Better Late than Not At All!!

October 10, 2011

I do, hereby, proclaim this day. .

the summer of 2011 to be the WORST gardening season

of my career. But alas. .my reward for persistence and stupidity. .

The FIRST tomato of the season!!

Mater Sandwich has finally provided a fruit for our labor!! With a few more on the vines that may or may not ripen in time for eating. If they do not ripen before frost. .they will be eaten fried. .and green! YUM!

 Either way, I win!!

The brandywine plants are still alive and blooming. .but I didn't really see any tomatoes

on the plants. .nor did I look very hard. .

After all. .it is OCTOBER. .not July.

And frankly, I'm tired of gardening for the year!!

I laughed out loud when I finally looked at the cherry tomato plants. .Check out the little green babies on these!!

There were hundreds. .easily!!

I would have to think that these should ripen before the frost. As far as the forecast runs, the lows are still in the 50's for the next week. .and likely the next week too. These two cherry plants are close together. .and you may find some sort of contraption when the frosts finally are expected. .to help extend this little harvest that finally got started.

I also have a ton of jalapenos and some sweet red peppers ready to eat. Lisa and I will be makin' salsa in a couple of weekends. .so we will put them to good use!!

I may have mentioned some surprise plant between the waterfall and the house that I figured was a gourd planted by God. A couple weeks ago it started to look like cantaloupe on the vine (from the kitchen window). Finally today I got in the bed to get close enough to see what it was. .HOLY MOLY!! It's a pumpkin plant. And so far it seems to be yielding more than pumpkins of last summer that I sowed myself! HAHAHA!

The stars of the show now are the Maximillan Sunflowers that finally started blooming this past week. The little orange mum overwintered and is blooming now, though small. The drought and heat (even with some supplemental watering) kept their growth in check! On my list of to-do's is to get a few more mums to plant by the new cedar fence. I am leaning toward burgundy, purple, and maybe some yellow. I love mums! 

The cosmos are finally in full force through out the yard. I love the crisp air and the vibrant colors of fall. 

Here are a couple of the Maximillans that I transplanted to this bed last summer. The little pencil spruces will need to get a little taller before they get overshadowed! 

The knock out roses are blooming again too. 

This little clump of May night salvia will be moved next spring to a different locale, and this area will be  returned to the yard. 

This salvia, catmint, and jupiter's beard are back in full swing too, and growing together nicely to fill in the spot. Soon, I will have a great assortment of bulbs to plant in the new bed by the cedar fence. I have covered nearly the whole thing in cardboard and straw. A skunk or armadillo has been coming in and working the soil for me as it searches for bugs to eat. We were blessed with 2 days of rain this past weekend, accumulating 1 1/2 inches of much needed moisture here. .so hoping those bulbs will go in really nicely!!

We had a great memorable day trip a few days ago. .photos to follow soon!!

Blessings to you this glorious Monday!