This is one of my favorite times of year in the garden. The harvest starts rolling in and suddenly all the hard work is worth it. (Usually, at this time of year, my garden is being choked out by weeds as well… but that’s a different story!)
The first fingerling potatoes were harvested a week or two ago. This particular crop had been almost completely destroyed by potato beetles. (Crops elsewhere in my interplanted garden had much less damage. These actually sprouted up from last year, so I think the fact that they overwintered gave the beetles the heads up on their location!) Still, the harvest was pretty decent and fingerlings are soooo delicious, incomparable to an oversized russet potato.
My last rooster met a painful death after he attacked me. He’s now been replaced by this bantam, who is much less aggressive. Plus, he’s smaller than most of the hens so even if he got angry, I don’t think he could do much damage.
The hollyhocks are in bloom. I think they are my favorite flower. They are so cottage-y. When I first started gardening, I said I would never plant flowers because it seemed like a waste to grow something that didn’t produce food. Now I’ve learned to appreciate them for their beauty as well as ability to attract beneficial insects to the garden.
My ducks, which just a few shorts months ago were tiny little ducklings under the heat lamp in my laundry room:
Dill is one of the prettiest herbs I think. I haven’t planted it the last few years, as it seems to self-seed all over the garden!
We discovered this teensy little bird nest in the grapevines. I have yet to see a bird in it, so I’m thinking it has already served its purpose for this year.
I have never grown onions (successfully) until this year. The first year I tried onion sets, I guess I planted them too deep because not a single one sprouted. (Gardening is such a learning curve, isn’t it?) I didn’t try again after that, but this year decide to give it a go again. The results have been quite stunning. I planted two full raised beds of different onion varieties and all have done amazing! I sort of hope that they will last all winter, but we eat quite a bit of onion around here, so I’m not sure! I just pulled the ones that were falling over so that they could start to dry. Aren’t they lovely?
I bought this variegated sage at a greenhouse a few months ago. I’ve never seen one quite like it and love its foliage! I am interested to see what color it will bloom, if it does at all.
Oh, summer, how I love thee!