Well, what’s happening is that there are highs and lows out there. I love coming home from vacation at this point in the season because I never know what I’ll find. That first or second look around the garden is really fun and interesting, and sometimes a little bit upsetting, but thats okay.
The echinacea and rudbeckia are at their height. I really need to thin them out this fall to make room for other plants. I’m pretty sure that if you look back a year you heard me saying this. Local friends, please comment if you want some!
We have a nice little harvest of shallots to enjoy considering that I planted just two tiny rows of bulbs.
I love the purple coneflower…
and the rudbeckia/black-eyed susan.
Michael spent some time clearing out the butterfly garden weeds yesterday and discovered this clump of foxglove trying to bloom.
Swiss chard isn’t looking so good. Could be bunnies or deer?
My daughter took this photo last week on her phone. It’s right at the bottom of the hill. He’s a beautiful guy but I’m living in the the “deer are eating the swiss chard” camp at the moment.
The volunteer tomato plants in the asparagus bed are in better shape than the planned plants… sigh.
My camera strap and I are waiting for the broccoli to form florets.
The brussel sprouts are sprouting.
The asian cucumber plants look happy.
I think it’s beautiful.
Here’s what remains of my poor little zucchini plant. I really need to give up my dream and let this go.
Lettuce is coming along again, ready for the cool days.
This is broom corn. The seeds were sent by my blogging friend Brenda, The Blonde Gardener when she gave some away to readers in the spring.
It’s what brooms are made from. I think it’s really cool!
We may have a few beets coming along. They are hanging in there!
The romano beans are taking off but something is eating those leaves. What do you all think? Help me figure this out garden bloggers!
Cosmos
Cosmos
and more cosmos. I’ve enjoyed these this year. Every year I’m surprised by something that I didn’t really plan. I love that part of the garden!
Tomatoes and blight, and blight and tomatoes. Come on and turn red guys!
Notice the cucumber beetles? They always love this plant. I’m considering this to be organic pest control at it’s best. The asian cucs are already resistant to the beetles but I haven’t seen a single one over there.
This guy hangs on the fence and keeps and eye on everything. I should put the lights on for him.
How’s your garden growing?
Enjoy everything!
Michele
Related articles
- In Praise of Swiss Chard (jklauck.org)
The Salem Garden 
The garden is doing. We’ve had the squash bugs, japanese beetles, slugs, blight, blossom end rot and everything else know to the gardener. My tomato plants look just like yours and I’m hoping the tomatoes will ripen before the plants totally collapse. I had to pull my squash plants out and the leaves of my beans look like swiss chard. How did my grandfather produce a garden that fed his family all year?
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what do you think is eating at our beans? I need to figure that out. I would love to be able to grow gardens like your grandfathers’ too. I have a very dear uncle who still produces quantity like that. I wish I could spend more time learning from him.
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Our beans were delicious but the japanese beetles ate the leaves until they looked like swiss cheese. Oh, I see a potential future post – an interview with a person who could offer years of gardening insight.
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I, too, have fought blight in my tomatoes this year and we are waiting for the fruits to ripen – taking forever. Our zucchini plants grew tired and got a strange discoloration around the root level – I pulled them out and trashed them – after reaping a lot of fruit. We planted more seeds – and will see what happens. Lettuce is on second planting. Glad you found me. We are Maine gardeners – but I think our successes and problem areas are very similar.
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It was a tough year for tomatoes, too much rain I think. Your zucchini probably had squash borers. If you had cut the stem open around the area of that discoloration you would have seen them… pretty icky creatures, and I tend to like most creatures. I’m glad I found you too, I’ll be following!
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So glad your broom corn is growing! I had a local guy tell me he bought a old fashioned broom maker, so I gave him a lot of seed and he promised me a broom. I hope it works. I would love to have a broom actually made from my corn! I might actually WANT to sweep if I had that 🙂
Brenda
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