Raspberries

I am just about finished picking, though I may get a pint or two more in the next few days. I thought it might be interesting to keep track of my amounts from year to year. I know that I picked just over 10 quarts last year, but didn't keep track of the days. Here are this year's quantities:
7/15/09 43 berries (most of them straight into my mouth!)
7/16/09 1 cup
7/17/09 1.5 cups
7/18/09 1.5 cups
7/19/09 3 cups
7/20/09 2.5 cups
7/21/09 2 cups
7/23/09 2 quarts
7/24/09 1.5 quarts
7/26/09 1 quart
7/27/09 1 quart
7/28/09 3 cups
7/30/09 2 cups
8/1/09 2 cups
8/4/09 1.5 cups

So if my math is correct, we got just over 10.5 quarts this year. Considering all the rain we had, I think that's pretty good. (Wondering if the rain was actually good for them? Anyone experience this?)

Borage Blossoms

I planted borage all around my garden this year because I heard that it was a good companion for the tomatoes. I have four tomato plants, and about 10 borage plants. I love them. Their blossoms are true blue, which is so rare in flowers. They are edible, and supposedly taste like cucumbers. So when my Bonsai cucumbers aren't actually large enough to eat, I can eat the borage blossoms. Borage is one of the ingredients in Pimm's No. 1, too. Which should be all anyone needs to know about borage.

I think I may make some juice cocktails this week with borage garnishes. I do need to try them to see if they really do taste like cukes.

Potato Bouquet and Bonsai Garden

The potatoes are blossoming. I'm always impressed by these nightshade plants, like tomatoes and eggplant. They make the prettiest little blossoms (especially eggplant, with their tiny purple buds). I love these little potato blossoms.

This little cucumber is about an inch long. The cucumber plants are only about eight inches tall. I've decided to pretend that this is intentional. No, they aren't small because of the weather! No, of course I meant for them to be this way! I'm growing a Bonsai Garden! All of the vegetables are doll-sized. They're adorable, but come on, can I really expect to be able to eat any of these? It's kinda crazy.

Perfect Pansy

Once upon a time, I bought a potted pansy at a nursery. I enjoyed it, and then planted it in one of the front gardens. And every year since then, it has reseeded itself and blossomed. It likes my yard, and it's here to stay.

I have a good friend who comes to visit every so often, and she stays, too. She always says she has somewhere she needs to go and something she needs to do, but we chat and drink Cokes and she lingers. She tells me that she likes it here, but she doesn't need to tell me that. Just staying tells me that. I can't think of a nicer compliment.

Here's to happy plants and friends who stay.

Daylily Day

So I'm thinking maybe if I don't want to start spraying chemicals all over my stargazer lilies, I'll replace them with daylilies instead. I only have one small garden with daylilies but they have filled in over the past few years and I'm planning to separate them soon. And of course I need more of them, because there are so many different cultivars. I have this one, several yellow and several pink. I think these would look nice in the beds next to the house, which are looking pretty sad this year.

Clematis Climbing All Over

Every year this plant gets bigger. I forgot to cut it back last fall, so I ended up doing it this spring and even cut off some of the new growth. Didn't matter--it would still grow right up the side of the house if it could. I kinda want to make a bigger trellis that goes up to the roof. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Lily Land

Even with the lily beetles going to town, the Asiatic lilies have been blooming for the past few days. I am pretty sure I'll spray with something stronger next year. Last year I used Neem oil, but this year it's been raining too much to keep up with it. I pick the beetles off, and remove the eggs and any of the grubs I see, but I can't seem to get rid of all of them before they damage the plants. And it's hard to take pictures of moth-eaten plants.