Fall Flowers

October 1! Where did the time go? Since it's hovering in the low 40's in the morning this week, the first frost isn't far away. Sadly, this will mean the end of my favorite garden annual. I like to plant things carefully in the spring and then totally neglect them as they grow wild all summer. I do water, occasionally, especially when I notice the plants laying flat on the ground, wilted and suffering. Zinnias are very cooperative with my method. I start them from seed in the spring and transplant them in May. I usually do 2 flats of them in several sizes and colors and I plant them just about anywhere there is lots of sun

By mid summer they start to bloom and on the first day of school in August, they look lush and awesome. The blooms last a very long time and they really do not mind drought or hard clay soil. Unfortunately, these blooms can't take frost, so I'll probably enjoy them for only a few more weeks.

I also put in some gerbera daisies in a pot that was looking neglected. I first enjoyed these blossoms in my wedding flowers. I think these were on the table arrangements, but I got married a long time ago. I've never grown them, but they seem to have survived nicely even though I haven't watered them in awhile either.

My husband and I also learned that we aren't such good vegetable gardeners. The garden got a white mold all over the squash plants. I know it is an easy milk-water solution to treat this, but we got to it too late. We'll try again next year. Seeds are not a big investment, and it was fun to watch early in the summer. Chocolate zucchini bread is the most delicious quick bread ever.

I hope your gardens are looking beautiful for this last gasp of the growing season!

Veggie Garden

This spring, when the snow finally melted, my husband and I built a raised vegetable bed. Actually, I made it, but he carried some of the wood and handed me the drill when asked. I like building and putting things together so this works out. We filled it with a combination of bagged compost and bagged topsoil with some slow release fertilizer mixed in. SInce I built the bed with cedar and we purchased all the soil for it, we aren't really saving any money on vegetables this season.

We put in some seeds and hoped for the best! It was already kind of late in the season, so I bought potted tomatoes from the garden center. I am amazed at how well the zucchini is doing! I harvested some last week and gave most of them away.

The zucchini is so happy, it has taken over and covered up the lettuces and the strawberries. I think I need to make a second vegetable bed! Our beans never got larger than about 3 inches. I think rabbits feed on them every day. We also have some chives and some carrots. The corn seems to be doing okay. Despite the fact that my entire extended family is from Iowa, I really don't know much about growing corn.

This is our first year trying this sort of garden. Next year I'm going to do lettuces in a separate small bed. Some of the varieties get really bitter as they mature but are delicious in the early stages. I also will plant more nasturtium because I love them and some of those little orange flowers that keep the rabbits away. I forget what they are called. I grow herbs in pots that are right outside my patio doors. I used to have a patch of mint, but that turned into an entire bed of mint and then part of a lawn of mint, so now I grow that in a pot too. Fresh mint on a dessert is a delicious touch.