How Does Your Garden Grow, Part 3

A nice picture of my zucchini plants. I like to have my zucchini breaded and fried, even though I know that's not very good for you.

There is a little gardening space right here, next to my garage. I planted mixed variety leaf lettuce, a mangled up heap of basil and spinach, and spring onions in here. I should probably get more organized next year. Fates willing that I am here to garden next year.

I can't even eat these spring onions. For some reason or another, I've developed a digestive intolerance to them. To many of the plants in the lily family. That bums me out.

Here is the really nice picnic table that my husband built this year. I think we are going to make a hole in the middle so we can put a big umbrella in it. Or maybe just move it back into the shade of our pretty oak tree at the back of our yard.

I planted Roma tomatoes on the side of my house, these are on the other side of the air conditioner. I put zucchini on one half and tomatoes on the other. Many of my tomatoes got knocked off when the old roof was sloughed off and they took a battering of many shingles, but many survived.

How Does Your Garden Grow, Part 2

Near the sidewalk that goes past our house, there are many large stones. I've been told by my 88 year old neighbor that there was a quarry here, or near here at some time in New Castle's history. These rocks were taken from just across the street, when the previous owner of our house helped them level that yard. I planted forget-me-nots around the rocks. They were also very slow to start and only a few came up, but I will take some seeds from these hardy survivors and sow them again next year. I love the color of forget-me-nots and they are such little, perfectly shaped flowers, it looks like they were embroidered right on. Forget-me-nots are very popular flowers to embroider.

Here is a row of zucchini plants along the side of my house. I love the way they look so big and prehistoric. The flowers are pretty, too.

Sadly, this is what I have at the front of my house. A rose bush I never trimmed back, like I should have. A box of marigolds that were supposed to have white blooms, but mine just keep growing taller and taller without blooming. You can't see it, but behind that is a very small rhododendron that I planted this year. And what's that thing on the left? I don't know. In the spring it gets balls of small white flowers. It's leaves are sort of fuzzy, like sage. It makes some sort of berry type seed that started out green and now they're red. Any guesses?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I always start out very excited about gardening, but around July, I throw in the towel, I don't feel like weeding very much, and I start to water less frequently, and I don't give them any special plant foods or fertilizers, like I used to. Nonetheless, here are some things that have managed to hold on to midsummer. I have a pot of marigolds, this started out as a seedling in a cup given to me by Matthew, for Mother's Day. Next to that is a pot of sage. The sage started out near my sidewalk, but something kept coming up and eating it. Squirrels? So I brought what was left of it onto the porch steps, where it has not done too badly.

On one side of my sidewalk there is a thick tussock of parsley in front of a bunch of coreopsis. The coreopsis was already established when we moved in. I have been gathering seeds from it and maybe I will plant some more next year.

Next to my coreopsis is some sweet alyssum. That was a Mother's Day present from Justin. More seedlings in a cup that were not labelled. I started these in a pot which they quickly outgrew. I planted them where my sage used to be, and now they are taking over the sidewalk, such as it is. I'd like to get some new sidewalk in that stamped concrete, maybe, but since we got a new roof this year, we're probably not going to be getting a new sidewalk. One thing at a time.

Then I have a patch of basil. It's so tall! And it smells really good, better than flowers. Next to that I have a spotted laurel. I'd like to thank Niall Young for helping me put a name to this plant. It was here when we moved in.

The other side of my sidewalk has four o'clocks and foxglove. I put in the foxglove when the four o'clocks were not looking so hot. They've rallied. Now they are too tall for the foxgloves to get much sunlight, so I don't know what they'll do. I'll just let them sort it out amongst themselves.