I've been a busy Lissie this summer and I can't believe it's the end of June. So much is growing in the veggie beds and so much is not. I'll get to that shortly. May was so lovely and the flowers were positively brilliant! I love the flower combination below: peony, pink evening primrose, German chamomile and Butterfly Blue pincushion flower. The pincushion flower is wonderful because it'll bloom through much of the summer and the chamomile smells so sweet. I love that it seeded itself from last year's planting. I transplanted several bits, here and there.
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| German Chamomile |
I had a sweet little batch of Virginia strawberry. Planted a few new varieties for next year.
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| Fragaria virginiana |
Pumpkins and squash were planted early this year and in a raised bed and bucket. Last year I planted them in July and it didn't go so well.
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| Far left bed has Rouge vif d'Etampes, a french red pumpkin variety. |
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| Lots of growth on the rouge vif d'Etampes pumpkin and gray squash hidden below it in the bucket. |
Experimenting with growing potatoes this year. I planted red potatoes in the ground and yellow potatoes in a grow bag (above in the white planter). The potatoes planted in the ground leafed out, grew and then all the leaves were eaten by slugs. Nasty buggers. Hopeful though that the tubers are still ok...?
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| Potatoes in grow bag. |
My two favorite pea varieties were planted in early spring and did very well. I intended to grow a second crop but decided instead to transplant my red cabbages in place of the peas. They seem to be growing better now in their new home among the sweet peas. Before transplanting, the cabbages used to be in a bed that I had to remove to make room for my new greenhouse! Yes, Tim bought me a greenhouse for my birthday! He's the best!!!
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| British Wonder and Green Arrow peas. |
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| Mammoth Red Rock cabbage and Summer Love sweet peas. |
Tomatoes and peppers are going strong.
As for what isn't growing very well or not at all: nasturtiums (shaded by the pumpkins), onions, beets and basil. Must have had some bad seeds.
If you're wondering what Tim has been up to, he's been busy working on the boats, fixing up some old cars and on occasion, going out in the boat. Here he is enjoying a ride out to the beach.
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| Captain Tim, my sweet pea! |
