The pure white flower of the birdhouse gourd surprised me. So bright and ruffled! The vine of this plant has grown to the top of my 5 foot fence. I am looking forward to the fruit.
Another summer beauty is the hemerocallis or day lilies. These grow semi-wild in our community gardens and I have left several along my garden edge. A nearby gardener has over 50 varieties planted in his garden and new ones open daily.
The small purple-blue flowers are anise hyssop that I grew from seed this year. It has licorice scented leaves and the flowers attract bees.
My nasturtiums and other summer annuals have just begun to bloom. This year I planted flowering annuals as companion plants for my vegetables. They are believed to attract beneficial insects and repel pests. Maybe so, but they also add a nice bit of color to the garden.
9 comments:
I have just discovered your blog and I have enjoyed reading it very much.
The photos are lovely too.
Regards
Karen
An Artist's Garden
Flowers are lovely and fresh.. picture has a depth and lively
What a beautiful daylily! The color is lovely.
What beautiful flowers!!! I have learned so much from reading your blog and have a question. How do you harvest/dry your Capucjiner Peas? I planted seeds this year from Sandhill Preservation (based on seeing your pictures). Do you withold water from them for a period of time before picking them?
Many thanks,
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
I just waited until the pods were full and then picked them. Normal watering.
What I did next is probably not the best method, but it worked. I put the peas in a bowl, some shelled and some unshelled. As more pods filled in the garden, I picked more and added them to the bowl. I put the bowl in the cool dry basement and forgot about them.
Maybe a month later I remembered them and shelled the unshelled ones. All the peas were dry by then. I put all the dry peas in a zip lock baggie.
I think it's important to let the peas dry completely before storing them, sealed, for the rest of the winter.
Here's a link from a blog called Ottawahortiphilia with more comments on picking and drying the peas.
This year I would like to try a few of the peas fresh. I'm wondering how they taste when cooked like garden peas.
I new the white flower looked familiar and after reading the write up realized it is a gourd flower. I grew these a few years ago but they didn't amount to much. I think it had more to do with being in a pot combined with being neglected. Maybe I should try them again next year, my mom is always asking for them.
Interesting Martini, I have a recipes for cucumbers that I am sure you would enjoy. I will be posting it on my blog once my cucumbers get going. I am hoping to be picking some in 2-3 weeks.
The gourds are so interesting. I was admiring them today. The leaves are soft, like velvet or chenille. They are unlike cuke or squash leaves, which are like sandpaper, with stiff sharp hairs.
I have several small fruits setting. I look forward to watching them mature.
Its not easy to grow cucurbit vines in containers, they have shallow roots and need a lot of water. I failed several times with pumpkins in big pots and I assume gourds are similar.
Glad you're back! I really enjoy your blog and have learned so much from it...and today you just helped me with a fall planting schedule!
Kathy,
Thanks so much for the Capucjiner harvest/drying information and for the link.
Rachel
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