Wednesday, July 23, 2008

gone walkabout in the garden



Rubeckia



Romanesco zucchini

I just finished my weekly tour and photo catalog of the garden. Once again the dominant theme is WEEDS! Everything is so lush and it includes many vegetables gone to seed and giant weeds such as lambs quarters and yellow dock. There's always something to do out there.

The lushness from all the rain we've been having includes summer squashes that need picking every day, many annual flowers coming into bloom such as Eustoma and Dahlias, and - big excitement - a Night Blooming Cereus (also known as Queen of the Night) that has a giant exotic looking bud. I think it may bloom tonight! I have had the plant for about 7 years and this is the first time it has bloomed. My understanding is that the flower will only last for one night and smells wonderful. Maybe I will be posting a picture of its flower soon. Anyway, it's a thrill even to see the bud.


Night Blooming Cereus bud




On the down side, one of my apply trees has listed over. It's a Stayman Winesap that is loaded with fruit this year, probably the most fruit it has ever had. It was fine this morning but I am guessing that the weight of the fruit combined with the heavy rain we have been having, made it so top heavy that it just kind of pulled out of the soil. The roots are actually still underground so maybe it can be pushed upright again. I sure hope so. It's big enough that it would probably require a tractor and chains to do it and then some clever engineering to keep it up. Ummmmmm......

Stayman Wiinesap Apple Tree






In any case, I think I will head out soon to prop up the young peach tree that is leaning a bit. Yikes!