Sunday, August 15, 2021

Sneaking in a Garden Post

 Hi everyone. I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  Our weather went from very hot to beautiful. I am hoping before the next warm up arrives I can outside and work in the garden and also get a few walks in. 

I thought I'd squeeze in a few photos from my garden today. It's turned into a jungle, and I am happy with all the blooms.  I am already thinking about what I want to do next year, what plants need to be moved or replaced next year, and what problems I need to fix. When I was working I could never do much in the fall, so the gardens stayed as they were. This year the garden is a little wild, but I bet the bees are loving it.


I grew some white sunflowers from seeds I planted, and they are blooming now.


And some  bird seed that fell on the ground and never got eaten grew this great sunflower plant.


My roses reached their peak of blooming in late June and early July, but I deadheaded them so now I am getting another, slightly less dramatic, round of flowers.



Early this fall I will split some of these plants because they look a little out of control, but right now they are blooming and creating great pollen sources for my bees. 


And you can see the new garden obelisk I bought off of Etsy when the seller marked them down. You had to buy black, but I used some off white spray paint I had on hand on it. It was too hard to see in black. I'm still trying to figure out where to put it, so for now it is standing here and my sweet pea plant is still growing in a pot. 



And these giant phlox have taken over the end of the garden, and when you walk by, they smell amazing. I've never noticed the smell of giant phlox before.

The bees are doing their bee things.



The number of bees in my hive have grown about 4x from when I received them in late May.


They've been festooning, or creating these chains between frames.




I understand I need to big healthy population to make it through the winter, and I'd say as long as they made enough honey to eat, I'm well on my way.

And my veggie garden had started to give me some produce.




I've picked green beans, tomatoes and Japanese sweet peppers (my experimental pepper for this year). I'll soon have eggplants and cucumbers. If only my zucchini and butternut squash was growing better. I think next year I want to start a bed for them outside of the confines of the veggie garden where they'll get more sun.
 
Lastly, a couple of weeks ago I did some trimming of some of the potted plants on my deck, and they have come back looking fresh and thick again.




Can you tell I am addicted to my gardens? Smile.

And I'll leave you with these garden visitors.




Have a great end to your weekend and  start to the new week.










14 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Wow, Erika, our garden is looking wonderful, just the way I like gardens to be! You have a great variety of plants for the bees, it's a luxury bee hotel! And they all look healthy and happy! And your veggies look great. My herbs have nearly all been eaten by some greedy creatures, perhaps snails, pity! Have a great day, it's afternoon nap time here! Hugs, Valerie

CJ Kennedy said...

Your garden looks fabulous! I like the look of a natural garden rather than precisely manicured. Your bees must love your garden. The sunflowers are awesome. I bought some sunflower seeds, but never got them planted. Enjoy the weather this week.

kathyinozarks said...

Hi Erika, I really enjoyed garden post today very much-had me smiling with it's beauty-thanks for sharing and happy your bees have settled in well Hugs Kathy

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I am in LOVE with your garden spaces. You have so many wonderful plants and beautiful flowers. You are also on a roll when it comes to your veggies. What an amazing outside space you have created.

That new obelisk is is lovely. I agree it shows better in white. But your bees are what makes me smile. I hope they overwinter where you live and continue to thrive into the spring. Hope your cool down stays awhile. Please send it my way!

DVArtist said...

Your gardens look simply amazing. Yes, I am addicted to my gardens too. It's a great addiction. Your bees look strong and healthy. It is cold here so my peppers are just coming into growing in the GH. On Saturdays I link up with http://jaipurgardening.blogspot.com/ you might enjoy it. Have a great day.

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Your photo of the white sunflower is STUNNING! Wow!! Enjoyed seeing all the bees in your hive.

ashok said...

What a lovely garden!

Barbara said...

Wonderful garden results! Beautiful photos too!

Divers and Sundry said...

You have such a delightful garden! All those flowers, and set off nicely with the picket fence. I'm sure the bees are in heaven. No need for them to wander at all :)

I look forward to seeing what you do with the garden obelisk.

craftytrog said...

Fantastic garden photos Erika!
Happy new week!

R's Rue said...

Beautiful.

Carola Bartz said...

You have a beautiful garden! I like all the blooms and different colors and textures. The bees sure must be happy and so do the birds, I guess. So much food for them. - I had to let go some of my garden this year because of our severe drought and I had to prioritize some plants. even though it has been a low-water garden, this year the water restrictions have been just too hard on it.

sheila 77 said...

Hello Erika, I don't know if you'll see this older comment but I just had to say how absolutely stunning both your garden flowers and vegetables and bees! yes bees! are. I'm even more bemused as to how you manage to do so much marvellous art AND make a beautiful and productive garden AND have your outings AND other indoor ploys. Your time management skills are out of this world. AND you have time to read books. Gosh.

Jeanie said...

Oh, those bees! I love every photo -- the flowers are gorgeous but the bees fascinated me. Erika, I so admire your beekeeping. I wouldn't have the nerve with all the potential stings! But those photos! Wow!