Monday, July 8, 2013

Yummy's, Plants, Deserts & Bushes


I will start off today with a picture of Swiss Chard.  I am trying to learn to like it!!!!!!  LOL


Radishes, Pak Choi and Lettuce!!  I was going to apologize today for always posting lettuce but after seeing the price of yucky head lettuce in the store I will post it proudly!


We are happy to finally start harvesting some raspberries!  Pulled another cabbage and three carrots to make more cole slaw.


My poor aloe plant! I dumped it over on the floor one day.  What a mess!!!!!


I made chocolate chip cookies for my "wonderful gardener"!


These are my carrot boxes on the deck.  The tops are quite tall but from the cabbage post you can see the carrots are not real big.


Some of the family came over for the 4th.  Melissa made this pretty and yummy dessert!


Our kids dug out our old rose bush.  We thought maybe it had poison ivy in it and couldn't get it out.  We just recently planted this one.  It is a Rose Blaze Improved-med red climber.  I think it will show up well on the arbor.


Here are my two elderberry bushes in the side yard.  I think they are so pretty but my two mowers, hubby and daughter, are complaining the branches are in the way so guess this fall I will have to cut it down some!


I picked a little bouquet of yarrow and set it on a yellow and white doily that my mother had crocheted.  A little sunshine in the kitchen!


These are my green beans.  I thought they only got about 12 inches tall but these are squashed by my screen cover which is taller than 12 inches!  It is about 18 inches tall.  I found out that green beans are self pollinating but will I still get beans if they are so squashed in height?  If I take the cover off the beetles and Coco will get them!  I do have a dilemma!!!!


I have three little blueberry bushes but this is the only one that has a few blueberries on it.  I am hoping they will get ripe and I will get them before the birds!  It is seeming to take forever for them to ripen!!


I plead guilty!   I thought I was planting my tomato plants farther apart this year but as you can see I can't even get between them to pick the tomatoes!  There are some blossoms though.


The cucumbers are climbing the trellis!  Hurry, hurry!!!


See all the little cherry tomatoes!  They are planted in five gallon pails.  Do veggies seem slower to ripen this year to you or is it just me?


I have a little white box so have lettuce growing in it.  Still good to harvest!


A small patch of Kale.  I have used a little but haven't learned to love Kale either yet!


These two green pepper plants in the tote look lush but haven't done much yet to produce peppers!


On the other hand, this sad small plant has one green pepper on it!  I will never figure things out!


The blackberry bushes have a lot of green berries on them even though that bad storm blew them over!


My last picture but not very nice to leave you with this yucky one in your mind!  I am doing beetle bug duty and "tonking" them into a pail with soap and water!  They are really liking my little sweet cherry tree a lot and chewing the leaves to pieces.  I don't even feel guilty doing this to them!  Happy Gardening!!


30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get what you mean about not minding bug duty to protect your plants. Your plants look healthy and beautiful! Ripening always seems to take longer when I'm watching the plants daily (sometimes twice a day). I also love your elderberry plant. Have you ever harvested the elderflowers?

nutmeg gardener said...

Nancy, your harvests and your yard look beautiful! I do the same beetle patrol each morning on my squash plants, which really get attacked. It's a yucky and a tedious job, but it has to be done!

vicki said...

Oh, my! Your garden is really growing beautifully! I think everything is slow to ripen this year too. Or maybe I am getting impatient. :) I hope you are able to save your cherry tree. I didn't feel badly about dunking potato bugs either!!

Have a great night, Nancy.

:)Vicki

Shawn Ann said...

Your garden is looking lovely. I can't believe you still have lettuce! I wish we did. As for those beetles, you get them all! I have TONS on my raspberries, they are just shredding them. I am glad they are short lived. Yes, some things do seem to be going slow this year, and some things fast. I attribute it to the different soils in my beds. The fast growing ones have lots of horse compost, the slow growing ones had a "garden mix" from a local garden place I will not get again! And that is the bed with the tomatoes :(

Robin said...

Wow, everything looks great....especially those desserts! I think your going to have a great year!

Lisa said...

You have got a LOT going on at your place! All looks great . Love the little sunshine you brought into your kitchen... especially using a treasured doily. And homemade chocolate chip cookies - what a nice treat for your 'gardener'.

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi littlelagarden, Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will come again. I made elderberry syrup once for pancakes but didn't like the taste for that. This year I am drying some flowers to make elderberry/mint tea to try to stay health this winter. I also want to make some of that syrup they make to take to help stay well. Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Nutmeg gardener, Thanks! Why do we have to have all these pests to ruin our fun! Thanks for visiting! Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi vicki, Thanks! This is only the second year or so for my cherry tree and it is small. It had a few cherrys on it but something got it. I bought a bird net and will be prepared for next year!! thanks for visiting! Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Shawn Ann, It is just finding the time to get out there and do the beetle duty! I hope they don't ruin our raspberries. Do you still get raspberries when they shred the leaves so bad? Thanks for visiting! Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Robin, Thanks. I sure hope I have a great garden harvest year. So impatient as it takes so long! Glad you could visit! Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Lisa, Thanks. Come on over and enjoy a cookie and cup of tea! My "wonderful gardener" will share! I do love homemade items for the house and especially from the people I know. Thanks for visiting! Nancy

stoneyacres said...

Wow what a great looking garden you have. I have to admit I'm quite jealous a the moment. With the move ours just doesn't look up to snuff this year. But yours looks fantastic!!

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi stoneyacres, Thanks! I was just looking at yours and it looks like you will have quite a harvest soon as long as everything goes well! Glad you could visit! Nancy

kitsapFG said...

Your green thumb is really showing! The garden and yard looks absolutely lush and productive. Well done!

Lots of yummy harvests for you this week - but the raspberries look most tempting of the lot. Not sure what to advise on those beans. I would maybe just keep watching how they are doing and only take the cover off if they appear to be truly struggling.

Shawn Ann said...

I am actually getting quite a few raspberries right now. I put beetle traps out but they don't seem to be working. Maybe all the rain has washed the scent away.

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi kitsapFG, Thank you for your input on the beans. A few are flowering so maybe I will get some beans but I imagine being squashed like that is not the best thing! Maybe we can figure out something. The beetles are getting worse so at least they are protected from them! Thanks for visiting! Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Shawn Ann, I did beetle duty about four times today. They are thicker now than when they first started. I had read once that the traps attract the beetles but I don't know if that is true. Be glad when they move on! Thanks for visiting! Nancy

Anonymous said...

Oh I am so so glad we do not have Japanese beetles here. When I visit mom I help pick the beetles off things. Man, they are thick on some plants. Your chard and kale looks great! And you bowl of raspberries is beautiful. Your carrots look so so healthy. AND WOE the elder bushes are covered with flowers! Lovely! Your vase of yarrow is so beautiful. I love yarrow. Enjoy your gardens and your harvests!

Julie said...

Look at those lovely, lush tomato plants! Your harvests look wonderful.. especially those raspberries and all the greens. Good look with the bug patrol!

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi emilysincerly, Thanks! I am not sure I would swap the beetles for some of the things you have there! LOL They sure are a nuisance though! Glad you could visit! Nancy

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Julie, Thanks! We all wish for perfect gardens, don't we!! So much to learn and remember! Thanks for visiting! Come again! Nancy

Connie said...

Hi Nancy, God has certainly blessed you with a green thumb. Your garden is amazing. As for Swiss Chard I've never tasted it, but I heard that it is very good for you.
Thanks for stopping by and for all the many times you have put a smile on my face with your lovely comments. Good luck on the give-a-way.
Your blogging sister, Connie :)

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi Connie, I don't know about a green thumb but I love to garden and there is always something to learn! Glad you could visit! Come again! Nancy

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Your garden is so healthy, I'm not your gardener, but I took a cookie anyway....Yum!

Carol

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi The Polka Dot Closet, Come on back and I will give you another cookie and a cup of tea with it!! Thanks for visiting! Nancy

lil red hen said...

Oh your plants look so good! I really enjoy seeing what a garden should look like! :) No commercially produced veggies can taste as good as home grown, although I know we wouldn't have fresh fruits and veggies without them.

I think we may have an elderberry bush growing beside one of the chicken houses. Do they grow wild? I'll have to write about it and maybe someone can tell me what it is.

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Hi lil red hen, Thank you! Elderberry bushes grow along side the roads here so you may very well have one beside your chicken house. Glad you would visit. Come again. Nancy

farmhouse-story said...

love the carrots growingon the deck, nancy! your elderberry bush is gorgeous:) your veggies look yummy...except the kale-yuk! happy weekend!

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

Thanks lynn, We have clay soil so the boxes on the deck allow them the depth they need to grow. I was trying to learn to like Kale as know it is so good for you but I haven't succeeded very well yet! Thanks for visiting! Nancy

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