August Update

August is prime season for lots of good thing. Above is a zinnia from saved seed. Below is Blue Spice basil. I'm so happy I was able to find seeds at Bertie County Seeds. I recommend them and Pinetree Garden Seeds (no paid endorsements).

This mess below is a delphinium, which is doing well, a bunch of alyssum (grown from seed), and struggling plugs of native wildflowers. The bunnies have been so terrible this year. I suspect I will lose even more over the winter.

The Limelight hydrangeas (below) love their spots. 

It's been fun to watch this monarch caterpillar on the butterfly weed.

I bought the Supertunia Vista Cool Jazz (above) on clearance with an incorrect label, but it's bigger than the pot.

I'm happy that the bees are happy, such as on the coneflower above and the agastache below. 

Please note that I'm not showing the weeds that I've haven't taken care of because of the heat and humidity. My garden isn't perfect, but it's mine and I love it. 

Tomatoes!

I started Juliet (above) and Stupice (not shown) tomatoes indoors. The Juliet are resilient, and I'm harvesting every other day. The Stupice have struggled in the extreme heat and drought. But I'm making meals out of the Juliet grape tomatoes. I have grown a lot of paste tomatoes in the past, but they get ripe all at once. I like the cherry and grape tomatoes because I can collect some for a meal, and then wait a few days for the next meal. Less pressure to keep up!

Above is Chocolate Sprinkles, which was one friend's favorite. Below is Pink Gal, a pink tomato. How cool is that!

I wasn't sure if I was going to get any tomatoes after I dropped the seedlings this spring indoors, and then the cutworms ate some soon after planting, and one plant just completely disappeared (bird? squirrel? alien?). I'm glad I bought a few plants, which were big enough that the cutworms left them alone. Even though it's a little more prone to disease, the Golden Boy is a prolific slicer that is absolutely delicious on a sandwich.

Late lettuce planting

I'm behind on blogging, but I have photos from when I planted lettuce. The above picture is after I've planted tiny seedlings and covered them with wire to prevent bird and squirrel damage and cabbage butterfly damage on the kale.

Here's what happened when I planted seeds directly into the ground...nothing! I see lots of little ants nearby, and I suspect that they feasted for dinner. However, I planted seeds in little containers in the shade outside, and they sprouted and quickly filled the containers with their roots. I planted those in the garden, and I'll keep them evenly watered until they're a little more established. I also planted some pea seeds (no photo yet), also covered with wire to prevent damage. I'll keep you updated.