Wow! Where did the summer go?! Or where have I been?!

It is August 12th and I cannot believe the time that has gone by. The gardens have been overwhelming. I started so many veggie seeds and flower seeds that the individual beds are packed.

Let's start in the front yard gardens. The roses have done well this year. The only one that I am concerned about is Heritage ( a David Austin rose ). It has some yellow leaves that don't look healthy, but then new growth is green. It gets the same amount of water as all the other healthy plants. We had such an intense heat wave for two weeks in July, that many plants didn't get to put on their flower show and are limping along just trying to survive. My friend and neighbor Kim, gave me some large perennials that have fit into the flower beds beautifully. Now, just making sure they make the transplant. Two of them are beautiful heathers, one peony, a varigated fushia and two others that I don't know the names of. By the way, the gardens in the front yard have expanded somewhat which looks really nice to me. I got more landscape rocks from the mountains to finish off the border edges.

For the back gardens, I do have to say that both shade gardens ( under the apricot tree and under the Eureka lemon tree ) are doing great! The one under the apricot tree is like a true woodland surprise.

The sunny perennial/annual bed is a bit overgrown and needs maintenance. Soon! The Vitex tree is so full of seeds that I keep cutting limbs ( hate to do that ) and still the limbs are close to the ground and even I have to bend parallel to the ground to walk under. Even then, my hair ends up being full of seeds and flower debris.

The veggie garden is HUGE! I think I planted too many Cuore di Bue in one bed as it is solid foliage. Even the Amish paste have had trouble setting fruit this year with the temps up to 113 degrees. Everything kinda sat there for more than a few weeks just trying to live through the heat! That is including me!!!

We are getting peppers, bell and chili peppers, as well as eggplant and some tomatoes. The pole beans are still coming on but I missed the harvest of the bush beans and they all dried up. I have been pulling up the onions -Rossa di Milano- they are very juicy and quite hot. My eyes cry the whole time that I am cutting them. We did have lettuce ( until the heat wave ), and enjoyed the Four Seasons leafy, Bronze Arrow leafy, and the Little Gem romaine. The spinach was good when we had it. The lettuce leaf basil is doing great. I have always had great success with this basil. The purple ( Red Rubin ) basil is doing okay. With the heat wave I lost all three of my squash, two zucchini types and one crooked neck. Very sad to lose them. I need to start new seed. But that is another story - next paragraph.

The heat did in my greenhouse. The plastic on the roof bubbled and then cracked and just has fallen off or is hanging from the roof. Very very sad. I am in the process of investigating the best course of action for getting double and triple polycarbonate panels to put on the greenhouse. Until then it is direct sun in there and nothing can be started for the garden. ;-(

The days are in the 90's now and that is warm, but nice. The grapes are ripening and the elder berries should be ready for harvest soon. Things are always happening in nature.

Quote for the day: Nature quiets the mind so you can hear your heart.