Wednesday Wandering

Wednesday is for straying off the quilty path and on to the garden path. 

A fairy is doing a good job of guarding the Agastache this year. Last year it disappeared. 

Japanese Anemone are in bloom. 

Mexican Sunflower or Tithonia is finally in bloom. Usually it is like a bush by now and covered with butterflies. This year it was so slow growing. It is an annual that I start from seeds saved from year to year. Well, as soon as it bloomed the aphids took up residence. 

About twenty years ago I planted Morning Glories along a trellis (now mostly missing because a tree fell and took out part of it last year).  I think the variety was called Grandpa Ott. Now they grow wild. I don't even have to save the seeds from them and plant them. I do have to tear them out of the rest of the garden where I don't want the volunteers. 

Four O'clocks. I grow these annuals from saved seeds too. They supposedly open around four o''clock. Well, I found out last year that they are temperature sensitive and not light sensitive like I originally thought. I thought I had no blooms last year but they were blooming in the middle of the night when it got cooler. 

I grow a lot of zinnias.

Butterflies love Zinnias. 

This is another type of Morning Glory that grows wild but I never see very many of this variety. 

Time for garlic chives to bloom. I have a little border of them and I thought they would keep away rabbit and deer. So much for thinking. But chives are good in herb bread, on baked potatoes (potatoes from the garden, of course) or in homemade crackers. I freeze them to use in crackers we make in the winter to go with our homemade soups. 

I planted a Hazlenut bush about thirty years ago and have never really harvested them. They are a lot of work to shell for such a small nut.  I'm not really fond of them. I did make some good shortbread type cookies from them one time. 

The grapes are about ripe. Usually the deer have eaten them all by now. Maybe some of our tactics to scare away deer are working. We used to make wine and jam. We don't drink much of anything these days so no sense in making wine anymore. And I made enough jam a few years ago to last me and the family a lifetime. So I never really cared if the deer ate the grapes. But I think I will give my sister-in-law a call to see if she wants to come pick them. 

This is horseradish in my herb garden. I always heard that you only harvest horseradish in a month that has an R in it. So next month I will probably dig and make horseradish. My eyes are watering just thinking about it. 

We've been harvesting and using the basil. This time of year I usually start drying it. I'll also take a couple of cuttings for an indoor plant for the winter. 

Culinary sage. I don't use much of it these days. I love it with chicken. I'll dry some of it for the Turkey dressing on Thanksgiving. 

Thyme. I have three varieties. I use fresh and dry for winter use. It's also good in homemade crackers and in soups. 

I grow cilantro too. This time of year it is an essential ingredient in fresh salsa made with our own tomatoes, peppers and onions.  This is a slow bolting variety. You probably know that cilantro seeds are called coriander. I don't use coriander so don't really like my cilantro to go to seed and that is why I really like the slow bolting variety of this annual. 

Another wild thing is Datura. I threw some seeds from an old plant in the veggie garden long ago and ever since I've had Datura volunteers.  The blooms open in the evening and stay open until early morning. They glow in the moonlight.  This one grows in the garden path next to my strawberry bed. 

Oh, another watermelon is almost ripe. This one is called Yellow Doll. I'm anxious to try it since I've never tasted yellow watermelon. 

The Butternut squash are finally ripening. 

The Delicata squash are ripening too. They sure have been slow growing this year. But at least the vines have not died back because of cucumber beetles or wilt. 

We've been harvesting lots of varieties of tomatoes. 

And we've been eating and freeing wax beans and zucchini. We like grilled zucchini. 

This is an Emerald Gem cantaloupe I grew from saved seeds. 

Yummy. It was a good treat on a hot summer day!