broken pumpkin stem

My big Long Island Cheese pumpkin stem broke, but not all the way off. It was growing half way up on my fence and, as the weight increased, it sunk lower. (I should have given it a support, but forgot.) Finally, the weight pulled the pumpkin all the way to the ground, but the vine couldn't stretch quite that far. It has partially broken. I don't dare touch it. It seems to me there may be enough intact stem for it to ripen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Its a nice big pumpkin and very early in the season. Even if it doesn't make it, there is still plenty of time for others to set and ripen.

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so cute ...

What to do about a very cute baby rabbit that has taken up residence in my garden? Every morning when I open the blind and look out to my side yard garden - there he is. Cute as ever. A rabbit is a bit of a novelty here in suburbia. As I watch, he mostly eats weeds I have missed: grasses and clover. Those, oh and the dill, soy beans, and all the perennial trilobia (a pretty black-eyed Susan type of plant) that I grew from seed last winter. But so far, he's cuter than the damage he's doing.

I have plans though. I'm thinking of 12 inches of chicken wire around the garden. My guess is he will eat more as he gets bigger. But maybe I will only put chicken wire around the cold frame (I will definitely add chicken wire around this). The cold frame is in the last sunny section of my side yard.

I am getting more and more disappointed about how poorly things are growing in my shady side yard. The shading trees grow by the day. I'm now moving what I can out to my community plot now. Eggplants and peppers are moving as I pull out spent peas, and harvest onions and garlic. Maybe I'll just sow sweet clover as I move the plants out....

Have you ever heard of a gardener who liked having a rabbit in their garden?

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no soy beans

This is what the rabbit did to my soybeans.

I love edamame, especially fresh from the garden. And I prefer a variety called Butterbeans. It has big pods and very good yields. I planted a patch earlier this year using seeds left over from 2 or 3 years ago. They did not spout (about 1 on 20 sprouted and the rabbit ate the few that did sprout). Maybe this is a seed that does not store well.

So I looked up online to find more Butterbeans. It seems they are out of stock everywhere. I found them at advertised one website and ordered two packages. But when they arrived they were a different variety (Envy - it has little pods). But I planted them anyway just before I left on vacation.

To make a short story long - the baby rabbit ate all the sprouts. Before leaving on vacation, I asked my husband to barricade the cold frame so the bunny couldn't get in. He reinforced the edges, adding lattice and plastic stapled to the wood frame. The problem was in securing it to the house. Well, the rabbit must have found a way in. Its too late now for a third try. No homegrown edamame this year.

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squirrel eats tomato

I've figured out why I have so few tomatoes this year. Unfortunately, I could put up chicken wire to keep a rabbit out, but there's not much that will keep a squirrel out of the garden.

The poor squirrel was sad to drop his pretty tomato from the fence post. After the last photo above, he went down, out of my sight and I suppose found it and finished it off.

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How to Adjust the Width on the New Templates

I've enjoyed seeing which new templates people are choosing, and the ways they set them up.  I would like to have 3 columns like many do, but I can't figure a way to get my large photos centered.  I just don't think it works.

Jacqueline from Purple Chocolat Home, asked me to come tell her how I adjusted the width of my blog.  I figured others may not have found where to do it yet, either, so I will let you know.  If you have discovered any tricks or tips, please leave a comment, and if you want, a link to your blog in the comment to fill us in on what all fun things we can do.

What I did do, was go into "layout" and saw that you could adjust the width.  It's in the second column, after, "Body Layout" and "Footer Layout".  I drug the little arrow for the entire blog clear to the right, to make it the widest I could, then adjusted the right sidebar until the photos on both sides were pretty much centered.  My numbers ended up being 1,000 and 230 px.

I just went to Jacqueline's blog, and saw that she is not using a Blogger template, so I don't know if this will be helpful.  Jacqueline, maybe you can use the numbers of px to find a way to adjust yours.

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Wildish Flowers

I get a bit confused on what flowers are wild.  I looked some of these up to be sure.  I love mixing annuals, perennials, herbs, wild, and some native plants in my flower beds.  I am linking these photos up with Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday, and Gail's once month Wildflower Wednesday.

I just looked it up, and found that this 'Gateway' Joe Pye weed is a cultivar, and is shorter and bushier than the wild flower.  I just planted it in the spring.  I'll have to watch to see if bees or butterflies like it.  (That's the 'Orange Perfection'  phlox to the right.)

There were Queen Anne's lace seedlings all over the front yard bed.  I dug out most of them.  I didn't think the ones I left would get big enough to bloom this year, but one is blooming at about a foot tall.

These are the coneflowers that were 'White Swan' about 12 years ago, but are now purple.  An agasache is next to them.

I normally deadhead the narrow leaved coneflowers, but experimented with keeping them for the birds to eat, and to see if they reseed themselves.

The rattlesnake master is still looking good near it's less wild neighbors, love lies bleeding and hibiscus.

The sea hollies are almost finished, but looking OK at this point.

I couldn't get a good photo of the skullcap, 'Mongolian Skies'.  It's just beginning to bloom, and is one of my favorites.

Most of the liatris are finished blooming.  The milkweed is not blooming yet, partly because I cut it back.

I don't know why I just discovered ironweed this season, but I'm glad I found 2 kinds.  I am tickled this one has buds on it.

This butterfly milkweed is full of blooms.  The one I showed awhile back with a caterpillar died, but not from the caterpillar eating it.

I love short toothed mountain mint.  It was looking to be a spreader, but by picking up the stems where they have fallen down, the spreading is prevented, (so far).

You may have to look close to see that there are 2 kinds of tall yellow flowers.

The taller, closer to the house, are rudbeckia, 'Herbstonne'.

The ones in front of them are gray headed coneflowers.

I like this shorter liatris. The black eyed Susans are at their prime.  The amsonia 'Hubrichtii' foliage is looking good.

The anise hyssop, both an herb and a wildflower, has been blooming a few days.  These are volunteers.  I had to pull some out so there wouldn't be too many.

The amsonia 'Tabernaemontana', that I cut back shortly after it bloomed, has grown and gotten leggy.  I'll probably trim it back again.  The false sunflower is tall like it was last year, and the baptisia has nice dark seedpods.  Some years I cut it back, but lately, haven't been.

I didn't get many globe thistles cut to dry because there have been so many bees on them.    The milkweed in front of the globe thistle is 'Hello Yellow'.  The goldenrod is one that I bought for my father-in-law around 18 years ago.  This division survived being moved from the side of the shed to protect it from the work that was to be done on the shed.  I cut it back early in the summer so it would be bushy and not bloom too soon.

I missed the prime bloom time for the lead plant.  Every year, I say I'm going to find out when to pick it to dry for tea.  I wonder if it's too late.

There area some wild petunias in the vegetable garden and in the back yard.

I don't know the name of this, but I'm thinking they are a rudbeckia of some kind.  I pull out a lot of seedlings some years, because I don't want it to take over.  This is the north side of the garage, so it's not full sun, but I think it prefers full sun.  That's white obedient plant between this and some sweet peas.

I deadheaded the butter and eggs after the first blooms, and they have a nice new set of flowers.

The rough goldenrod has buds.  I don't remember how long it held onto them last year before they opened.

I hope your week is going well.  I am not getting to garden as much the last week or so, because I am experiencing pain in my jaw that looks to be TMJD, from what I'm reading on the internet.  The pain seems to get worse when I am doing physical activities, like pulling weeds or hoeing.  My dentist referred me to a TMJ doctor to get a night splint for my jaw grinding, but I'm following some home care tips first to see if they help before making that appointment.  Even with insurance, it looks like it will be expensive.  Have any of you had jaw pain before?

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Some Nice Surprises for Friday's Post

I had been feeling sad that the daylilies and some other flowers were about finished blooming for the season, and was thinking the flower beds were going to be lacking in color until the fall flowers bloom.  Over the last few days, I have found plenty of summer blooms opening up to show for Tootsie's Flaunt your Flowers/Fertilizer Friday.  

The 'Gateway' Joe Pye weed  and 'Orange Perfection' phlox have joined the hibiscus, coneflowers, and such.

I have been wondering if my 2 surprise lilies were going to bloom this year.  The foliage came up the last two springs, but they didn't bloom last year.  I was very tickled to see a bloom stalk coming up a couple days ago.  I had to move a few things around to find the other one, because I had covered it with a pot.  It seems to be recovering fine.

I didn't think this 'Cherry Blossom Magic Fountains' would bloom this year.  It's less than a foot tall.  It's a nice surprise to see.

The 'Ruby Tuesday' helenium is blooming much later than the one I think is 'Mardi Gras'.   I just notice these blooms today. 

Another nice surprise is the delphinium that got so tall this summer, is now blooming again, only shorter.

See?

Kiss me over the garden gate is blooming shorter and later than last year. By the end of the summer, I have a feeling it will be much taller.  I remember it still grows while it's blooming.

My neighbor's celosias are huge and blooming.  These, that I planted from her saved seed last year, and then seeded themselves, finally decided to come up.  What a surprise!  I wonder if they will bloom before summer is over.  I need to move them, because they are right by the small delphinium, and this recently planted lavender.

We're leaving the main front yard bed.  I was able to get a better photo of the skullcap in the curb bed, I showed in my Wildflower Wednesday post.

This 'Black Night' butterfly bush I planted near the sidewalk on the west edge of the yard, next to the wash tubs last year, is a bit spindly, but the blooms opened a day or two ago.

I almost didn't notice the little bellflowers have opened.  I think they are 'Blue Clips'.   I love the  rudbeckia.  We still haven't sunk the tub so the bear's breetches don't spread too far.

Tootsie told us she was going to do something different this week.  I see she posted photos from a gardener who doesn't blog.  It looks to be a nice place.  I need to go back and look more closely.

I am needing to limit my computer time somewhat because of jaw pain, which seems to be affected when I use the muscles on my right side.  I am finding that sitting where I can lean back helps.  I  hope to visit the Friday posts after catching up from my last post.

Have a great weekend!

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my garden after vacation

I love exploring my garden after being away. Every bed has surprises.

Especially the squash beds! I will have to get my squash bread recipe out to use the big ones I discovered. (Or sneak them over to the compost bin...)



I have an enormous Long Island Cheese pumpkin already. Must be about 1 foot diameter. Also a couple other types of pumpkins.




My popcorn needs fertilizer. I meant to do this before vacation, but ran out of time. It is 5 feet tall now, and tasseling. The ears will form soon. I want to figure out how to prevent the corn ear worms this year and will have to start on this soon.



The cabbages look nice. Always a very pretty crop. My Savoy and Radicchio have done well this year. The radicchio is bolting some. Some compact heads, but others are popping out of the top. They still have nice red leaves inside.



The basil needs to be harvested soon. I've waited too long already and the leaves have gotten small. The bees like the little flowers that I should have picked off long before this.



My onions are better this year than last since I planted further apart and they aren't shaded by nearby plants. Again though, I have no idea what variety is where - except the purple ones. I didn't label well, but they all look good. And lots of nice carrots too.



So many beans. I only planted a couple short rows. Thanks goodness. These may need to go to the food bank. Not sure there's any way I can eat all of them.




The peas and fava beans have totally burnt up. Lots of space now for more planting. Also the empty garlic beds are waiting for plants. I have little broccoli and greens sprouting in my hot frame at home.



My tomatoes are growing finally, but still small and only few fruits ripening. I noticed the gardeners who planted tomatoes in the community plots have lots beautiful ripe fruit already. Almost no fungal issues on them. Its a good year for warm weather crops but I rotated then out of my sunny community plot this year. Same with the eggplants and peppers.

In my frame at home I have cucumber and melons. I have a bumper crop of cukes! Time to make some pickles. The melon plants look very good too. Small fruits are trying to set.



I forgot to bring my wide angle lens, so I only got close up photos today. Tomorrow I'd like to get some of the whole garden.

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