Coming Up for Air

55 this morning, cloudy and light showers. Weekend was hot, in the high 80's, with a storm yesterday.

Friends, the past couple weeks have been such a blur I am not even sure where I left off writing here. Mainly, it's been garden work. We've been planting again, squash, cucumbers, beans, and corn, and today, in this cool, cloudy weather, Larry is putting in our first tomato plants. We're a little behind there, but we were away over the weekend and I didn't want to plant and let the poor things fend for themselves in that high heat and hot sun.

So what's been going on in your lives? I haven't even been reading my usual blogs, so I have catch-up to fo there too. I hope everyone is still well and thriving. Tell me what you've been up to.

The weather has been perfect off and on for pulling weeds, and I have done a LOT of that. Especially that ubiquitous gill-over-the ground, creeping Charlie, ground ivy or whatever you call it. I've pulled several wheelbarrow loads, and Larry has helped too. We have it pushed back a bit but will never be truly rid of it. A pity that it's so invasive, because it's really a pretty little plant.

So here's some photos of the gardens. I've posted most of these on Facebook, I think, but I know that not all of you use that platform.

This is a drift rose, so named, I think, because of its spreading habit. I would love to have more of these. The photo doesn't do justice to the variation of peach and yellow colors.

This rose, and the yellow iris, both came as gifts from a young friend. 

Self-sown lamb's ears. Years ago I got a start from a friend, and apparently there's no end after you once have it because it self-seeds easily. It's great for color and texture variation on the garden.

A cheap rambler rose, bought for a dollar about 5 years ago. Behind it are self-sown daisies and litte pink primroses that also self-seeded.

Same rose, different view, with a few Dame's Rocket on the left.

This is my newest peony, not yet in the ground even. I've added 4 peonies to my gardens this year, and hope to continue to add them--such beauty and fragrance.

Another rambler, that was once a tea rose,but got killed back to the rootstock. It's in entirely the wrong place, and every year I think I'll get it moved, but it never happens.

The Japanese iris are just starting to open. 

More peonies, this one planted a couple years ago.

And the old-time white peony. This one got knocked to the ground by rain, so it's now in a bouquet in the house.

This is about 1/3 of the tomato plants from my greenhouses. Some are quite large, others still small but very sturdy. Larry is planting these today.

Also planting these today--Better Boy hybrid. They're a good canning tomato. We have many heritage varieties, though--Black Crim, Cherokee Purple, Dr. Whyche's Yellow, Belgium Giant Pink, Brandywine Black, Yellow Oxheart, some others. Also black opal cherry, a red cherry, and yellow pear.

What's left in the greenhouses:

Those pots of small plants in the front are rhubarb I'm growing from seed. Who knew you could do that?? We'll see how this goes.

This is a new garden this year, or rather an extension of an older one.

Garlic also self-seeds here, and this area looks like these will be especially nice.

I wish I coud remember the name of this rose. I planted it two years ago, and the deer kept eating it back. So I covered it with chicken wire last fall, and this year put a metal chair over it. So far so good.

How about these little primroses? They self-seeded from another bed and here they are, thriving in that crumbled sidewalk.

Spiderwort only opens in the sun, and according to folklore, the flowers turn pink when radiation is in the air or soil.

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