100 Plus!

That is the temperature and the weed count!  I'm picking beans like crazy, and a few summer and zucchini squash.  The basil is ready to cut again, and the trumpet vine is creeping to the top of the fence.  That is what a few days of 100 plus will do!  I even have some small melons appearing- I'm going to have to buy some more knee high nylons to keep them on the trellis- it's taking alot of time to tie them all up on the trellis, and when the melons and squash get bigger I'm going to have to make  hammocks for them- I don't even have a hammock!  Here are some new pics.

best view

this is for Karen- our weed filled lawn!

the trumpet vine creeping upward

tomatoes anyone?

the berm plants

squash, beans, basil, peppers...

first cherries-pie?

saw some melons today.

It looks like the potatoes have some sort of fungus- maybe from the high humidity?  Until cooler days- Greenie

The cirle grows

the circle and berm with summer squash, zucchini, basil, beans, and tomatoes

the tomatoes!

lambs ear

mallow

?

the berm

Everything in the circle and on the berm are doing well.  A few of the grasses planted last year are very slow, but the Karl Foresters are great, the hyssop are huge, and all the perennials planted in the circle this spring are growing.  I even picked alot of basil yesterday, and made pesto-yum!  I will be picking beans in a couple of days!  Weeds are also growing like crazy- as soon as we get a soaking rain I'll do some serious pulling.  I planted two scabiosa (pin cushion) flowers that are more of a wine color- remind me of clover.  As I was digging holes for them I was also reminded of how hard and dry this soil gets  - always amazed anything can grow in it. 

Forgot the Front

I forgot to add info on the front revival.  We had hostas that looked fabulous in the spring and by July were crispy critters.  Sun all day does not work for most hostas.  So we found good homes for them, and then proceeded to remove rock, and of course more rock, and eventually more rock.  I added a little soil amendment and planted False Spirea, caramel Huchera, and caradonna Salvia- might add a small pinky plant-see how big the Spirea gets.
I also have some other photos I forgot about!

This is st. john's wort flower ( the yellow blossom) by the pond

front walkway

better than it was!

How green can your garden grow

Pretty green, and orange, and yellow, and lots of shades of purple!  The butterfly weed is doing great, and the one the bunny decimated is getting leaves!  It is fun to see all the perennials doing so well- a couple of things I'm still not sure if they are friend or foe- time will tell.  What I'm also starting to see along with all the colors, which I love, is a little too much chaos in my plantings.  I'm just not sure what is worth the effort to move, and  more importantly, where to move it.  I do know I'll eventually move the really tall spiderwort in front of the pond, and probably put in st. john's wort- since that is doing so well. It would also give a better sight line into the back of the garden.  I'm debating the tiger's eye sumac- I love it, but it is going to get alot bigger.  So, it could use a bit more space, or I could just keep it trimmed low.
After cleaning the pond filter a couple of times a week, I decided to clean out the big pond.  It had a lot of algae slime, but not as bad as I thought it would be.  The pond pump worked great emptying the pond, along with a little bucket, and big towel action, it is now cleaned and being refilled.  I'll probably tackle the small pond soon.
I've seen a couple of the hummingbird moths, big, but not as large as the one Larry and I saw in Colorado several years back.   They are pretty, and fun to observe.
The peas are going gangbusters, and much better than last year, but we are still getting tough ones.  The green beans and tomatoes are in development, and looking good, potatoes look good.  I don't think the squash and melon produce are going to break any records, I hope to get a few at least.  The peppers are the saddest group of all-just tiny.  We are finally getting a run of 80 plus temps so maybe they will be inspired.
I think it is time to add a couple of junipers on the west edge of the lawn, and a couple of honeysuckle vine to the fence, and find a spot for the other two hops vines.  The one I planted this spring is struggling, but growing.
I'll update at the end of the week.  Notice the dragon fly garden art(foreground)- picked that up at the clearwater flea market.

 butterfly weed

 hens and chicks flower!

Greenie