What have you done today in the Garden?

Dead headed the roses and watered the polyanthus around the path, I'm doing that in the morning and evening to see if they survive this hot spell. Cut off the stems of the hardy geraniums.

 

Chilling, deadheading and a thorough soaking were all done at 9pm last night.
So relaxing time here today..... until this evening .

 

Today I planted the last rows of beans, in locations that had the garlic crops. Today is hot and humid, good bean weather I think.



I used old seed packets, no new seeds bought. This is my first year growing winged beans. I don't know what to expect. They are pole beans. The rest are bush beans. Easier for me. I planted one row of Romas (bush type), one row of winged beans, the rest were bush green beans.

I like keeping the raised beds busy growing something. The rotation is usually tomatoes or peppers - garlic or onions - beans then a cover crop before tomatoes again. That way, each bed gives three crops in two years.

The front water feature has been leaking badly. I tried boat sealant, still leaky. Then I found some aerosol rubber sealant spray. I sprayed three coats. Bob's your uncle! No more leaking.



It's all put back together. The LED bulb was also bad, so I replaced it. The light is nice but only visible at night.



Next I'll clean up the rock garden and prune the rose there. The plan is for mostly rocks, only a few plants.

The seedling dahlias are looking kind of nice. I don't know if they will survive the winter here. The four o'clocks should - they usually do. I'm pleased the deer are not eating the dahlias. Kind of a surprise.

 

Deadheaded the roses, picked blueberries and beans. Gave a little water to toms and tender plants.

Oh Loggie, I saw that you deadheaded your roses as well.

Oreti—that is such a nice scene to look at. It is the perfect place to sit and just look.

Daniel—i enjoyed reading about the goings on there. The bean planting, the crop rotation and your water feature work. That last foto of the lovely dahlia bed was candy for the eyes.

 

This is my favorite time of year. A time to see every gardener friends on this garden forum indulging with posting pictures of what all their hard work so far in the season has evolved and produced. Exciting gardens and so many talented and interesting garden styles. Congrats to those who accomplished so much in their gardens so far this season.

Today I did a few early morning tasks that I had in mind . As I headed out the door I knew I would find that one thing that always leads to another and another task and the next thing I knew it was 2pm. Typical garden day. How fast time flies when we are working in our gardens. I had the dogs with me so no fear surrounding the bobcat incident 2 days ago.

This afternoon just sat out in the south garden and watched the dogs play while enjoying the background of flowers, shrubs and trees glowing in the afternoon sunshine. Nice cool weather today as the hummers fly by in their many normal acrobatic fight moves while constantly squeaking at each other.
Nothing beats it.

 

It is in the 90s here this week, with heat indices in the 100s. I am not doing much. But I did water my veggies and herb beds, and some of my containers. I watered my cuttings a few times. They dry out too quickly. The tomato cuttings look good, the crepe myrtle cuttings not so good.

I cleaned up after the dogs so I don't step in that stuff.

I have not yet caught that second copperhead. Lots of things are blooming, but my place looks very wild compared to you all. I have a ride for Friday to go get the mower battery, and the 3d carb for my push mower and other necessities. The grass is long and shaggy, and everything needs weeded.

Bloomers: rose of Sharon bushes galore, black eyed susans, zinnias, cosmos, echinacea, some cock's comb (I do not remember planting it, but it is there), the cukes and squashes and melons are all blooming, the scarlet runner beans are a-bloom, my other beans have blooms and pods, tomatoes look good, phlox, strawberries still have blooms and berries, trumpet vines (don't plant them, they are invasive), marigolds, the wild bee balm, morning glories, my blue spiderwort is still blooming, ... I might have missed some. Oh, I have some unknown yellow flowers with red centers from that "Flower Rocket" I planted a few months ago. One of those tiny white flowers tried to grow, but I think it is dead. None of the other "500 seeds" have done anything. I have no idea what the yellow flowers are. Others of those tiny white flowers have tried to grow, but look pitiful or died. The elderberries are making berries.

My new lavender plant looks nice, but no blooms yet.

coming soon: the Jerusalem artichokes will bloom soon, and the 4 o'clocks also.

Hopefully the heat will not last too long. It is only 51 days until fall...

 

Two thumbs up to that, PacNW! Those photos help keep me motivated. I enjoy looking at all of them.

Night Owl, that's just because I don't post the wild parts.

They are growing smaller as work continues, but I doubt I'll be at my goal before winter. I do think I've turned a corner, with tidier places gradually taking over the wild places. It feels good.

I may have a batch of ripe figs to pick tomorrow, and blackberries. Looking forward to that. It will be hot, so I will need to water, too.

I summer pruned the first three mini-apple trees and an espalier apple tree. Those chores are easy and give much peace of mind.

 

Six more pumpkins harvested today, and the compost vine/vines are full of bloom. We now have a dozen pumpkins of various sizes, so I'll cut, clean, and bake the three biggest. I still have pumpkin pulp from last fall in the freezer.

 

Pac— it sounds like you’ve worked-out the art of gardening. Sitting in wonderment of what you’ve got going on in your garden, as well as appreciating what your colleagues have been up to.

Jane— that sounds delicious. What ways will you serve it?

 

@marlingardener more pumpkins already wow that is great. You have quite an amazing variety of veggies and a beautiful well planned out garden design . Happy harvesting.

 

Today the predicted high is 96F. I got up early and watered the container plants and seedlings that don't have drip lines.

Repairing the front water feature inspired me to start cleaning up the rock garden border. I pulled some weeds there.

I deadheaded the geraniums, and pruned the mini apple trees. The crop this year may not be a lot, but some.

I picked a few figs. They could have ripened a few more days, not as sweet as I like best.





I'm glad I put out yellow jacket traps in May. So far, no yellow jackets in the figs.

Figs are a great xeriscape fruit tree. These get no watering at all, and are on the hot south side of the house. The roots extend very deep, and the big lush leaves shade the ground with deep shade.

This variety, Lattarula, is a very good, sweet fig. The tree is my most reliable out of about ten varieties. Hardy Chicago is also very reliable, a month later and richer flavor. The two best flavored are not productive but the best flavor, Brunswick and Petite negri.

 

Oh Wow.. those look scrumptious. I didn’t know they were drought resistant. Good choice for fruit. They do grow beautiful leaves and last a long time in florals too.

haven’t seen to many YJ yet so far. Stays that way. This heat really brings them out. I’m careful when mowing not to hit a ground nest. I did that once and was chased to the house with stings everywhere. I swelled up like the Pillsbury dough boy. So be carful out there too.

 

Sjoerd, the pumpkins will be "pulpified" and become pumpkin pecan breads, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pies, and pumpkin cookies.
Pac, our gardens aren't producing as usual since so much got flooded out this spring. We re-planted, just to have the rains flood the garden beds again. We do have bell peppers and cherry tomatoes, and of course, pumpkins!

 

@marlingardener I remember your post about all the flooding and what your garden has endured . This season the weather has been on a rampage . It’s been destructive which is so disappointing for you this season. You have a lot of garden buddies around here to support you and help cope with all the challenges from this year outrageous storms. Sending hugs your way.

 

Today got up early again and watered (no surprise there). I reinstalled linear drip lines for the row crops (beans, Chinese Chives, a row of marigolds). I fertilized the Chinese Chives, too.

Now there are about four fewer watering-can trips to carry there, each morning. In sixty days, that's 240 fewer trips . I take the irrigation for granted now, until I think about how many watering-can trips I still make...