Corn Patch

My vegetable garden is not very large. I don't have room for long rows of corn. I read that you could get better pollination if you plant the seeds close together and so I have a small patch of 5 rows with 8 plants in each row spaced about 6 inches apart. The corn is growing beautifully but time will tell if there is a successful crop.

Fennel

Fennel is a wonderfully aromatic herb that grows from 3-5 feet tall. It has feathery leaves and large flower umbrels. You can harvest the fennel bulb and use it in many tasty dishes and the seeds can be used to make a tea for digestive upsets. Fennel will reseed itself. It is also a host plant for butterfly larvae.

Bronze Sunflower

The sunflowers are in full bloom now. The tallest is 10 1/2 feet! They grew from seeds that fell from last year's plants. I didn't like where they were growing so when they were a foot tall I transplanted them to a different spot. I kept them watered until their roots took hold in the new location and they just took off! They are magnificent.

Ladybug

This cute little critter is a ladybug. She is resting quietly on a zucchini plant leaf in the vegetable garden, waiting for her next meal. She is very welcome in my garden because she helps to keep plant pests in check.

Magenta Path

This is a corner of my bed of monarda, or bee balm. All of the plants are this gorgeous magenta color. When it is in full bloom on a hot summer afternoon, the flowers are filled with hundreds of bees--honeybees, wasps, bumble bees, tiny bees I have no name for. The nectar of bee balm is a favorite food source also for the ruby throated hummingbird, various butterflies, and the curious hummingbird moth.