Around The Yard | Mid-Late Summer

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I'm thinking next year I might just do a flower-cutting garden instead of vegetables.

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I so love the flowers that I can cut and bring right inside. The dahlias are just starting to explode and I wish I planted a whole lot more.

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The sugar snap peas are doing well (except for a small area I saw today that looks like it has been dusted in white powder - a google search of white powder on sugar snap peas is not promising).

That's my one grape tomato so far.

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Here's my beets, a couple radishes and a carrot - not too bad. That's the only carrot I've pulled up so far. It's not pretty but it tasted good.

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The wisteria is giving us a second bloom.

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And the sweet peas seem to just be starting to come around again after they didn't get quite enough water for a bit. Next year I want more of these too.

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My extra lovely, very tall sunflower. It's the tallest of the group - I'd say there are about five that will still bloom.

I spent more time out there this weekend than I have in quite awhile.

Fertilizing, watering, weeding, dreaming, planning, enjoying, and photographing.

Soaking up the light.

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36 thoughts

  1. dawn says…
    08/08/2011

    It is wonderful to have all these pretty flowers in our yards to appreciate and bring inside with us. The veggies are always a little harder to care for and watch over til they are ready for picking. We aren't having the greatest luck with our corn and onions which are usually are biggest part of gardening. We do have tons of tomatoes and zucchini though. I'm glad you got to enjoy some of your harvest though. What a great weekend for you enjoying all this beauty and light. Happy Monday.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Miss Sarah says…
    08/08/2011

    Hi Ali, perhaps it's downy mildew on your sugar snaps? Im from Australia but had the same thing happen to me in our Summer. You can fix it by spraying the plant with milk, as strange as that sounds! You may need to spray a few times to clear it up, but it worked for me so I hope it helps you too! :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Sue says…
    08/08/2011

    Hi Ali,again beautiful pictures. I have to agree there is nothing that give you an instant perk up like a flower. They are always just a wonderous surprise-like a little kiss from Mother Nature!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Ellie A. says…
    08/08/2011

    Thank you so much for sharing w/us. Those pictures just give off a sense of calm and just makes you happy. This weekend my family & I headed upstate which made for the kids to see things that they normally wouldn't such as cows,horses and LOADS of land. It was so good for them and me as well. Glad I had my camera to capture those moments.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Carolyn HP says…
    08/08/2011

    Hi Ali, Love the luscious colors these flowers bring in the light. Glad to see you are enjoying the hard work a garden brings, I love fresh beautiful flowers. Hopefully next year you will have better luck with the vegetables.

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Dori says…
    08/08/2011

    I had to laugh when I saw your single grape tomato. I've only had two ripe grape tomatoes so far, picked on the same day last week, and I also took a picture of them - on a paper doily from my scrap stash no less, hahaha. My sister thinks I'm crazy.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Lisa W. says…
    08/08/2011

    Beautiful flowers. Just so pretty. Very very dry here in Michigan this year. Got some recently, I think that actually saved our farmers crops around here. Thanks for sharing, what a wonderful pick me up for a Monday morning!!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Kay Gregory-Clark says…
    08/08/2011

    Gorgeous flowers, Ali. I am so jealous, as my usual are not to be this year in Kansas. The heat and drought have just about killed everything, despite daily watering. I generally takes lots of flower pictures in the summer, but neither humans (me) nor flowers like triple digit temperatures!

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Alida says…
    08/08/2011

    Hi Ali, so much lightness of being on your blog at the moment. Love it through all it's seasons!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. krys72599 says…
    08/08/2011

    ONE grape tomato???? We had - it had to be thousands! I've been giving them away by the gallon Ziplock bag full!! I will say we seem to get them by the 55-gallon drum full every other year - next year will probably net me only a few...
    Good luck with your garden -

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Jennifer L. says…
      08/08/2011

      OH!! You are so lucky! I'm in Central California (supposedly the ag capital of the US?!) and grape tomatoes I find in the store are from Mexico (a big no-no for us), and they cost a mint!! Enjoy those tomatoes!

  11. nerdgrl says…
    08/08/2011

    Our wisteria bloomed for the first time this year; we've had it six years. And, like yours, we're getting a second blooming on it. It's pretty much taken over the wrought iron arch entrance to our garden. Our dahlias are starting to bloom as well. Vegetables? Not so much, though the Yukon Gold potatoes are producing splendidly and only one wormy apple on the tree. DH is very disappointed.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. patty says…
    08/08/2011

    L*O*V*E your garden!
    my girlfriend does a cutting garden every year that is to die for...

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Julie in Edmonds says…
    08/08/2011

    It looks beautiful. Gardening is good for the soul.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Amy says…
    08/08/2011

    My carrots took FOREVER, so be patient! They will be worth the wait! I'm thinking about a cutting garden next year too. I had some nice zinnias this year that I enjoyed, but it would be really nice to have a variety that would look nice together in a vase.

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Kate Burroughs says…
    08/08/2011

    The white powder is probably powdery mildew. It means you don't have enough ventilation around the peas (better job of trellising needed) or not enough sunshine (they really want full sun). Also can be caused by too much nitrogen (they are a legume and don't need any supplemental nitrogen, the first number in any N-P-K analysis on your fertilizer) and by not enough calcium and potassium in the soil. Good sources for calcium are oyster shell lime and for potassium greensand or sulphate of potash. For cures, either a fungicidal soap or wettable sulfur would be OK to use and wait a few days to harvest again. I love cutting flowers also. I want to plant more dahlias too. TFS
    Aloha, Kate

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Melissa Mann says…
    08/08/2011

    Gorgeous photos :-)

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Jennifer L. says…
    08/08/2011

    Exquisitely beautiful! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Liz says…
    08/08/2011

    pretty pics!! yummy veggies too

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Paulette Sarsfield says…
    08/08/2011

    I love cut flowers in my garden too Ali & dahlias were my Dads favourite...alas, My garden would never be complete without feasts & feasts of beet greens! Happy Day & thanks for sharing :o)

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Teresa L says…
    08/08/2011

    Love your pics. I love gardening but with 105 degrees and 95% humidity outside, this will not happen until late fall or next spring :( bummer

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Debbie says…
    08/08/2011

    So inspiring... We bought our house in October and while clearing the backyard of horribly overgrown weeds and such, my husband found a growth that turned out to be a pumpkin plant as well as a cherry tomato plant. We have had three pumpkins since 4th of July and a good amount of cherry tomatoes. We planted grape tomatoes from seeds and like another reader said, we have had an explosion of them - giving them away in ziplock bags too because there are just way too many. It started slowly and then boom, it exploded! So hang in there with those grape tomatoes Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Erica Hettwer says…
    08/08/2011

    Love the idea of a cut flower garden. Check out the Canby Dahlia Festival. I've lived in Canby my whole life practically and never been so I can't give an actual personal recommendation but I've heard great things. I'm hoping this year Mickey, Audrey and I can make it. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. liz says…
    08/08/2011

    love how this post invited me to take a deep breath. thank you for sharing these glimpses into your garden. love the idea of a garden of cut flowers. AND those beets! fantastic!

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Sharon Dryjanski says…
    08/08/2011

    Hi Ali, I think flowers are sweetness of everyday living! The room just livens up when fresh flowers are set in the home! I have been thinking of doing a window herb pots with basil, dill, rosemary just for fresh herbs to use for cooking. Living Phoenix presents some challenges with plants...but I would love to "go for it" with some sweet peas and african daisy....we will be headed toward our planting time once the heat of summer is over....looking forward to that! Great photos as usual but I have never seen a photo taken by you that was not excellent!
    hugs
    Sharon Dryjanski

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Christine H says…
    08/08/2011

    Funny how different parts of the country/world get things at different times. My grape tomatoes are just about done for this year. Due to the extreme heat here in the Midwest, the plants gave out early this year. And the last batch were itty bitty....but still tasty. Another flower I love are calla lillies. The blooms last a very long time.

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