catching up with the garden; july 2013

 summer is flying by!  we have been working as much as we can and so has this spider in the satellite dish.

 butterflies are so much fun to watch.  more than once i chased these two to get a nice photo

 this one was kind enough to strike a pose.

 and so was this one.  

 however, over in the rain garden, we would prefer that these just left and never came back.  genista broom moth caterpillars are destructive and can defoliate plants and shrubs.

 in the keyhole garden, we are seeing very mixed results.  the okra is flourishing.

 the yellow squash did not make it-squash borers destroyed the stem.

 we will be picking lemon cukes soon.

 texas star hibiscus in the rain garden

 thai basil in bloom in the herb garden.

 rosemary in bloom attracts a lot of bees

 chive blossoms are removed before they even open to prevent seeding

 caraway seeds are starting to form

 tabasco peppers are getting ready to turn red

 red noodle beans in the square foot garden have pretty lavender blooms

 stink bugs like them too

 this little leaf hopper looks so pretty on the texas star hibiscus

 pickling cukes in the vertical garden

 sedum autumn joy getting ready to put on a show

 thai chilis ready for cooking-proceed carefully with them

 if memory serves, tansy is planted in gardens to help keep the ants at bay.  don't tell these ants that, the don't seem to care.

 chive blossoms waiting to be arranged in a vase

 and as always, we have cake.  each week i make something different.  this one is a vegan carrot and zucchini cake.

 blueberry muffin cake made with berries picked in the demo garden.

and sometimes, you just have to mix it up.  with 6 pounds of blackberries from the garden, i made some jam and then baked biscuits to serve with it.