Some Flowers. 8.11.2020

 The Four O'Clocks are all volunteer. I moved a few seedlings this Spring and left the rest where they were.  I think they are a few generations past the original seed packet now.  There were only two yellow flowered plants.  I want to save those seeds, so I labeled them.  They are open-pollinated so who knows what the seedlings will be.  Honeybees don't seem to like them.  Despite being Four O'Clocks, they seem to bloom best in the am so should be "Nine Am O'Clocks".  :-)

This dark one is especially brilliant.  It's not a pure red.  I think the marble types interbred with the pure color types.

These are wild petunias.  The flowers are the same size as the Four O'Clocks, but the leaves are very different.  Also, they stay open in the afternoon, when the Four O'Clock flowers are closed.

I just like taking photos of flowers with bees.

I didn't think the honeybees were into dahlias, but this time there were a few.

Rufus Got A Haircut. 8.11.2020

 Before and after.  I wanted to take him to a groomer because he is very strong and Mr. Squirmasaurus and I'm still recovering from surgery.  However, when I took him there, the waiting area was a tiny enclosed space and there were three women struggling with three very large pitbulls.  And none of those people were wearing masks.  Not wanting to contract coronavirus just to have him groomed, I took him home and did it myself and here we are.  Not the best grooming job, but then again no viruses were contracted in this bath and haircut.  All that wool will go into the compost, lots of Nitrogen and Sulfur.

After.   I guess in the time of coronavirus, casual clothes are accepted.

Before the haircut.  Where's the dog under all that wool?

Garden Update. 11 Aug 2020.

 Lots of food and collecting seeds.  Shirley poppy seed heads are becoming light brown, so I cut them off and place them, pod down, into glass jars.  The dry seeds fall into the jar for collection.  It works out almost the same for garlic chives.

Harvest:  beans, potatoes, cucumbers, a few peppers, blackberries, a few figs, Asian pears.

Here is a cucumber salad I made, all but onions from the victory garden.

Here are some Roma beans.   I love these.  They are great, stir fried or air fried with a little seasoned salt, garlic, oil.

Here are some Chinese beans, from many (20?) years of home-saved seeds.  Tasty and "meaty", similar in a way to Romas but a more distinctive flavor.

Lots of big cucumbers.  Next year, try one or two plants instead of three.  These might be hybrid so 

I'm not sure if I want to save seeds.

Triple Crown Blackberries.  Of the ones I've grown, more productive, better flavor, juicier than almost any other.  This year I will cull out the inferior Arapaho, Babycakes, and maybe Prime Ark Freedom.

I big Brunswick fig.  This tree's production is miserly, but requires almost no maintenance and I have room, so I leave it there.  The figs are huge and sweet, when they ripen.

Still lots of summer squash.

Garden Update 7 Aug 2020

 I haven't been posting everything.  We have had some good stuff for the kitchen, out of the garden.  I guess since this is the "Coronavirus war", this is my "Victory Garden".  In addition to the photos, we are getting a lot of bush beans, especially Dragon's Tongue, a spotted thicker Roma type bean.

Breba figs are ripening.  The big brown fig is a Brunswick, which rarely gives anything.  The others are all Desert King, very flavorful and sweet.  Both trees are cutting-grown. Neither gets any supplemental water any more.

Kennebec Potatoes.  This row us providing about 3 pounds per plant.  These are very good.  Eight plants in a row gives about 24 pounds per row.  These are great air fried or baked.

Triple Crown blackberries.  For productivity, flavor, size, juiciness, Triple crown beat, by far, all of my other varieties- Arapaho, Prime Ark Freedom, Ebony King, Babycakes.

The first tomatoes of the year.  Sungold and Bush Early Girl.  OK, Early Girl did beat the other slicing tomatoes, with no other ripening ones on the vine yet.  Haven't tasted it yet. 

Gardening Update. 5 Aug 2020.

I haven't taken photos of the harvests.  The garlic is all harvested, and we have been digging lots of potatoes.  Beans are doing well.

Here are some flowers.  This flower bowl with dianthus, petunias, and others, is doing well.

Many of the honeybee flowers are done.  The most activity now is on a few remaining poppies, oregano, and a few onions.  That's not enough to sustain the bees.  I planted the garlic bed, about 4 by 8 feet, with phacelia seeds, and a former iris bed, about 5 by 6 feet, with buckwheat.  I don't know if these well be helpful, or just serve as a cover crop.  I usually plant disturbances, such as molehills, with clover seeds.

I'm not adapting well to the change in the Blogger platform.  I will continue trying.  I may have to stop labeling, and just allow the search function.  The new label function is too difficult for me.

Sedum Planter.  No watering this summer, doing well.  Honeybees love the sedum flowers.  8.5.2020

I think the poppies start with a lot of pollen.  The honeybees mob the pollen - laden flowers, then when it's gone, that's that.  I'm starting to save seeds from these Shirley poppies for next year.

The oregano is one of the last flowers of the summer, that honeybees really love.  It's difficult to take a photo - these flowers are full of motion.  My plan is to divide them again this fall, for more plants next year.

These onions didn't do well at all, so I let them bloom.  Honeybees love all allium flowers.

These are garlic chives that finished blooming and are starting to set seeds.  Honeybees love these too, so the plan is to collect the seeds and plant more next year. 

Another Shirley poppy with lots of pollen for honeybees.