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| Bride's Dream is a delicate pink, but the flower will be quite large when the plant matures. |
I made a point of planting pumpkins at various times - not to mention gourds - to get a good crop. That looks unlikely as the weather turns cooler and no fruit is apparent, once again quite different from last year, when late planting at least got some finished gourds and some starting pumpkins.
The squirrels enjoyed the sweet corn harvest. We had some volunteers where they hid their corn in the garden. That was left alone in favor of Silver Queen. My wife and I had a little and got back to stalks stripped clean of their ears. Team Jackson was going to have a BBQ with corn on the cob, and settled for Fritos instead.
The tomatoes I planted "too early" are still bearing fruit, but the late planted tomatoes have only taken up garden space. To rush the green tomatoes, I pick them before the critters harvest them, put them in a box, and include bananas or apples inside to generate the ripening gas ethylene.
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| Perfect white fragrant roses - John Paul II - constantly blooming. |
Asparagus grew well and ferned out, so I may harvest some next spring.
I discovered a new organic nursery, Almost Eden, 1/2 block away, so I began expanding my gardening knowledge with trips over there, buying some high quality plants at bargain prices - blackberries, blueberries, elderberries, chaste tree, beautyberries, and coreopsis.
Walmart surprised me with an ever-changing display of low cost plants, so I boosted my supply of bee balm (horse mint), coreopsis, and the unknown plant, which turned out to be lantana, a great butterfly plant.
My goal of attracting hummingbirds without feeding a feeder was achieved when a hummer stopped by the bee balm.
The honeysuckle vine grew rapidly and flowered, looking good for next year. Its prop, the dead treet, fell over without harm and became the base for our rustic fence.
The passion flower vine was attacked without mercy by slugs, and I learned so much about those varmints. This year's staggering rains favored slugs and weeds. I gave up on the maypop for this year.
In contrast, the trumpet vine took root and grew in three locations, two up their appointed trees, and one on the Wright fence. Now that is a hummingbird plant.
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| Mr. Lincoln is the most productive rose, growing and blooming constantly. |
Roses Galore
The most fun for the neighborhood has been the rose gardens. We began with 8 bargain roses and 8 KnockOut roses from last year, enjoying a deep bed of Jackson Mulch and red wiggler earthworms.
I added 20 more bargain roses for only $5 each, and dozens of hybrid tea roses.
The most productive and beautiful roses have been:
- Mr. Lincoln
- Veterans Honor
- John Paul II
- Double Delight
- Peace
- Pink Peace
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| Finding five Peace roses in bloom at once - shockingly fun and yet not uncommon. |
