august garden, pt. 1

Things I love about the garden in August?

That after even the hottest summer days, when you walk through our arch in the evening when the garden has just been watered you can feel the temperature drop immediately and you are enveloped by the smell of damp earth and flowers ... like entering another world.


That when the grass all around is brittle and brown, the garden is still green and luscious.


That there are so many busy bees you can hear them buzz and sometimes feel them lightly brush by as they go about their way.


That there is something blooming somewhere, all the time.


That even though our tomatoes (and cucumbers, and peppers, and melons, and squash) come in a LOT later than everyone else in our area because of our garden location/sunlight (no matter how early we start), we do still get them.


That it all gets SO thick that my husband just about every night wanders with a shirt full of veggies saying "I can't find anything else!" and then I find another shirt worth.


That there are bushes flowering in August every year that are not supposed to. I have lilacs! In mid-August!


That under all of those leaves are a LOT of squash.


That even when I think we have lost something due to wet or dry to heat or cold, when pulling 'finished' plants I find things that have been busy winding their way where they need to go.


That there is always someone (big or small) out with me each evening, filling the watering can from the rain barrel, and carefully watering each and every pot we have.

And, that I'm not the only one out there talking to the birds, the chipmunk, the frog, the plants, or the bees.

in the garden...

I'm so behind on a garden update! The weather has been hot and humid, which has gotten everything finally growing. We haven't had much rain - the rain barrel has been dry more often than I remember from past years. But as the garden is sheltered it seems to hold onto the moisture pretty well. That shelter also means that the greens are still happy, even with the heat wave. I flood them with cool water when they are on the shady side and they keep right on growing without bolting (so far).

We had such a slow/late start with the cold spring, so things are not as far along as usual...but that they are growing at all after all that makes me very happy.


Right now we are still picking big bowls of lettuces and greens daily - chard, kale, mesclun mix, head lettuce, and more. Our cauliflower, carrots and broccoli which were stunted for so long in the cold are still growing and finally starting to look like something and managing hot quite well.


We are reaping a lot of herbs - dill, cilantro, basil (tons of pesto - yum!), shisho, fennel, spring onions, lovage, and the edible flowers are also all starting to come in.


The medicinals are slow growers generally, so they are happy but small.


We are starting to (!in July!) pick a lot of peas while the beans, melons and cucumbers look like they will need a LONG stretch of heat in order to kick start growing...they are way behind.


We have beets and chives and teeny tiny (tiny!) summer squash.



The strawberries are just about done, while the golden raspberries are being picked by the cupful for the past few days. Blackberries are just starting to color. Currants are getting plump. Red raspberries are just now flowering.


The tomatoes are getting slowly but surely bigger!


We have pots of all kinds of things growing happily and comfy spots to sit on cooler mornings or beautiful evenings.


I'm sure there are many things I am not remembering from inside my house at midnight. But it is good when the list of what is growing is long! I can't believe it feels like we are just starting the main summer fruit and veggies, but we are. Of course I hope that means we will have a long beautiful fall.


How is your garden growing?

in the garden.

In the garden - a little of everything...

What are you harvesting this week?

Growing Strong.

The garden is in full swing, and we feel her pull every day. We are growing a lot of things in our tiny yard, but with such good soil, organic fertilizers, and loving care, it is a dense jungle filled with beans, peas, lettuce, squash, peppers, tomatoes, berries, herbs, flowers, seeds and more.


While the general day to day gardening is my domain - and I do love strolling through, watering, picking, tyeing, snipping, placing - the whole family works together happily most days to keep it all going. Today my guys picked quarts of wonderberries, which we made into a delicious jelly - 3 pints worth!


Even with our small space we are bringing in buckets full of food every day! And what cannot be eaten within a week is immediately placed in the dehydrator to dry, is blanched and frozen, or is canned.


Even our deck is a place for preserving food, as we hang herbs, cure garlic, or hang up large heads of sunflower seeds to dry. We have pots of fresh herbs on our deck, which we use for dinner each day, or dry in the dehydrator for winter!


The garden has become a jungle - so lush and green. I must look carefully to find all of its bounty...and it is often like a treasure hunt, finding something where we least expect it.


We have cucumbers growing up a tree. Well, one up a tree, one up a sunflower - all good!


Our rain barrel (yes, that is it above!) is completely covered in plants - including a wandering pumpkin that decided hanging from a rain barrel is the perfect spot!


We have beans and morning glories growing up twine, reaching from the ground, up the deck, and up the sides of the gazebo. There are dozens of tendrils inside the gazebo too, dangling flowers and vegetables wherever there is a space. We have lemon balm, nasturtiums, borage and calendula - for salads, teas, or a vase. While we harvest some sunflowers for ourselves, we also plant many just for the bees and the birds. There are loud excited goldfinches in the garden most of every day, picking the heads clean!


August is when we get busy with the garden and the kitchen. But it is so much fun, and well worth the effort when in February we are eating garden vegetables while watching the snow fall. Although it is very hot this week with thunderstorms and heat warnings, I can feel that autumn is coming. The garden is peaking, and we are ready!