Month: July 2017
Heritage Museum and Gardens – Sandwich, MA
This is a neat place to visit in Cape Cod – not only are there gardens, but there’s a collection of antique cars, and a few art galleries scattered about the grounds.
They also have a really cool hidden children’s garden, and some great programs, even if it does mean that the adults are being followed around the grounds by the sound of a children’s band from the event garden. It was a cool place to wander around.
I’d definitely like to go back on late Spring- there are a ton of rhodies that must look amazing. We did hit the hydrangea and day lily collections in full bloom, which were lovely.
Lake George, NY
A little light on the pictures, because we were there for a family reunion (BF’s family), but last weekend, we were in Lake George, on an overcast day that turned out to be exactly what we needed.
Garden Notes
The community garden plot is definitely looking lush. In addition to the crazy zucchini, a bunch of other produce is coming along.
Here’s one of the fairy eggplants coming along. It has huge flowers, bigger than the Asian variety that I’m also growing, which will have bigger fruit. I can totally see why eggplant were originally brought back to the old world as ornamentals. I’m going to have to plant them for better show next year.
I’ve got heaps of green tomatoes started.
This is the cayenne type pepper. This plant isn’t as big as I’d like.
The first poblano plant I got is bigger, but still probably not as big as I’d like, either. But it does have little peppers going. The peppers are probably my worst planning this year. They’ve ended up shaded out by the tomatoes. (The other two plants I put in are still very small, and I doubt will end up doing much.) I definitely need to rethink how I space things next year. I think I need to keep the tomatoes together, and put everything else in one place on the sunnier side of the plot.
And finally, back at the side garden, the ground cherries are getting big. They will actually start to drop when they’re ready to harvest – I’ve had a few go, I expect many more soon.
The Vegetable Attached to a Tardis, and other Harvest Notes
And lo, the deluge of zucchini has begun. This was the crop last Wednesday. I got another one of about the same size on Friday morning – I’d made a point to stop because were were going away for the next two nights. I left it with nothing of any size on the vine on Friday.
Sunday evening, I arrived to this porker. I don’t understand how they do it. They have to be attached to a Tardis. It’s the only way to explain the growth potential. It rained yesterday and part of today, and I won’t be able to make it over there until tomorrow after work. Frankly, I’m a little afraid.
The kale over the community garden plot is also going crazy. I had to cut this before we left, and my mother said to give her as much as I possibly wanted to, so the whole bag went over.
The zinnias are really starting to ramp up, and the calendula is just going gangbusters. It’s ultimately not the kind of calendula I really wanted around the kale (based on some other gardens I’d seen, and what my mother had given me before), but I think could happily mix this in with the zinnias until the seed is gone.
CSA
The latest CSA haul: lettuce, cilantro, Swiss chard and some gorgeous purple scallions. We also got our first meat delivery, which is not pictured because hunks of frozen meat just don’t look that great. That was mutton sausage (already that – it was yum!), pork jowl bacon and chicken leg quarters.
Garden Notes
I added the second tier of tomato cages today – probably should have done that a couple of weeks ago. I ended up tying several large stems to various places outside the cages to keep them corralled. Definitely need to keep track of the timing better for next year.
It’s a good thing the kale is doing well over at the community garden plot – something snacked on it over here, as well as the nasturtiums. They’re both now coming back, but I’m just waiting for the culprit to come back, at this point.
The ground cherries are looking great- I have little fruit all over the place. I originally wasn’t sure if I’d be able to handle all five of the plants that ended up sprouting in the one pot, but they seem to be doing fine.
Mackworth Island State Park – Falmouth, ME
We took a very cloudy walk at Mackworth this morning.
The fairy houses have been migrating out of the village – some of them are very inventive.
Garden Notes
A few pictures from the community garden over the week – I’ve got at least one small tomato, and the eggplant are blooming. I did take home the larger zucchini in that picture – I knew I wasn’t going to be by for a few more days, and those have a habit of blowing up if left too long.
The Secrets of Wildflowers – Jack Sanders
I picked this book up at the Kancamagus Trail visitor’s center at the start of our Northern New England/Montreal trip. Originally published in 2003, it’s pretty much what I’ve been doing with my wildflower blog – write ups of various flowers he’s run into, but with less pictures than I would have gone with.
He has gone with a heck of a lot more text, which is interesting reading – lots of historical detail, details of relatives, and how you might be able to bring plants into your garden (assuming they make a good fit). It’s a nice addition to my wildflower reference collection.
The North Wind and the Sea 