sunday, august 12

it was a beautiful morning-no sweating by the gardeners-not sure it is still august because it felt like late september, early october.  it was a semi productive morning, providing that chatting among friends was our list of tasks for the day...

a look at what we saw today

 just in case you didn't get your fill of cicadas last summer, here is one for you to admire.

 i love the markings on this cicada-they almost look as if they were painted on.

 just look at the beard on this one!

 this isn't encouraging news for the tomato trial

 tennessee sweet potato squash

 passion flowers getting ready to put on a show on the arbor.

 black and blue salvia-the hummingbirds were all over this plant.

 bronze fennel in bloom

cannas-bees and hummingbirds were taking turns 

our next big project for the year

 believe it or not, this is our leaf pile.  really, it is and no i am not kidding.  hidden here under a thick carpet of bermuda grass and weeds is a pile of beautiful, fully composted leaves; our own stockpile of black gold!  we need to uncover it and move the contents to an area that will make using it possible.  before we know it, it will be fall and the new pile of leaves (that we hope to acquire) will need a place to rot.  so if anyone is looking for something to do, put on your gloves and start pulling weeds or bring a shovel and start digging out the finished compost.

some of the plants growing around the leaf pile:

 poke weed, it is poisonous-all parts of it.  i know that there are plenty of folks around that will say otherwise but unless you know when to pick it and how to cook it, steer clear of it.

 the next crop of poke-just look at all of those berries...

 deadly nightshade-nothing about this plant is edible

 pretty-anybody know the name for this plant?

 wild tradescantia

oh, and speaking of digging out the compost, it doesn't look much better over in the compost corral either.  looks like we will be digging this out too...

shirley and i dined in style; we had scones with rose hip jam on real plates with fancy napkins...girls will be girls!  join us some time, there is always something good to eat!!!

sunday, august 5th

darry and i headed over to the garden about 8:30.  we managed to accomplish a few things.  thankfully, darry dug out all of the old logs in the wall around the herb garden and replaced them with the new logs.  weeding is what is needed most-if you head out, bring your knee pads and a weed pick!

honeybee in greek oregano

rosemary in bloom

tabasco peppers

thai chilis

rose hips in the herb garden

beauty berry in the rain garden

mexican petunia

zinnias in the satellite dish garden

ailanthus webworm moth

milkweed bug

tatume squash in the square foot garden

tomatoes in the square foot garden

and as always, freshly baked goodies for all who dare to join us.  today, we feasted on currant scones.

update from the garden 5/29/11-new structures coming along nicely!

 it all starts with scones, apricot scones-sometimes, you have to do something different and today it was scones rather than cake.

 one of the new raised bed structures.  meant to be accessible to those gardening from wheelchairs, it is a great way to build beds quickly and inexpensively.  wendi and shirley are painting the blocks in bright colors.

 plotting and stacking the final layer of blocks

 more painting!

 you gotta love smart gardeners!  alice and lynn moved the potting operations to the shade

 lynn was totaly in the weeds...

 amazing what a little mulch can do to a bed.  the raised bed structures look so much better now.

 the new memorial garden awaits soil and plants

 ninja sam, armed with a water gun seeks hot gardeners to cool off

 and in bloom this week, black and blue salvia

 asclepia tuberosa-native butterfly weed

 coreopsis

 asiatic lily

 the new classroom will be used during the field day event to demonstrate lasagna gardening

and did we mention cicadas?  they are everywhere!!!  can somebody make them go away now?