Garden Galore

Goodness, it is so nice to get away for a bit sometimes!

Whenever I try to relax at home, I end up feeling guilty because there is so much more that I "should" be doing. My mind thinks of laundry, cleaning, projects, gardening, etc... and I can't fully relax. Thankfully we traveled up to MIL and FIL (mother-in-law and father-in-law) for the holiday weekend. We even took Eva and she was a trooper for her longest car ride ever! (3.5 hours) Here she is tuckered out in the back seat.
While we were there, the poor puppy got stung/bit by something right under her eye, but she did great and bounced right back. She even let me put ice on it for a little bit!

(Photo Credit: MD, my Sis-in-law)

When we got back I was tuckered out too, but mentally refreshed and ready to pick back up where I left off... but I realized gardens are funny that way.
When you are gone you can count on the house not getting any dirtier, the laundry pile not growing, and projects not getting any more done (or undone! Wouldn't that be funny?!) But the garden? It just keeps on going... it does it's own thing while you are off doing yours.

So I came back and it looked like a completely different garden than when I left! First of all, the garlic was ready to harvest. Woohoo! Not a great yield, but I had them in a spot that was too wet. I think two of them might be bad, but the rest may be salvageable.






We also came home to a surprise gladiolus! I had no idea what they were when we left, because the leaves kind of looked like an iris, but they were too tall and skinny. I think there are a couple more around the house, but we will just have to wait and see what color they end up being.


Another surprise? The hydrangeas! They are funny because depending on the acidity level of your soil, they will turn either pink or blue. We came home to bold blue flowers (and a little bit of purple) lining our front walk. They are so pretty, it is just such a shame that a giant burning bush hides them from the street view.

 

The tomatoes had taken off and needed some more support. I had just tied them up right before we left! While I was getting rid of the weeds (which had also taken off), I found a mystery "volunteer" tomato plant (see left). You know how I planted the long, long stem of the tomato in my previous post? Well I guess it must have sent out another shoot as well as roots! I still don't know what to do with it... I could leave it, but supporting it could be difficult. Also, I don't know how many tomatoes we can possibly eat!


As long as everything else decided to grow like gang-busters, the hops decided to join in. They have reached the end of their twine, and have started to grow up the side of the house! Note to self: make twine longer next year... It's hard to see, but they are starting to get the little "flowers" on them where the actual brewing hops will be. While they won't be usable this year, it is a good sign that they are doing well and we might get a few to save next year!

The squash is starting to bulk up (left). Before it was a little spindly and I wasn't sure if it was going to make it or not. Thankfully it looks like it is safe since it has some larger leaves.

While the artichokes have recovered thanks to their "fence," it looks like my bunny nemesis has started after the cucumber leaves... definitely need to make more permanent fencing for next year.


So I have been a little embarrassed since I still had not gotten my herbs transplanted. My poor basil is so stunted it only has two leaves, while others are probably a foot tall by now!  I finally got around to refreshing the soil in the giant pots so I could plop them in along with the rest of the herbs (oregano and thyme). See those three tiny little things in the middle of the pot? Yeah, those are supposed to be basil.


Oh, and I still can't grow green beans. I had planted some a couple weeks ago, didn't see any action so I "peeked" on one and it was gone... decomposed into the soil. I think it dried out too much and the next time it rained, it probably turned to mush. So what do I do? I plant some more.... first I had tried them in "seed starting mix": too wet and they rotted. Next in the sandy raised bed soil: too dry, shriveled and decomposed. This time I mixed some "seed starting mix" into the raised bed which should help keep a more consistent moisture level. The one and only vegetable DH (dear husband) actually requested, and I can't grow it for the life of me! Oh the irony.