yard plants

Yesterday also took photos of how the newer plants are doing around B Yard, that I set in about a month ago. Finally remember to take my camera along over there! Well, the largest columbine bloomed- pretty delicate purple thing- and is done with that already.

The japanese sage is looking great, I'm impressed how well it's taken off.

Little lenten rose seedlings (hellebores) are growing steadily as well

Patch of forsythia I put in the back corner also nice and green

Other plants of note- I put in a full dozen nicotiana seedlings just a week ago but then didn't get back to water them daily, and most have failed. This one was the largest- it was completely wilted but I gave a good drink anyways, and one leaf has perked up. Maybe it will survive.

My row of sunflowers along one fence. Something has taken out quite a few of them- chopped at the base- at first I thought an animal was stepping on the seedlings at night, but now I suspect cutworms. Now that the plants are bigger, I haven't lost any in a while.

And I have five tithonia planted- a few near the lower deck

several more in the back planting area.

little garden

Had a lovely day getting my hands dirty. My small garden plot in B Yard wasn't really ready- the layers haven't broken down and won't for some time, but I put a dozen bags of topsoil on the surface, raked in most of the new vermicompost I had. And planted them all- the rest of the smaller sunflowers, two rows of lettuce, some cilantro, a few marigolds at corners, four little pepper plants, five broccoli, three swiss chard, two pole beans on corners where they might be encourged to climb the downspouts.

It all looks pathetic now because some wilted and I'd already eaten the lettuces down to near-nothing. I'm not hoping for much- I doubt the sun exposure is enough for the sunflowers and peppers, the lettuce is already bolting into bitterness (but it will make nice shapes when grown tall).

I will be happy if I get some chard and perhaps broccoli to eat, but mostly I just wanted stuff growing in there, and to get the little plants out of the strictures of their seedling pots. Also not sure how they will do once the roots strike down past the inches of topsoil and meet the unfinished layers. But hey- if it doesn't produce now I will just pile more stuff on in fall to break down overwinter. And if there's not enough sun in this corner, I'll find some shade plants and turn it into a decorative flower bed or a spot to grow cuttings...

Elsewhere I also have green beans set to climb posts,

tomatoes in pots (not sure if the containers I used are big enough...) or the cages are just too tall to use for this (should be struck into the ground nearly up to the first rung I think)

they are set in different spots around the deck and edges of yard below, to see which do best where in terms of sun exposure...

and my three-year-old pepper is creating some interesting fruit- there's a large green one in the back looks like a bell pepper, but this longer one on the side looks like a poblano to me. And the others kept small but turned red. Curious thing. I will have to eat some, and see how they taste!

baby plants!

My last set of sowing in the greenhouse jugs really took off. I've got tons of sunflowers coming up,

tithonia

a few marigolds

and this rescued seedling I found sprouting a good inch below the soil when upended a jug I thought had failed. It looks like another sunflower but not sure until it gets bigger

more seed

Few days ago planted the last bit of seed I'm going to try and start this year: two kinds of sunflowers, and kentucky wonder pole beans. I started these in greenhouse jugs too, since I don't have good sunny windows or a coldframe anymore.

flowers

My two Echincea plants fell over in the storm a week or so ago, but the flower heads have lifted up again.

Saw a new bug on a pink Cosmos flower. Anyone know what it is? I don't think it's a cricket or a lacewing, which were my first two guesses.

The Marigold plants, although still small, are starting to bloom and make bright spots in the garden.

I have one volunteer Sunflower! a terrible picture of it, for some reason the camera kept focusing on the fence in the background.

sunflowers

Most of my Sunflowers are in full bloom now, and the bees are busy at work on them!

sunflowers

are opening their faces! The shorter plants still blooming, just not as high.

Glad I keep this record; I looked back and realized last year I planted my sunflowers end of july, had blooms in september. So it didn't seem crazy to try and plant a few more, fill up the row. Seeds tucked into the soil a week ago, a few are sprouting now.

sunflors

I didn't get many Sunflowers to grow. I have one nice tall plant on the southeast end of the row

and five shorter plants that get smaller the further north you go down the row. I think it's because they get less sun on that end, from trees shading the plots.

I was disappointed it wasn't going to make a nice wall of sunflowers flanking my garden, but then luckily looked back at how they did the year before, because I remember planting them late. So glad I keep track here! Last year's sunflowers got planted at the end of june, and I had flowers in september. So with fingers crossed yesterday I poked more sunflower seeds into the ground to fill gaps in the row. We'll see if they sprout and flourish.

I also sowed some more Cilantro seed among my hot pepper plants, as all the volunteers have bolted, flowered and are gone to seed. None of the earlier sowed seed grew; if these don't either I figure my saved seed wasn't good for some reason.

things happening

I haven't had much chance to get out and photograph in the garden, but things are happening there in spite of my neglect (at weeding and plant-tending in general). The Hosta are all blooming; the front-yard ones with delicate purple sprays and the back-yard ones with pretty white flowers. Morning glories are climbing my patio fence. On the back fence some Hibiscus are starting to bloom. I have one large Sunflower plant and three smaller; the rest just didn't grow. Not nearly enough to make a bold statement...

I don't know why my Basils haven't grown like last year; they're not even knee high but already flowering. Picked their heads off in hopes of keeping them in leaf a little longer. The few Cilantro I have are flowering too, and two of the potted Mints on the porch (chocolate mint sans flores). The other cuttings I got from neighbor- Lavender and Rosemary- are beginning to thrive and just one small piece of the Sage is still alive. I hope I can pull that one through; it would be my only loss of the trade.

Ants are crawling all over my Rhubarb which looks incredibly sad. I'm wondering if it will survive this year. I think we just have the wrong climate for Rhubarb, it likes cooler summers. The Tomatoes are coming! Lots of fat green ones on the beefsteak plants and we've just begun to start eating the Cherries. They're the fattest sweetest cherry tomatoes I've grown yet. Lettuce is bolting tall and I'm leaving it alone now as it looks decorative. Chard leaves are getting large, I need to start cutting it for egg dishes and stuff.

Hopefully soon I'll get some photos to show you it all.

seedlings

Three of my Sunflower seedlings are up!

and it looks like a fourth one here, elbowing out of the soil.

I was wondering when they were going to spread their first leaves...

sunflowers

Sowed a few Sunflower seeds along the edge of the garden yesterday. From this packet mix

each seed a different pattern will grow a different color sunflower.

cleanup flores

I did a little work in the garden today. Deadheaded all the spent flowers. The Tithonia are still blooming nicely, even if some of the foliage is starting to look awful.

The Cosmos look fantastic, and I can hardly keep up with them.

Most of the spent flowers I cut look like this after the petals fall off.

I didn't deadhead soon enough this time and a few had gone to seed. Now they look like this!

Some of my Marigold plants look very spent

but others are still full of vivid greenery and bold flowers. I'm not terribly fond of Marigolds, but they do make that corner of the yard cheery with their bright color.

The Sunflowers are drooping dull heads now. I'm leaving them up hoping they might feed someone overwinter.