the potager
clematis 'm julia correvon' really likes her digs in the potager.
more potager... later i pulled up the bolting spinach in the back left bed to replace it with cabbages, and, because i'm truly a garden fool, (difficult for me) parsnips.
i like the color combination of the outside (pink) and the inside (orange) of echinacea 'tiki torch' petals. the flower is orange.
foxglove leans to beckon...
i bought a nicotania seed mix, and this is my favorite color of the bunch.