The weather is still in the 70s to mid-80s during the day. However, it has been raining off and on for several days. The plants are responding well to these conditions.

I only have a few onions and carrots left so I need to plant more of each. I figure that the temperatures have been cool enough for the carrot seeds to germinate. The green beans are getting ready to flower and still do not have any insect damage. All of Ken's pepper plants have chiles on them. And best of all, both the 4th of July and Sun Gold tomatoes are ripening. The Sun Gold tomatoes are so delicious that I've been eating them right off the vine. However, I can see that I'm going to get tons of them so soon there will be plenty for other recipes. Last weekend, I picked six of the 4th of July tomatoes and we had tomatoes and grilled onions on our grilled hamburgers. This morning, I picked another load of them so that we can have fresh tomato sandwiches this evening.

It's been raining for several days and that's a good thing! The plants needed a deep soaking and the rain barrel was empty. However, the day time temperatures are still in the low-to-mid 70s and the night time temperatures have been in the 60s. The perennials have been thriving and many seem to be keeping their blooms longer than usual.

The Victoria Blue Salvia and the pink begonias are in full bloom in the large bed. The Salmon Wave petunia is filling in the large pot and is loaded with flowers.

The two Autumn Joy sedums in the large bed are starting to form flowers. Next year, I'll have to pinch them back in late spring and early summer so that they won't form buds so early.

The Sun Gold tomatoes are starting to ripen. In addition, the 4th of July tomatoes are turning red. You can see a tinge of color on them in this photo that was taken yesterday. I'm hoping that I'll be able to pick some of the 4th of July tomatoes this weekend. (Ken says that we should call them "24th of July" tomatoes.) The green beans (foreground) are still healthy with no trace of disease or insect damage.

Both of the butterfly bushes have flowers and are attracting the swallowtails and monarchs. I think that I saw the hummingbird yesterday.

The daylilies are still going strong. I need to make a map of their locations so that when I dig them up and divide them later this fall I'll know which plant is which.

Surprises in the garden include

• coral bells that are still in bloom.


• a toad that I spotted yesterday between our house and our neighbor's house.


• tomato plants that are sprouting up all over. I pulled one out of the basil pot and I just found another in the tomato garden. There is a tall one growing in the compost area. Ken says that he will let it grow to see what happens.
  

The weather was dry and cool this weekend. The forecast calls for rain for the rest of this week. I hope it does rain because we really need the moisture. The grass is turning brown but Livonia is asking the residents to curtail watering.

Saturday, Ken and I spent 3 hours in the garden. I added a water-soluble fertilizer to all of the flower pots. I read an article recently that suggested that Wave petunias should have every other branch pruned back each week in order to keep them from getting leggy. I have been doing this the last few weeks.

The cool weather has not adversely affected the vegetable plants. I picked the first tomato yesterday--a Sun Gold. It tasted divine! There are several other Sun Gold tomatoes beginning to ripen. Even though the other type of tomato plants are loaded with fruit, all of them are still green. When the evening temperatures begin to rise, I should have a ton of tomatoes. I have been collecting lots of recipes lately so that I'll be ready to use them when they do ripen.


I also picked my first carrot on Sunday. I couldn't believe how sweet it was. It tasted like candy. I will definitely plant this variety again next year.


Zuchinni Plant

I think that the Yukon Gold potatoes will be ready to harvest soon. Ken was ready to dig them up on Saturday but I told him to wait another week or so. We did pull up onions to use in several dished though. This variety is very sweet but give off a pungent smell while they are cooking.

I dug up the other three Stella d'Oro daylilies that were in the large back bed. I also had Ken clip two of the Stella d'Oros down to the ground that are in one of the smaller back beds. The leaves were hanging over some of the other flowers. I rearranged the pots and ornaments to distract the eye from this section of the bed. This is the first time I have ever severely cut back a daylily in the middle of the season so I'll be interested in seeing what happens.

Several weeks ago, I cut back one of the white Veronicas that was growing in this same bed. After flowering, it became lanky and the leaves were no long attractive. However, the plant is beginning to grow back and from my past experience I expect it to rebloom latter this summer. I deadheaded another white Veronica but since it still had a pleasing shape, I didn't feel the need to cut it back to the ground.

I also cut back the Marguerite daisies. I love both the flowers and the foliage on this perennial but they were just too floppy! They were laying on top of all of the other flowers and blocking their sun. I'm trying to decide what I am going to do with them next year. I will be digging up and dividing the daylilies so I might put some of the Marguerite daisies between them. The leaves of the daylilies might give them support (especially if I pinch back the daisies in the spring) and add more color after the daylilies are done blooming.


Salmon Flambe Petunia

I have noticed some "surprises" in the garden during the last week. First, I noticed that the mystery plant (see Wednesday, July 1st post) have self-seeded and three or four more plants are beginning to come up. Also, the snapdragons that were planted in the pots in the hosta bed must have self-sown because they are coming up through the cedar mulch. I decided not to pull out the snapdragons. The variety that I planted last year was a very pretty pink and yellow.

It finally rained Wednesday (twice!) but both of the showers only lasted a few minutes so the rain barrel did not accumulate any rain. However, late Thursday night there was a heavy rain that soaked the ground and filled the rain barrel. It still has been cool though. In fact, the weather forecast says that today's low temperature may break records. I feel ambivalent about the chilly weather. On one hand, the low humidity and temperatures make working out in the garden more pleasant but the night-time lows are counterproductive for the tomatoes. Even thought my plants are loaded with green tomatoes, they will not ripen until the night-time temperatures are much warmer.







Transplanted Self-Sown Wave Petunia

The Wave petunias are doing great. One of purple Wave petunias has grown about a foot in less than a week. The self-sown ones that I transplanted from the front bed to pots must have developed a good set of roots because they are rapidly adding leaves and are blooming. The self-sown purple Wave petunias that I lifted from the front bed and then replanted in the same bed are also doing well. A few of them are flowering. I am impressed with the resiliency of these plants. However, I did purchase six more plants to add to the brick bed that is in the front yard.


Only one Wave petunia in this large pot! (See Wednesday, July 1 for previous photo.)

The Stella d'Oro daylilies have finished blooming and the Happy Returns daylilies are almost finished. Some years I get repeat blooms and some years I don't. I dug up and discarded some of the Stella d'Oros that were in the large bed in the back yard and plan on digging up the remaining ones today. I have so many of them in the different flower beds and they were overwhelming. Also, I'm not so fond of the leaves once the plant is done blooming. They become brown and look unappealing.


Burnt-Orange Daylily

Many of the other daylilies have begun to bloom. Some of them I got from my mother so I don't know their names. Others were purchased years ago and the tags are lost.


Deep Red Daylily


Peach Daylily


Pink and Yellow Daylily

Ken has been pulling the green onions to use in his cooking. I should be able to pull some carrots in the next few days. The basil and parsley plants are doing well. The potato leaves are beginning to turn brown which is a sign that they are almost ready to harvest. Yukon Golds take about 90 to 100 days and it has been over 80 days since the tubers were planted.



Greek Spicy Globe Basil


Genovese Basil

The weather has still been mild this week. However, I wish that it would rain. I have used up all of the water in the rain barrel and the flower beds are dry. The daylillies seem to like the weather. The Stella d'Oros and Happy Returns are still in bloom. Several other later types are just beginning to flower.

I thought that I would have all of the major gardening chores done by now (except for the weeding) but I still have some things to do. On Tuesday, Ken and I did some work in the front yard. He weeded under the cherry tree and then layed down landscape fabric with cocoa mulch over it. I did some pruning on the bushes but I still need to go back and cut back a few more branches. Also, I dug up the rest of the purple Wave petunias that had self-sowed in the front bed, separated them and replanted them in the same bed. Even though they did not have much of a root system, I think that they are going to survive. I have been watering them twice a day and I noticed this morning that they are not as wilted as they were after I transplanted them.

The purple Wave petunias that I dug from this are and transplanted to pots are now growing and flowering. I was surprised at how they were to make the transition. I'm developing a great respect for the hardiness of Wave petunias. I decide that next spring I will not be so hesitant to plant them after the danger of frost has passed.

I weeded and finished mulching the bed that stretches the length of the south side of the house. The peppers are really starting to look great. The four zuchinnis that I planted are getting their second set of true leaves. Tuesday evening, I pulled a half dozen of the onions and Ken used them in a breakfast potato dish the next morning. They are sweeter than I thought they would be. I still have a few more sets that I want to plant today in the tomato garden.

Ancho Pepper (July 8, 2009)


Anaheim Pepper (July 8, 2009)


Cherry Bomb Pepper (July 8, 2009)

Serrano Pepper (July 8, 2009)

Tuesday, I finally got around to mulching the pink begonias that surround the mail box. Today, I weeded and mulched the pink begonia bed that is on the north side of the house. The begonias in all of the beds are doing great this year. They are bushy and full of flowers.

This pot is by the front door. Even though the purple Wave petunia is doing well, the pink begonias are starting to take ove the pot. And this is a very big pot!

It's July!

Even though this is the first day of July, you would never know it because the temperature is very cool. The sky has been overcast during the last three days but we have had only a few sprinkles. I was hoping that we would get a good soaking rain so that all of the plants would be thoroughly watered. Also, I have used all of the water in the rain barrel so it needs replenishing.

The cool weather has helped to expand the growing season for some of the early perennials such as the Bleeding Heart (see the picture). There are even a few flowers left on the plant and the foliage is still looking beautiful. The Victoria Blue salvias and the begonias are larger and have more blooms than they usually do at this time of year. The Shasta daisies are now in bloom.

All of the zucchini plants have sprouted. I thinned them to one plant per 3 foot area so there are now five in all. During the last few days, some of the green beans have begun to pop out of the ground. The carrots are also doing well and I look forward to eating them in a few weeks. Also, we will be pulling some of the green onions this weekend to enjoy with the barbequed baby back ribs and the pulled pork.

I bought three of the plants (shown above) last year at English Gardens. Even though all three of them came up this year, I had to dig up and discard one of them because the Obedient Plant had invaded it. However, the other two are beginning to bloom. Both the bronze leaves and spike flowers are very attractive. The only problem is I can't remember what the name of this plant is!That's why I decided to start this blog; it will help me to keep track of the names of the flowers that I buy.

The delphiniums are flowering. I have two different varieties and the second one has not yet begun to bloom but it has a lot of buds.

The blue and pink salvias, yellow Marguerite Daisies and Pink Wave Petunias look very attractive in the other small bed.

The pots of petunias are growing like crazy but they have not become "leggy". This photo shows one of the Purple Wave Petunias that I bought. I also have another one in the large pot by the front porch and it look beautiful. However, the ones that I planted in the large brick bed in the front yard are still small but they finally are starting to get new leaves. I think that they just had to take a while to establish their roots.

I found some Purple Wave Petunias that had self-sown from last year's plants in the bed by the front porch. Last week, I dug some of them up and replanted them in the four pots that I placed in the back of the tomato bed. I've been thoroughly watering each day. At first, they were experiencing transplant shock because they had such thin root systems but they are now beginning to look healthy.



Here's another picture of the Salmon Flambe petunias that I started from seed. I keep trying to capture the amazing color combination of the flowers but I am not having great luck doing so. The fringed flowers have a pink center that is surrounded by a pale yellowish cream edge.