I am away from my garden. Other people have been taking care of it, and enjoying it, for over a year.
Currently I'm living in a house that has a back garden that we never sit in, and I miss being able to enjoy the summer evenings in it. We are having a very hot, dry summer here, and there is so much dry grass and dry bushes....
Everything I eat has been grown by someone else.

Sure glad you have others taking care of your gardens, coracle. Any chance of you sitting in the back garden where you are this summer?

I am pleased with so many of our plants—both flower and vegetable—but one in particular I have not used much in the past, so was unsure how it would grow—red Salvia. I put it as edging around the verge of one of our back gardens, and it is really quite gorgeous, as each plant has grown from a tiny thing to a lush, full-bodied, colourful plant. Although, I must admit it looks kind of Christmas-y, being a bright red and rich green. I think I will use these more next year.

We had an unexpected summer rain shower this evening, which was a lovely surprise, given that the day was very hot and dry. Storms expected tomorrow night will usher in more comfortable air, and give the gardens and fields the (hopefully) thorough drink they have been waiting for.

I hope we have rain today, it's kinda cloudy this morning. I am hoping for a good harvest this year from my plants, so I can share it. Especially if my watermelons produce. The fruit is supposed to be on average 30-50lbs a piece, and I love watermelon, but I have my limits

The fruit is supposed to be on average 30-50lbs a piece

Wow! Those will be huge! I bought an 18.6 pound watermelon from the grocery store last week that I thought was quite big. (It broke the handle off of my reusable grocery bag )

Yeah I forgot to check the fruit size when I bought the seeds...oops

Harvested green beans and blueberries this morning. And I have picked some ripe tomatoes. They aren't very big (about the size of a golf ball), but it's still exciting to find red tomatoes in the garden!

We must all be too busy weeding or harvesting to post anything!

I have a cherry tomato (Sun Gold) that is taking over my garden! Not a lot of ripe fruit yet, but the vines are going crazy. I have been picking ripe tomatoes from the Cloudy Day plants and have made fresh salsa twice, and BLT's several times. Yum, yum!

I planted Picklebush cucumbers and have been picking lots of those. I have a batch of "13 day" sweet pickles in the works and will start another batch soon.

How are everyone's gardens doing? Have you tried anything new this year?

Well the wildlife, whether foreign or domestic, have destroyed my tomatoes and most of my sunflowers, and the weather has destroyed my cucumbers. My corn and watermelon seem to have stunted growth, the plants that is.

Well the wildlife, whether foreign or domestic, have destroyed my tomatoes and most of my sunflowers, and the weather has destroyed my cucumbers.

That is so annoying! We have a fence that keeps rabbits out, but the deer can easily get over it, so there are some deer barriers in place inside the fence. However, short of having a roof over our garden, there doesn't seem to be any way to keep the squirrels out. Usually they don't do much damage, but when there's a dry spell, they like to chew on the tomatoes for moisture. If only they would just chew on one!

Hey, all!

Kalta, really sorry to hear about your plants, whether from wildlife or the weather. Did anything thrive for you this year?

Oohh, Grandmama, my dad is a HUGE fan of pickles, particularly the 9-day, but I know he likes the 13-day, as well. Enjoy!

We have one garden for which my husband put up a fence. In that one, we place all the plants that might tempt wild critters: peas, beans, carrots, cucumbers. In the open garden we planted all our potatoes and tomatoes, which have not been touched, yay!

Aside from the fact that they were in an enclosed area, our peas and peppers did not fare well this year. But our beans were plentiful: in fact, we are still harvesting those, 'though they are slowing down now. The sunflowers we planted in that garden are spectacular, rising about 11' high, with blooms all up each stem. Gorgeous.

Our tomatoes are bursting at the seams. The cherry toms are tasty, although we need to pick them as soon as they ripen so they don't split; our Brandywine and Beefsteak are prolific. I am going to have to give some away, I think. Although we are eating these like candy, daily. The Beefsteak could be sold at a market, they are so blemish-less, but the Brandywine (my personal favourite) are somewhat scabby, 'though thankfully just on the surface/the skin. The taste of those is tomato heaven.

Our carrots are not ready yet, nor the potatoes, but in September, both should be yielding bountiful harvests.

I do like this time of year at the end of summer, because the gardens—both floral and veggie—are lush and full. Weeding has decreased dramatically, as the plants thrive and almost overflow with colour and life and beauty. Happy sigh. And a bonus is that we have had much rain in the month of August, so I have not had to water hardly at all.

The sedum/stonecrop have just begun to blush colour for their autumn dress, which is a sure sign of pending fall.

And now, I'm off to gobble down yet another succulent Brandywine tomato. ♥

Some stuff is still alive. The beets, watermelons, snapdragons, hyssop, oregano, sage, broccoli, brussel sprouts and a couple volunteer squash plants(not sure what they are), but they're only starting to do stuff now and I think it might be too late in year to get anything. Gonna pre-order some plants for spring next month(medlar trees, lingonberries, and...what was the other one I was going to order...akebias maybe, have to check my online shopping cart at the nursery first). I also want some paw paw trees.

medlar trees, lingonberries, and...what was the other one I was going to order...akebias maybe, have to check my online shopping cart at the nursery first). I also want some paw paw trees.

Is it OK to ask where you live? I've never heard of medlar trees and akebias!

johobbit, I know what you mean about the cherry tomatoes splitting!

I'm in southern Oregon. I learned of Akebias because Gurney's nursery was selling it, not sure if they still do, because I decided to quit buying from them. Not only did their stuff tend to die, but on time we had a long-drawn out problem with them refusing to refund(they tried to tell us the invoice that came with our order wasn't the 'real' invoice and I called them out on what seemed to be hinky accounting practices, then we got our refund), but the straw that broke the camel's back was our last order...the packing material was crumpled up old order forms from other customers. Not shredded, just hand-crumpled. And they made an attempt to mark out the payment/billing information on the papers, but someone with a good computer scanner could probably figure out what it was.

So then I went looking for another source for Akebias, and found Raintree Nursery, who sell medlars and the lingonberries and lots of other goodies.

Kalta, I've loved reading your posts as well as I too am not familiar with a lot of the plants you post about. Hooray for google.

About four years ago I planted some Common Milkweed in a pot in an attempt to attract Monarch Butterflies. Well, to my dismay, I realized too late it wasn't the best type of milkweed. (I finally learned this year that what I actually wanted is called Showy Milkweed.) In spite of that, I was very excited to find five (five!!!) caterpillars on my milkweed a week ago. I've had to make three trips up to my parents' house because their neighbor across the street has tons of milkweed growing in her front yard... I didn't have anywhere near enough. Hooray for monarchs!

Kalta, I also googled Akebias and Medlars to see what they are. Do you plan to make medlar jelly?

I find it interesting how there are so many fruits, especially berries, that only grow in certain regions and so are not well known. I've been watching a show set in Canada on Netflix (Heartland) where they referred to "Saskatoon berries". That's one I had never heard of before.

The berries in my yard are pretty boring: just red raspberries and blueberries. Next year I hope to add alpine strawberries to the list. We constructed a new raised bed for perennials like rhubarb and strawberries, but right now the pH is too high. I added Sulphur to bring it down, so hopefully I can plant it in the spring.