My Kitchen Garden in August (yes, August)

Wow, I don’t think I have ever been THIS far behind with my garden posts. Major home repairs due to a roof leak, transitioning to a new job, and the holidays are my excuses this time. At least I have the winter to get caught up!

What the heck WAS happening in the kitchen garden in August? It seems so long ago.

From purely a visual standpoint, the kitchen garden was looking lush, green, and full in August. The Gift Zinnias, which I had planted from seed in spring (from Hudson Valley Seed Library), added a pop of red to the raised beds, as did the Lady in Red Texas Sage in the blue pot.

The white hydrangeas and yellow Black Eyed Susans in the flower garden made for a nice border to the kitchen garden.

I had planted a Japanese Maple in the blue pot, along with the Lady in Red Texas Sage, which is an annual. I hate to say it, but I don’t think the Maple survived the dry heat that we had later, but I could be wrong. I am trying to remain hopeful that it will surprise me in the spring.

Speaking of the blue pots, in my other blue pot I still had my Solanum quitoense (Naranjilla), which I had bought in 2014 and overwintered in my greenhouse. It did even better in 2015 and formed tons of fruit. The leaves were as fuzzy and spiky as ever.

The u-shaped beds contained orange Zinnias, Alaska Nasturtium, Garlic Chives (a perennial), Nufar Sweet Basil (this variety did best for me in 2015 and managed to avoid the Downy Mildew that has plagued a lot of basil varieties the past couple of years), and curly-leafed Parsley (which does better for me than the flat-leafed variety).

This photo was taken later in August when the Garlic Chives started to bloom.

I do love the look of the Garlic Chives in bloom, but you have to be careful and try to cut them off before they drop seed. They reseed literally EVERYWHERE, including in the gravel path. I never seem to get them trimmed in time.

A new and exciting addition to the kitchen garden in 2015 was the Red Noodle Bean from Hudson Valley Seed Library. This started to take off just before I went away for a long weekend in the Poconos and I never managed to harvest any of the beans to actually eat! It looked so cool, though. I want to try again in 2016 and actually eat them this time. A friend had given me these seeds and the magenta-colored, foot-long, bean pods were really thrilling to see.

There was some new seeds that I planted in 2015 that I was really stoked about, but they never took off. One of them was Hopi Red Dye Amaranth from Seeds of Change. I was really looking forward to seeing a cluster of 4-6 feet tall plants with dark red leaves and fuscia flowers, but only got about two of them and they were no more than a foot or two tall. This is a tender annual, so I’m doubtful they will come back.

Another crop I was looking forward to was Gold Nugget Winter Squash, also from Seeds of Change. I got one. Yes one.

One thing that did really well was the Merlot Lettuce from Hudson Valley Seed Library. This was a tasty addition to salads and I planted at least two crops of it. The leaves were pretty both in salads and in the garden!

My Cilantro always bolts before I have a chance to use it, so I tried Cilantro Papalo this time, from Grower’s Exchange. It is popular in Hispanic communities. This ended up forming a tall plant. I liked it, but I do love the regular Cilantro that I’m used to and it just wasn’t the same. This plant certainly did well in the garden, though.

Parts of the kitchen garden started to look a bit overgrown later in the month, as the Nasturtium creeped along the gravel paths, the Hop Vine took over the garden bench, and the Beautyberry bush blocked the back path.

I had filled in a bare spot late in August with sweet potatoes (left bed) – my first year trying them. The Nautic F-1 Brussels Sprouts from Seeds of Change (right bed) were getting taller, but not really forming sprouts.

A better shot of the Brussels Sprouts. Something was eating the leaves, however I was trying to remain hopeful that the sprouts would form.

Tomatoes were a disappointment in the garden again this year. They don’t seem to like the raised beds too well. In fact, with the other issues I had in 2015, I think I need to do a soil test and amend accordingly. I may try my tomatoes in pots this year. I had a hanging pot of tomatoes that did great on my back porch. In the garden, I got only a couple of Rutgers tomatoes.

It was enough for some caprese salad, though, a summer favorite of mine. I do mine with balsamic vinegar. Click here for my recipe.

The Indigo Ruby cherry-sized tomatoes in the garden grew a total of maybe 8 fruits. They were very tasty in salads, though. This salad contained greens, cucumbers, and parsley from garden, along with the Indigo Ruby tomatoes, and local corn and mozzarella. I put just a tad of extra virgin olive oil and some balsamic vinegar as dressing. Delicious!

The hanging tomato plant was called Tumbling Tom Yellow and I had gotten it at an Amish market in Maryland in the spring. I had tons of grape-sized tomatoes all summer long. They were great in this Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Crostini recipe from Martha Stewart. I added fresh basil from the garden to the recipe.

So yeh, that was the kitchen garden in August, yes August. Sheesh. It is fun looking back on the gardening season from 2015, though, as it is quite cold and winter-like outside right now. Time to start dreaming about what I will plant in the kitchen garden this coming spring!

Memories of May

Wow, was my last post really May 5th? I think that may be the longest I have gone without blogging. I thought when my night web design classes ended I would find myself with more free time. That wasn’t the case. I was playing catch-up with the garden like a madwoman, plus I have had one vacation and two long weekends since then. When I wasn’t away, I was working overtime at work. Feel like I am constantly trying to get back on schedule.

What was May like in the garden? Well not much as far as the Kitchen Garden was concerned since I was so late getting my seeds planted. The Flower Garden had more stuff happening, though. Here’s what it looked like.

The Flower Garden in May

Let’s take a walk through the garden gate and see what was blooming in May... 

Actually, before you walk through that gate, take a gander to the left and you’ll see my vertical garden and hanging ferns. I used this same idea here last year to dress up my fence that is falling apart.

The first thing you will notice as you walk through the gate this time of the year is the Wisteria.  You might actually smell it before you see it. I missed getting it at its peak bloom time this year. It was covered in lavender blooms, and covered with bees, as well!

I have mentioned many times that I have a love/hate relationship with Wisteria. May is love time. The rest of the year is hate. In fact, I just had to prune some Wisteria that had made its way through my upstairs window air conditioner unit into the bedroom! Yep, no lie, there was Wisteria growing in the bedroom.

The Wisteria tree didn’t do as well this year. I think maybe the tree next to it is shading it too much.

Azaleas and Clematis grow up against the shed/workshop. They are in their Sunday best in May. 

May is also baby bird time. I love watching the mommy birds feed their babies in the birdhouses that are on the shed. (Gotta fix those lights. Haven’t worked for some time now and no, they’re not leftover from Christmas. We keep them up all year round on the shed.)

The Weigela blooms in May, along with the pink Roses and Climbing Hydrangea on the arbor. Apparently cats bloom in the Flower Garden in May, as well.

I wish the arbor looked this pretty all season, but alas, it is just like this in May.

I never managed to finish pruning back my Roses this spring. I did some here and there, but not all. The Roses didn’t seem to mind too much and bloomed away, just maybe a little taller than usual. The Catmint is a true workhorse in the spring and the bees and Cabbage White butterflies love it.

I always forget about this yellow Rose until it blooms, then I can’t stop admiring it. It is a David Austin Rose called Graham Thomas.

This is another David Austin Rose called Abraham Darby.

I admit that I like Roses this time of the year, but they always start to look crappy not long after they bloom.

A view of part of the Flower Garden from the back porch steps.

Spring wouldn’t be spring without my purple Columbine.

It self-seeds, but I try to gather them up before they drop and spread them where I want them to show up the next year.

The purple Columbine plays well with this magenta Peony.

My one neighbor comments on the color of this Peony every year. He finds it amazing. It really is a bright splash of color.

One plant that didn’t do as well this year was my purple Siberian Irises. I really think they need dividing.

The bearded Pass The Wine Iris did pretty well, though.

I had planted this miniature tulip-looking bulb a few years ago – a few in the Flower Garden and a few in front of the shed. They did well this year. I wish I could remember exactly what it was called, though!

Part of the Flower Garden, as seen from the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

This is a view I don’t show very often. This is Winnie’s view of the garden (Winnie is the statue).

This is the path that I finished last year that goes from Winnie to the Kitchen Garden.

I planted this Rhododendron just last year, I think. It bloomed nicely this year.

It’s like I’m playing Where’s Waldo with my neighbor’s cats when I weed in the garden. You never know where you might find one. I almost weeded BJ (aka Stubby)!

Looking from the tree in the back towards the back porch.

My Tiarella Sugar and Spice (Foamflowers) did especially well this year. They are planted under the tree that is near the entrance to the Kitchen Garden.

I planted this Asclepia tuberos (Butterflyweed) on this side of the yard just this spring. Hoping it will attract more Monarchs.

In between the potted Boxwood are tall containers with Sweet Potato Vine and Cannas. If you look closely you’ll see a Molly growing from a pot inside the back porch. There’s and Izzy in there by the door, as well.

Here’s another shot of that Molly plant that grows on the back porch. It sure is a cute, fuzzy thing.

While we’re on the subject of pretty things on the back porch, I cut some Lily of the Valley and put it in vase on the back porch (where the girls couldn’t get to it, of course) and I loved how it filled the entire porch with its scent. Lily of the Valley is one of my mom”s favorite flowers. I can see why, with its dainty, nodding bells and marvelous fragrance.

Sage, Thyme, and Oregano grow along the edges of the porch. Makes it easy when I want some herbs with my dinner. I am also trying some Orange Mint in this area this year.

On the other side of the back steps is Chives, Lemon Balm, and Peppermint.

The Peppermint is a favorite in my iced tea and mojito!

Looking from the Kitchen Garden towards the Flower Garden.

The Kitchen Garden in May

Spinach that I planted last year! I have never had Spinach overwinter before. It still tasted good, too!

In fact, I was eating quite a bit of Spinach early in the Spring. Here I added it to my gluten-free pasta, along with tomatoes and asparagus (which were NOT from the garden).

I also had to make one of my favorite dishes, Scallops and Spinach with Gorgonzola. I posted the recipe in 2012.

One thing that comes back every year is the Sorrel. I sure do love Sorrel in my salads.

This year I made Sorrel Pesto, a new recipe from the book “Preserving By The Pint” by Food In Jars blogger Marisa McClellan. Bright and tangy and delicious.

I usually like to get my seeds planted under row covers by mid-April at the latest. This year it was more like the end of April - beginning of May. Much too late, if you ask me. April 23rd was my last night web design class of my certificate, which was a week later than it should’ve been due to snow earlier in the semester. I was so busy finishing my last project that I got behind with my gardening schedule by about two weeks or more. Therefore, things seem to be slow to come up this year - other than that Spinach and Sorrel, that is. 

My neighbor’s cats didn’t seem to care that I was behind with my gardening chores. They also didn’t seem to realize that the hose was on a timer and about to go off...

The Columbine and Peony in the Flower Garden seemed to be trying to hide the fact that there wasn’t much growing in the nearby Kitchen Garden yet. Thanks, guys!

There was stuff growing in there, I promise.

I have learned from my experience this year. I will never be so late getting my seeds planted in my Kitchen Garden ever again. I hope...I seriously hope...