Garden Update

Weather conditions have been quite favorable for garden growth of late.
Hot, sunny days interspersed with an occasional shower,
augmented by liberal watering have caused the garden to explode in green goodness.


We've been eating fresh lettuce, Swiss chard, kale, radishes and asparagus
on a daily basis.
There's definitely no shortage of greens in our diet!


This year's garden has the following:
sugar peas, lima beans, green beans, Chinese red noodle beans,
purple and orange carrots, celery, onions, 
hot and sweet peppers,
cucumbers,
broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, kale, chard,


heirloom tomatoes... red, yellow, orange and green


summer squash and zucchini,
winter squash and pumpkins,
herbs and lots of Basil,
beets, radishes,
spinach, eggplant, lettuce, 


ground (husk) cherries and strawberries.

I've been slowing working on all of the landscaping around the farm...
weeding flowerbeds and planting here and there.
As you can see...the weeds continue to gain a foothold!


One of my favorite plants is wisteria.


It can be quite invasive...
its vines wrapping around everything they encounter...


but if trained properly can provide a dramatic feature.

A few years ago I planted a vine on each side of this swing.
Every year there it gets a little closer to what I had envisioned.
This year there are many blooms 
and bumblebees merrily buzzing from flower to flower pollinating.

After two solid days of mowing,
everything is done.


The guineas take advantage of the newly mown lawn for a late afternoon nap.


They are the funniest (looking and acting) birds in the world.


"Yo, you talkin' bout me?"

The turkeys continue to be "with the program"...
walking back to their house by the barn every evening for bed.


I haven't talked about the newest member of our indoor family for a while.
Sweet Ivy-cat is a wonderful addition...


fitting in quite well with the dogs.
Every time they near her, she arches her back and goes into "scary cat" mode.
They know better than to mess with her,
and have taken to just ignoring her.
Amazingly, every once in a while Ivy will curl up on the couch with one of the dogs...
usually Annie.
If only she wouldn't find the middle of the dining room table such a good place for a nap!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Another absolutely lovely blog post (as usual). You really make my day reading about your farm and all the lovely animals. Your garden is looking really flush with lots of lovely veggies (isn't it a fabulous time of year when everything starts growing?). Ivy is gorgeous and I love that she is getting on well with the dogs. Do you not let Ivy out onto the farm? Seems a shame when you have all that lovely land to explore. I have to keep my 2 cats in as "house-cats" because we live on a busy road and it is too dangerous for them to play out safely on their own. I hate keeping them in and really wish they could go out (although they do come with us when we are in the garden. Also I would like to know more about your 2 ponies Scarlet and Donny. I often wonder how long you have had them and where you 'acquired' them - they somehow don't seem to get mentioned as much as the other critters. Once again, love your blog so much and I always think it is so generous of other people to share their lives with "like-minded" people. Thanks again, Kind regards, Louise S, Cheshire UK.
Lynne said…
Lovely indeed . . .
Amazing beautiful veggies and other gardens . . .
And the Wisteria is beautiful too . . .
The weeds never stop around here either!
Deb said…
Things are surely beautiful and green there. That lettuce made me hungry. I can just imagine your delicious home-grown salads. Oh Ivy, you are surely a normal cat to plunk yourself down in the middle of the table. I usually have one 'dressing' my table, too. The sun-puddles are perfect there. :)
Bee Haven Bev said…
Louise S. Ivy actually does go out on a daily basis. First thing in the morning she heads out on her hunting expedition and by afternoon is ready to come back in. She sleeps at my feet all night and is ready to hunt again each morning. She brings all manner of tiny body parts back and leaves them on the porch as gifts!!
Bee Haven Bev said…
And.....I will do a post dedicated to the "ponies"....next week.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
i love seeing your garden. did you start everything from seed? i did this year and it is the healthiest garden i've ever had. we finally got rain last night. we could still use more!
Anonymous said…
Thanks for your reply Bev - what a lovely life Ivy has - it is perfect, the best of both worlds. Look forward to your "pony" post. Have a great weekend. Regards, Louise S, Cheshire.
Cindy said…
I love seeing your garden! You grow so many things! We have down sized a little, but still grow what we love. This is funny - my husband made me a swing/arbor last year and I planted wisteria on it! The wisteria is still small, but it has bloomed already. Love it!

have a great weekend!
This N That said…
If you eat there, they nap there..I don't know what it is!! Your Wisteria is beautiful..sure has to be contained somewhat and it loves telephone poles and electrical wires..I've seen it cross streets and pull things down..What price beauty !!Your garden is amazing..I don't know how you got all that planted with the wet May we had..you always seem to make it work..Did you harvest your hay yet?? I hope it's not planned for this weekend..Enjoy
daisy g said…
Oh my goodness! Look at that veg! Do you broadcast your lettuce seed loosely, or are those all individually planted crops? Makes my mouth water!

So glad your new addition is fitting in well.
Enjoy your weekend.
Country Gal said…
WOW ! things are doing well aging there this year , such lovely veggies and gardens . Oh what a cute glad all are doing well ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good weekend !
Bee Haven Bev said…
Daisy girl....I broadcast my lettuce seed.....spinach and carrots too.