Figure Skating Coffeebreak

Just to prove that we rabid figure skating fans have actual lives, here are some picures of my gardens. I got them in early this year and as such, they are flourishing even as it starts to get quite hot out. The flower garden is looking a bit weedy, but oh well, you can't have everything. The vegatable garden, however, is looking HUGE. Tomatoes are about to take over everything. You can't even walk between the plants!

I planted blackberries 2 years ago and they've finally begun bearing (on 2 year wood of course)


Here's my front flower garden, taken from the shade. Most of the early season things have bloomed and the late season things have not begun to bloom yet. But it's still verdant, if a bit wild and out-at-the-heels.


The centerpiece of our front flower garden is a specimin lace-leaf Japanese maple. It's such a tiny thing that we call him, very affectionately, Charlie Brown Tree after the tiny Christmas tree in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.


My petunias are growing like nobodys business. In early spring, the whole garden is dominated by wild, invasive, and exceptionally lovely pink shamrocks. In mid-summer, it's the petunias that rule. This year, we had such a mild winter that one petunia (back left) overwintered. It grew from a short 18" clump to a HUGE FOUR FOOT clump. We call it Petunia-zilla, of course. This year, like last year, I got a nice little clump of volunteer pumpkins (bottom right). I expect they are the little johnny style ones, but we'll see. That's the neat things about volunteers, never know what you're gonna get.


Around the side, my only southern exposure (and not even for the full day), is my vegi garden. This year, I only grew a few kinds of tomatoes and some slicing cucumbers. Of course, the watermelons from last year had different ideas! The tomatoes are frontmost with the cukes and melons low about 2/3 back. In the very back is a verdant mishmash of kitchen herbs and horseradish. Unfortunately, while the horseradish puts out HUGE foliage, the ground is too wet to make the roots grow. Fardles!


We are about to be inundated with tomatoes. I think that's JUST about my favorite time of year. Most of our maters don't even make it into the house. We eat them standing right in the garden. We've had a deluge of rain in the last few days, so the maters are cracking. Hope we don't get any blight in the cracks. Last year, they rotted before they ripened.


Here's a ripening cucumber, waiting for my middlest to pick it. She's been mad at me for days because littlest has picked and biggest has, but she has always been inside when it was picking time. Fresh cuke for supper salad! YUM!


And finally, here's a tiny new watermelon from the volunteer vine. It's only about as big as two fists of a man's hands. We didn't get any good melons last year. Grew bunches, but they never got sweet. Maybe this year I'll let em ripen longer.


Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program...