Hello Thursday! And good morning to you from the back patio. Everything is so lush and green right now, the back patio area feels kind of dreamy.
Just look at those spinner gourd vines! Had I known they were going to do so well in that spot I would have set up a temporary trellis around the dining room window for an English cottage look.
Round two of the sweet Genovese basil has broken through the soil. With a little luck, a second harvest should be ready by the end of September.
And the pots on the back patio…
I think this was the second time I’ve grown coleus from seed and I think the hot and humid summers here in New England create the perfect growing conditions. Had I known that, I think I would have planted a few more pots and maybe even a hanging basket or two of the stuff. Oh well, live and learn. There’s always next year.
And the black eyed Susan vines too. Aren’t they lovely? I just love the softer range of colors of the Spanish eyes blend.
Autumn Joy Stonecrop {Sedum}, strawberries and more basil.
The sedum is about ready to burst open. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Growing sunflowers this year was a little tough.
Even though the robins pulled up the majority of the seedlings, we still ended up with a few. Not enough to sell bouquets of sunflowers at the vegetable stand, but enough for the fuzzy bumblebees to buzz around.
And last but not least, a few of the spinner gourds and Jack Be Little pumpkins were ready to be picked yesterday, you know what that means, right? 🙂 🙂 🙂 Fall is right around the corner. And this girl, wouldn’t be happier.
Did you plant any pumpkin or gourd seeds this year? How are your plants coming along? Anything ready to harvest yet? Curious minds want to know.
Have a wonderful day everyone, may your day be filled with a magical surprise or two.
~ Mavis
Jennifer G says
My tomatoes are loaded and blooming but due to such a cold, wet spring here in the midwest they didn’t get set out till almost Memorial day. Hoping for a late frost so I can get a bigger harvest. The ones I’ve picked, Cherokee Purple so good, have been great.
Mel says
We’ve only been able to grow pumpkins once. Ditto zucchini and summer squash. We’ve tried multiple locations and precautions, but the bug traffic in our area is just too much for them.
We’ve had an abnormally hot summer (strings of days over 100 degrees) followed by heavy rain, so many of the varieties that usually do well for us are struggling with those extremes. We probably have another week or two of intermittent tomatoes before they quit for the season. I really need to figure out a better trellis system for them. I managed to keep them off the ground this year, but it’s hard to get to all of them. Our potatoes, onions, garlic, and shallots did great and the tomatoes did okay, but we only got one batch of green beans and no cucumbers.
I’m skipping a fall garden this year. I love fall veggies, but I’m moving offices and facing construction delays with that while still needing to start the school year, so I just can’t bring myself to deal with seed starting right now. I do need to plant garlic though. And maybe saffron and cover crops.
Susan H. says
We had a wet spring then 90 degree heat waves so I was despairing uf harvesting anything! I give up on having green beans, but wait,are the vines finally blooming? Wahoo! Now I too hope for a late fall so I may be able to gather in more veggies. My pickling cucumbers are starting to bear and my sungold and german sausage tomatoes too. My sister loves the lemon boy tomatoes but there is no lemon cucumbers yet. I have seen a young groundhog around. Hopefully he isn’t helping himself….We call your sedum ‘live forever’ here. Mine is starting to bloom and the bees love it.
MEM says
I’m in the Boston area and grow everything but my pumpkins in containers and tall raised beds. I have a bumper crop of beefsteak, heirloom and cherry tomatoes with more coming. My zucchini and cucumbers finally succumbed to the powdery mildew despite my efforts to kill the mildew with an organic solution. My family is tired of zucchini anyway. My snow peas are nearly gone yet a few blossoms appear every day. I harvested exactly one Baby Boo pumpkin and it looks like others are starting to bud. My zinnias are finally blooming and are an impressive three feet tall. I have a pot of dwarf sunflowers that are doing well as are my basil and rosemary plants. My New Guinea Impatiens are also doing well and my lobelia is huge and completely covers the pot and some of the ground. I’m getting a second round of roses. It has been a great summer for gardening! Next year I think I’ll try growing more plants from seed.
Deborah R. says
Do you have any trouble with you sedum staying upright. I have a variegated variety that is similar in form to your autumn joy that wants to open up from the middle and lay on the ground when it gets ready to bloom. Do you prune yours in any way? Could I pinch them back earlier in the season like mums, or would that keep them from blooming?
Mavis Butterfield says
I cut them back to about 6″ high in the late, late fall. And that’s it. The plants are extremely hearty. And no, I didn’t have any problems last year with them falling over.
Tracy says
Never fertilize sedums, or give them much water. That’s what makes them split open and flop. They thrive on neglect, poor soil, and drought!
Betty D says
oh it all looks for pretty. Your hard work is so paying off….meaning …..those items growing near that big window…are so pretty…..if they take off nest yr as good…you might not even see the house….grin….Thanks for sharing….
Pj says
What will you do with the patty pan squash? We harvest them smaller and love to slice them about 3/8” thick, rub with olive oil and grill them. When they get larger, I usually have to cut the seeds out and sometimes peel off the skin, because it gets tough.
For only being there a year, your outdoor space looks fantastic! Hard work shows.
Mavis Butterfield says
Decoration… and then I’ll split it open for the chickens. They are so fun to grow. 🙂
Marti says
Have you tried basil jelly with all your basil? Really good served with crackers and cream cheese.