Hospitality, Friendship, Encouragement

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Garden in Mid July

  Joining Susan at Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

Our garden has been producing very well!  Our lettuce has been wonderful and the french cucumbers?  Yum!


 We have been getting piles of green beans - snapping, blanching and putting them into the freezer!  I have 4 gallon bags and 2 quart sized!



 My sweet Feverfew!  The settlers homes in Jamestown and the gardens in Williamsburg all have Feverfew.  It was a highly prized medicinal herb.  We have used it, and it works.

 Black Eyed Susans are such a cheerful flower.  They are blooming in several spots in my gardens.  They make me happy.


 The Echinacea is blooming so well this year too.  I should cut some up and make a tincture for cold and flu season...I wonder if Tim would mind if I bought some vodka out of the grocery money?  Either that or I can make echinacea capsules.


 My hydrangea is so pretty this year...I have really enjoyed cutting the blooms and bringing them inside!

 This is a flower that a friend gave me years ago...she couldn't remember the name of it though.  It grows very tall - between 6-8 feet in my gardens.  It is a great country style flower looks good with my daisies and purple cone flower in my wire jar holder.  Does anyone know what this is called?  I'd love to find out!


So pretty!


When we moved to our cottage, it had been neglected for years.  The soil was hard and compacted.  There were no gardens at all.  Well, there was a flower bed by the driveway that had some rhododendrons in them.  Tim dug hole to plant something for me and we found the remains of one of the previous owners dogs!  I try not to think about that too much - ewww.  Anyway back to the soil.  Tim used my Dad's rototiller and it was difficult.  So we added mushroom mulch, and the next year it was better.  We did this for years until now the soil is so delightful.  I have often been amazed at the size of some of my plants in my front garden especially.  Maybe it was all that mushroom mulch.  Great fertilizer and mulch all in one.

 Here is a photo of Kyle the other day standing next to some of my cone flower.  It is taller than he is!  

And lastly for today I leave you with a photo of my Shasta daisies.  Love them!

14 comments:

  1. It is all so very pretty!!! I am hoping next summer isn't quite so hot here, so the flowers will do better! Take Care.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your flowers look amazing! I'm having such trouble with slugs and potato bugs. I finally quit with the "green" methods and went back to sprays and powders. They just work better. How do you manage pest control?

    I've never heard of mushroom mulch... What's this about feverfew? What's it good for? How's it used?

    Vodka is a staple in my home because I make my own vanilla. I do feel funny about purchasing it, though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just beautiful, thanks so much for sharing...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have some feverfew, too - but have forgotten what it is used for (and what form? Tea?

    I MUST get me some Echinacea! I think it's one of my favorite flowers to see in a cottage garden.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We enjoyed fresh string beans for dinner tonight. Awesome flavor!

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's all so beautiful. I have to laugh, the flower that you need identified I was hoping YOU would identify. I have the exact same story. I received a start from a friend about 12 years ago and have never known the name. I'll be checking back to your comments!

    Blessings, Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had to laugh (out loud) at the finding the pet remains. (Yes, very eeew)

    Your gardens are just lovely! How is your corn coming along? Out in our neck, it is slow coming on. I don't know if it is the heavy rains that delayed planting or the present lack of rain. I can't wait to sink my teeth into an ear!

    Have a blessed day! ~ Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  8. What beautiful flowers you've got! I love the daisies and so many! I have a clump of flowers blooming on the side of my fence that I couldn't identify and now I know it's Feverfew. I knew it was a real plant and not a weed and then when it bloomed, I was perplexed. It's in an odd spot, all alone, along the side of the garage but next to my neighbor's fence. I think I'll move it in the spring to a better, sunnier location. Thanks for helping me solve the mystery. And thanks for visiting me at Cottage and Creek.
    ~Lynn
    www.cottageandcreek.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have the same yellow flowers. I didn't plant them tho, i think a bird dropped a seed. I have not been able to find a name for them either.... maybe someone will be able to help us...
    Sheree

    ReplyDelete
  10. wonderful harvest!! love how you placed flowers in simple glass vases. :o)

    our zukes are growing .. another few days and we'll be able to pick. hopefully. lots of blossoms on the other plants. been cool here (overall) this summer. weird for the area.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Feverfew!! I've forgotten about that one here in my new house. At my old home, I had it blooming in the front yard and peeking out between the pickets of the fence. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful flowers! Last year was the first year we planted flowers.I look forward to our garden someday being beautiful like yours. Thanks for the mushroom mulch tip :O)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lots of lovely flowers. Your working your land has truly paid off.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to Creekside Cottage - a place of Hospitality, Friendship and Encouragement!

Things I Like

  Brenda from It's A Beautiful Life blog did a post with this title and I enjoyed her list so I thought I'd do something similar. He...