Somehow the calendar got turned to August, and we are well into the month already. It is a strange month this year, with five Sundays, five Fridays and five Saturdays. That usually means that people can pack extra fun into their last month of summer.
My flowers and yard have been in disarray since spring. I lost many of my plants over winter, and while some have been replaced, they aren’t blooming this first year. With all the rain early in the year, it seems that the weeds have taken over the landscaped area around the house. All my weed pulling has been in vain.
Plans are to redo much of it next spring. Some of the bushes have died and need to be dug out, some got overgrown and have been cut down. Things changed over the past nine years.
Wild raspberry plants persist in growing in the landscaped area. Every couple of weeks I go out with leather-gloved hands and pull them out, but they always come back.
Those black-eyed Susans, which a friend gave me, keep moving around. The morning glories no longer need to be planted; they just volunteer themselves wherever they want.
My splash of color in the yard is the flower bed, east of the house, where the zinnias and cosmos are doing their best to provide me with garden cheer.
This spring I experimented with planting more vegetables in pots. I was doubtful of the zucchini, but they are producing, perhaps not as much as if they were in a bedding area, but still, I enjoy being able to go out and pick one now and then.
Cucumbers were planted in a large container, with hopes. They are doing fairly well. I am able to pick some every week. I am not worrying about getting enough to can; I just enjoy eating them. They make a great snack.
I also dabbled with growing parsley, oregano and basil. I had grown them before, but this year I gave them each their own pot. I tried chives, but that didn’t grow for me.
I have two tomato plants in pots and two more in the flower bed. Both potted tomatoes look great, but the tomatoes on one of them have blossom end rot. It is disappointing to see a tomato turning ripe, only to look and see it is rotten on the bottom.
I just looked up the problem on the Internet and learned that it is caused by uneven watering or too much fertilizer. It is a calcium problem from what I saw. Somehow the tomatoes are not getting enough calcium. I guess I never knew they needed calcium.
At least the other tomatoes seem to be doing OK, so not sure why it only affected the one. I am thankful the others are fine. I have already picked several green peppers from my two potted pepper plants.
I have never been a great gardener. When I lived on the farm, it was always a problem when the garden was ready for harvesting. By then there were busy times with farm work, and often my kids were playing ball. It was difficult to manage weeding, picking, preserving, plus juggling the rest of life that was going on.
Sometimes I miss those days, but, for the most part, I am content.
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