Tag: Edible Garden

Posted in Weekly Wrap-Up

Sunday Report

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

The gardens and the gardening is winding down for the season. The Peace/Bird Garden has been looking very scraggly for a while, partly because I leave the blooms until they’re fully pecked by the birds and partly because of the frequent rainstorms. I finally got out this morning and lopped off the really dead stuff and pulled weeds.

before
after

It feels fresh out there, now, with plenty of seed heads left.

The Edible garden is closer to closing time, though. I’m just putting off bringing in the tomatoes, giving some small green ones time to grow. There are six peppers very near harvest, but after that, they, too are done.

Instead of going to Disney World this fall, I decided to buy a new refrigerator and stove. Marked #1 off my list this week when I found this lovely icebox on sale. We had to uncover a little filth to get it in its new home, but doesn’t it look dandy?!

I’ve got my eye on a bargain-priced stove, hopefully bringing it home this week. The dust bunnies under the stove might need to be called “dust groundhogs”.

In the meantime, #two grandie and her bf are going to take the old fridge, and possibly the old stove, as well. I like that kind of recycling.

My Dolly crying jag delayed my potting-up the mums, but I decided to just keep everything out on the back porch, the one I hang out in most, so I can enjoy it. I don’t know when 80-years-old started being too young to die, but it is, so I’m pressing on, determined to Enjoy Every Minute that I can, Look for the Positive, and Be Grateful…

I hope you’re enjoying today in your neck of the woods!

Peace

Posted in Sunday Report, The Gardens of Sonnystone...

Let it Grow…

Posted on by Jo Mayne Casey

And since all this loveliness can not be Heaven, I know in my heart it is June.” —Abba Louisa Goold Woolson.

After a cool and rainy May, June met us with Sunshine and balmy breezes. My cataract surgery went super great and I’ve been outside breaking all the rules to finish up the gardens and porches. I have been careful, but I couldn’t resist.

Let’s take a walk around the house, starting in the Edible Garden. Along our trellis, the cantaloupe, butternut squash, cucumber. and watermelons are all coming right along. None of the lima beans I put in sprouted, but I’ve got two more cucumber plants to fill the bare space soon.

On the outside of each side of the trellis are 14 bell pepper plants – 8 California Wonders and 6 Big Berthas. In between the peppers and the trellis are sunflowers of all kinds and they are going to town! At the south end of each side are moonflower vines, sure to shine.

In the back and on the sides are nine tomato plants – 4 Better Boys, 1 Early Girl Bush, 1 Celebrity, a sweet cherry 100, a husky red cherry, and one called chocolate sprinkle that is alleged to taste like a black cherry.

Nine squash – five zucchini, four yellow straightneck prolific – are having the time of their lives, flowering like champs, but where are the bees? I have anise hyssop to attract them, not to mention a yard full of clover, but so far I’ve seen very few.

The peas are flush with edible pods (Oregon sugar pods II) and I’m often out there snacking.

I’ve been so bored with my own cooking lately – like for the past year – and decided to learn a new style: a countertop griddle. So far, Casey is better at it than I am, but I warned him if he is tooo good, he’ll end up doing all the cooking. We used an old highway sign as a heat shield, which I think is kinda cute.

Around here on the front porch, walking in from the north side, I’ve moved all the coleus that I propagated last winter and they look great! I guess I’ll end up with twice as many next year….help!

In the Peace/Bird garden, the hummingbirds are back buzz-bombing each other at the feeder, and Casey had a skirmish with a squirrel (he won) the other day. This garden is all native perennials and they are so reliable and calm – you might say peaceful. I am so thrilled to be able to see the avian display with a clarity I’ve never experienced. It’s a dang miracle.

I think I’ll grab a handful of those sugar peas, sit out on the swing, and enjoy. Wish you were here…

Peace