Summer Still Hanging On

The leaves are changing, the homecoming football game is tonight and it's a little chillier today than yesterday.  Summer will soon be gone, but according to my garden it is still hanging on!  My cucumber vines are dying off and in the foreground of the picture my broccoli experiment yielded nothing.  But in the middle of this weedy mess, the jalapenos are still going strong.

And the cherry tomatoes are having a second blooming, which is great.  I love those things!  The basil is going crazy and flowering.  I'm not sure what that means but the leaves are still so aromatic and plenty. 

And my favorite herb in the world, lavender is blooming slowly and sparsely, but those few flowers are worth it.  I'm still working on having enough for one drawer sachet.  Oh well!!

Soon it will be time to put the garden to bed and wait for Spring.  I would consider this year's garden a success!!

Last of Summer's Gifts

I went out to our garden today to pick the carrots.  They're finally ready!!  They take so long to grow but they are worth it.  I love that our daughter can go out, pull them out of the ground, wash them off with the hose and eat them.  There's something very satisfying and grounding about that.

I picked the last of the cherry tomatoes.  They were so good and we grew so many!  There were cucumbers but we picked all of those last week.  The plant is now dying off.  The peppers are still going strong - jalapenos and green bells.  I think it will take a cold snap to stop them, but then they will be the last of summer's gifts to us!!  Then it will be time to put the garden to bed.

So we will enjoy our fresh snacks while we can!

Nature's Birdbath

There is a gorgeous plant called Colocasia.  Its common name is "Coffee Cups."  This green plant's natural shape makes it a perfect bird bath after a rain. 

It makes a great container plant perfect for front porches. It loves dappled shade and grows to 5 feet tall. Pair it with some low, colorful flowers and it becomes a modern topiary that invites bird watching!

Yummy Garden Nachos

I just made some yummy garden nachos - made with leftovers and our garden vegetables!!  I had some cheese left over from some chicken fajitas we made last week and half a bag of chips.  And of course a few wonderful vegetables we just picked from our garden.

Pretty simple snack that tastes great!! I put the cheese on the chips and zapped it in the microwave for 40 seconds.  Then I put on the cut up tomatoes and jalapenos (seeded, of course!).

Yummy and economical!!

Summer's Bounty Tablescape

It's mid-July and the hard work done in our garden is starting to pay off.  And just in time for Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch.  Thursday is special because it is Susan's 100th Tablescape Thursday.  Congratulations, Susan!  Her table looks beautiful. 

And here is my summer's bounty tablescape!!

I have always loved vegetable-themed dishes and have been collecting them for years.  I'm so happy to share them!

All of the vegetables, except the carrots, are from our garden, picked today!!

I hope you enjoyed my tablescape!!

July Garden Update

It's almost mid-July and our garden is (for the most part) growing quite nicely.  The only thing that is not going to make it is the broccoli.  Something is eating it and I really don't want to use a pesticide, so we will just have to eat store-bought broccoli.

But our cucumbers are growing like crazy.  They are scaling the side of our cat deterrent, a.k.a chicken wire.  I can't wait to can dill pickles.  Our jalapeno plant is on the left.

Speaking of dill I had to cut it way back.  It started to seed and now I'm afraid I will have dill everywhere.

I do have some green beans sprouting.  Can you say fried green beans???

We have our first zucchini growing and I can already smell the zucchini bread.  I think by this weekend we'll be eating some!!

I'm really happy my tomatoes are FINALLY starting to turn red.  The first one is a grape tomato.  It is teeny tiny.

The others are coming along.  When they finally turn we'll have to be ready.  I'm thinking of canning some spaghetti sauce or stewed tomatoes.  I love stewed tomatoes, especially in chili!

Lovely Lavender

I'm so thrilled that my lavender is growing!  I love the smell of lavender, but not so crazy about artificial lavender smell.  So I am going to dry my lavender I picked and make something with it - soap, sachets, candles, something!!  Although at this rate, it will take me awhile to get enough to do anything with it!!

Have you seen Purple Haze Lavender's site?  It has the most beautiful lavender growing at their farm!  And they have helpful tips on growing, cutting and crafting with lavender.  Check out their farm!

Turnip Trickery

Ssshhh! Don't tell anyone, but I sneak vegetables into my family's food.

So it's time for some turnip trickery. My turnips are growing like crazy!!

They are poking out of the ground so I decided to pull a couple out. They are ready when they are about as big as tennis balls.

My plan is to cook them and add them to mashed potatoes. No one will ever know the difference! They are packed with vitamin C and if I can substitute that for starch from the potatoes, I'm going to do it!! Turnips have such a mild taste, they will blend right in with the potatoes.

One of my green peppers was ready too! That will make its way into spaghetti sauce.

For my next trick....camouflaged cauliflower!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

One summer project that we just started last year was our garden. This year we have expanded to two raised beds!

Last year's rainy summer made for very few tomatoes. So this year I am more hopeful for a better yield. And this looks promising!!

Something new we planted are turnips. They are really good for you and its something we never really eat. Plus they are so easy to grow. They were the first seedlings to come up. So that has been exciting!

Another new addition is the herbs. We love salsa so cilantro was a given. We also planted dill. Mom used to can dill pickles when I was a kid. And I loved to eat them. So we planted some cucumbers and mom and I are going to can some pickles this summer. Our other herb is basil. I'm hoping to cook a chicken dish using some basil. Or maybe a gourmet pizza!

And just like last year, we planted green peppers. They are so flavorful and great in so many dishes. Even on their own they are yummy. Once they get bigger and I have enough we will be making some stuffed peppers.

Our garden is growing nicely! Hopefully the sunshine continues through the summer. Send some pictures of your garden and tell me what you're growing, if it is flourishing or floundering!!