Summer 2013

What a bumper crop kind o' summer.  It is September 27th and my garden is full of crisp green beans, new summer squash coming on, ripe tomatoes, basil as tall as I am (5' 4). Never have I eaten this well this  late. I put in two plantings of bush beans. I probably picked from them 8 times this year. The zucchini was lavish and bore almost feverishly.  I had only one pest this summer and trapped the young ground hog.  I put the garden in mid May and am most surprised that it is still in full swing. I
 am a cancer survivor, therefore I don't put any fertilizers on my garden.

My flowers were a most amazing palette of color, when one bed faded another would come into full glory.  I did not get to photograph each bed but I was truly spell bound all summer by each bed.  I grow white and purple irises. They are abundant and showy in two beds.  The first of June my Sweet William's Variation were an eye catcher, they stayed around most of June.  I cleaned the bed up, breaking off the old stems and began to water this bed and amazingly they shot up new starts that will be my next generation Sweet William's treat.  The corner roadside hill is covered in Purple Yarrow Variation, Cinnimon Colored Day Lilies, Black Eyed Susan's, Cone Flowers.  The splash of color on this corner is amazing.  Each of these flowers bloom mid July through August.  To the left side of the house are my fragrant Hostas and Canon Flowers.  The hosta shoots are a fragrant white and tall, and the Canons are tall brilliant red, these become showy in late August.  Part way through the summer I plant mixed colors of Marigold and Zinnia's so that if any flower (Petunia's) die down in color or just get too leggy, I can pull them and another area of interest begins to take shape in the beautiful fall colors. We put in a new office and the entrance is in back, I noticed that the bed where the morning glories grow surrounded by dark blue spikes of Russian Mint  (which is in back) needs redefined, there is no dazzling color in that bed, only shades of lavender or purple. I am rethinking this area.  I enjoy my gardens so that when fall comes I am almost sad to put everything away.