For the first time I can remember, I'm deliberately growing sunflowers (as opposed to the appreciated but unplanned sunflowers the birds plant) and I'm impressed! We got two kinds of seed last year. Our neighbor George was growing some three-foot bright orange sunflowers in a planter, and we gathered some of those really tiny seeds in the fall. And the monestary had huge yellow sunflowers in their garden, and, as always, was very willing to share. So I carefully kept the seeds separate, and tracked where I planted what.
As you can see, they are all beautiful, but not one single short orange plant in the bunch. This same thing happened to me with white marigolds, seeds of which I got at my sister's place years ago. The flowers from which I got the seeds looked just like regular marigolds, except they were creamy white. The plants I got at home were three feet tall! and in some cases, instead of marigold petals, they looked like pinwheels! I guess all this cross-breeding and such make it hard for an amateur like me to know what to expect. Maybe that's the point?
The other garden news is that tonight we ate the first tomato and it was spectacularly sweet! Our plants, alas, are skimpy, but the few very big tomatos that are on them look good.
While the sunflowers, ecchinachea and hydrangea are having a decent summer, the lilies are all dried up, and the vegetable garden (aside from it's completment of boisterous sunflowers) is struggling.
We've gotten a few zucchini already, but two of the four plants rotted at the ground line, and I'm not quite sure why. Five of our six cucumber plants had a close encounter with something awful early on (I'm thinking skunk or cat pee) and died overnight, leaving just one frail survivor. The basil is growing, and I've gotten some batches of pesto cubes done, but the plants are much smaller than last year. And the peppers look about the same as when we planted them months ago.
The month's nicest surprise was when Lisa and Josh called from the road, on what they thought would be a day trip with the girls from NYC, and ended up being an overnight stay with us. Chef Brian sprang into action, and we all enjoyed the result.
And the next morning, most of us went frog hunting down at the pond. Hyla came prepared with her own net! Too much fun!
Not quite everyone went on the hunt; they also serve who sit and watch!
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