Late Season Flocks

This gorgeous stand of pinkish lavender flocks is growing around and up through a large baptisia. They are in a part of my garden that I don't visit often enough and I was startled by their lushness when I came upon them. Little St. Francis beside them is about 18 inches tall.

Planting Guides

My garden begins at the top of a slope that gently rolls down to a leveled off area. There is a fence across the top and it is divided into approximately 5-foot sections. There are four sections. I use these sections as a guide for planting my vegetables. So I have 5-foot rows of corn, 5 feet of tomato plants, 2 rows of spinach 5 feet long, etc. The slope is somewhat "terraced". Click on the photo to see a better view of the top slope of corn, the second slope of cabbages, and the third slope of onion sets. The bushy mass to the right are my 5 tomato plants and below them is a cantaloup with a melon peeking through the leaves. This photo was taken July 27.

Seed Covers

These are fall plantings of carrots and lettuce seeds. Both plants have small seeds so they should not be planted too deeply. I scattered them over the seed beds then sprinkled loose soil over the whole area. The window screens will let the sun and rain through and hold the seeds in place until they sprout. In the upper righthand corner is a small bed of just-planted garlic bulbs. The little group of green tomatoes are still attached to their vine, a volunteer that sprang up from a seed dropped from a tomato planted nearby last year.

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.