Bountiful

An edible artist's palette.  Red and golden beets, butternut squash, cucumbers and tomatoes.
The zinnias are from our garden, too.

The tomatoes from L to R are Costoluto Genovese, Mama Leone, Djeena Lee'a Golden, and Black Iceicle.

Once the rind of this watermelon turns golden yellow, it's ready to be eaten.  There are distinctive golden spots on this beauty so the change is underway.  We can hardly wait to taste these baby's. 

Don't let this shape fool you; it's pie.

A tiny muskmelon.  I was so glad to spot this little melon!  The five that have already been harvested
were unbelievably sweet and delicious.

Watermelon, melon, melon.

Wright Gardens profile

Wright Gardens as seen from our kitchen window.

"We might say that the earth has the spirit of growth; that its flesh is the soil."  -- Leonardo da Vinci


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Minnesota Midget

Plump, juicy and, oh, so sweet!  Seeds from this beauty will be saved for planting in next year's garden.

Minnesota Midget Melon

We're swimming in pickles!

Dill, bay leaves, and tarragon from the garden, along with the cucumbers.

Water, vinegar, salt, homegrown garlic, dill, tarragon, bay leaves,
black peppercorns, yellow & brown mustard seeds,
coriander seeds, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

It's difficult to believe that the growing season is nearly over.  In preparation for next year I've been reading a book recently borrowed from the library titled The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds by Robert Gough and Cheryl Moore-Gough.  The book includes seed saving tips for 322 vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits, trees and shrubs.  For each entry in the book there is a tip for seed collection, seed cleaning and storage, seed treatment (prior to planting), germination (optimal conditions for), and transplanting.  Concise information that will help make me a better gardener.

A detail that will help me this year (and now you, too) is to save seeds from early harvested items versus fruit harvested later in the season.  The logic being that seeds saved from early fruits are more likely to produce early fruit next season, versus fruits that ripen late in the season.  Seems like obvious information but it never occurred to me that there could be that subtle of a difference from seed to seed.

"The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all." -- Wendell Berry




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A basket of nightshade

Yesterday's harvest was plentiful.  We've picked a few tomatoes here and there, but yesterday there were several pounds of tomatoes that were ripe.  The majority of the ripe tomatoes are Costoluto Genovese (the red tomatoes with "cleavage") with a few each of Black Icicle (thin plum shape) and Mama Leone (large red plum shape), and a single Djeena Lee's Golden Girl.  All four are heirloom varieties and, boy, are they scrumptious!

Djeena Lee's Golden Girl has mild acidity with a sweet and slightly fruity flavor.  Costoluto Genovese have a fantastic deep flavor.  Mama Leone tomatoes have a wonderful earthy flavor.  They are a paste tomato so they contain very little seed.  You can make a tomato sandwich with them, using the slices of tomato as the bread.  Tuck a basil leaf and a slice of fresh mozzarella between slices of Mama Leone and you'll have a tasty summer lunch.  Finally, the Black Icicle tomatoes have a robust, almost black pepper, flavor.  The flavor is so rich it is hard to describe.

Included in the harvest were many cucumbers that are the perfect size to be pickled,  jalapeno peppers, green bell peppers and enough celery stalks to include in a pot of turkey soup.  Celery stalks have been picked as we need it.  Otherwise, there are five celery plants growing in the garden.  Gardening makes me so happy!

The melons and squash are coming along wonderfully as well.  A muskmelon or two or three will be fully ripe any day now.  They look so lovely and are beginning to smell great, too.

The watermelon aren't far behind.  Although they are green now, as they begin to ripen the skin will turn a golden yellow.  They'll only be about three pounds as well.

This tiny pie pumpkin looks like a Flamenco dancer to me.

A nifty potters table was given to us by our pal Judy.  It fits perfectly on the side of garage across from the garden bed, between a patch of Lamb's Ear and Queen Anne's Lace.  Thanks, Judy!

Queen Anne's Lace being illuminated by the setting sun.

"All gardening is a landscape painting." -- William Kent

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." -- Marcus Tullius Cicero


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Just a little salt, please.

Glorious!  

Jalapeno

Georgia Flame, nearly ready.

Beautiful bells.

Pumpkin bloom.

Diēs Caniculārēs

A basket full of dill and cucumbers, and our first ripe tomato!  A Costoluto Genovese.  These cucumbers will soon be bathing in brine and on their way to becoming garlic dill pickles.

This Black Icicle tomato is nearly ready for our mouths.

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been

 the two most beautiful words in the English language.”  

-- Henry James

A mantis of a different kind.
This wonderful garden stone was made by my pal Judy.

Zinnia

Cosmos

“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine

was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”  

-- Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy and Tib

Muskmelon everywhere!

The pumpkin vine is healthy and loaded with dozens of flowers.
I can't wait to make pie and other various baked goods with these squash come fall.

Butternut-ty goodness

The first watermelon.  It's so darn cute!

Burgundy okra.

"Everything that slows us down and forces patience,

everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.

Gardening is an instrument of grace."  

-- May Sarton

Hopefully you're enjoying your summer as much as we are.  Recipes for garlic dill pickles, salsa, and potato salad are coming soon to the recipe blog.

Oh!  In the event you aren't already aware of this yourself, you can click on all of the photos included in each blog post to see them in a larger view.


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Luncheon with a praying mantis

Yesterday afternoon I spotted a praying mantis in one of the flower beds.  Assuming this is the same mantid that's been seen in this general location before, it's about three inches in length now.  It's eyes have taken on more of an amber color as well.  

After spotting this leggy creature I dashed inside to grab the camera.  By sheer luck I happened to take a picture of the mantid just after it caught a tiny caterpillar in its left forearm.  Of course, I didn't realize this until after I uploaded the pictures to my laptop where I can really zoom in on small details.  

I did, however, notice a nub of a tiny tube shaped object stuck to the tip of a leaf that the mantid took a bite out of.  Enjoy this video of the praying mantis eating its catch.  It's so Sci-Fi the way its jaws move sideways versus up and down.  

Darn it!  Why can't I upload videos?!

The Clearwing Hummingbird moths have been busy 'round the butterfly bush.  I'm so glad that I learned about these creatures last summer.  I no longer mistake them for bumble bees.  

I love their shrimp-like bodies.

We have muskmelon!  This afternoon I noticed five small muskmelon growing on the vines.  The largest is about the size of a mango.  The smallest is quite fuzzy and walnut sized.

The watering hole for the bees is always busy.  I enjoy watching the bees land in the center of the cells and float on the surface of the water with their legs spread wide as they drink.

While I sit on the front porch creating this post, I'm in the company of Spencer and Chet.  They're both happily napping and enjoying summer's warmth.

Pigs dangling everywhere.

Chet laying in a typical sprawled fashion.

Cheers!

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