All of the beds are blooming with summer flowers while the veggie plants are growing very strong! Bed one has tomatoes of all sizes and so we are amassing recipes for when they ripen to red. The jalapeno and serrano are also budding with wonderful vegetables. I’ve noticed various insects visiting such as parasitic wasps that will kill the aphids. A hat tip to such wonderfully helpful insects.

On our deck, all of the herbs are doing very well and our basil is growing like weeds both on the deck and between the tomato plants. I’m trying to think of some inventive ways to utilize these herbs and in the end I know we will need to pull out the dehydrator and start drying them out. Some of them I am letting go to seed so we get a healthy growth next year without needing to purchase new plants.

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In bed two our tomatillo plant is looking much better and has several flowers in bloom. The hot days ahead will probably be something they enjoy but we will make sure the soil doesn’t dry out too much. Our cucumbers are growing beautifully and several little cucumbers are already appearing. I’m looking even more forward to pickling these awesome little babies! A dragonfly, one of many, is sitting in wait for any mosquitoes or other nasty stinging creatures they can eat.

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Beds three and four are testing areas still. The husband’s sweet potatoes (I’m sure it was a yam) is growing very well and now he planted a bunch of pepper seed cores, placing the top of the pepper next to each to identify them. Meanwhile, in bed four we planted our two blueberry bushes which are already bearing fruit. I also placed a beautiful flower bush that smells like peppermint and is said to attract hummingbirds. We will need to start developing our bird sanctuary soon with a bird bath and hummingbird feeder. I got it because they remind me of my grandmother who always loved hummingbirds.

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Outside of beds, we have the wildflowers and wild tomato plants. Something out there is noshing on the tomato plants but despite this they are flowering and growing tomatoes. We are deliberately leaving them alone to see how they do. Meanwhile the wildflowers grow and bloom and make the garden so beautiful. I do need to make sure they don’t encroach where I plan to build my greenhouse and add a bee refuge.

Lastly, my boxed flowers are enjoying their new digs on the deck. It’s really nice to go downstairs and look out my livingroom doors to see those flowers blooming. This is definitely a successful growing season even though it started a bit late.

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