The Monstrosity in the Garden

I am referring of course to this;

This is a wild amalgamation of the grape vine and pole beans with a few morning glories who crept in when I wasn't paying attention.

 A combination of this years heat and wet weather contributed to the grape vines growth spurt. And it has been severely pruned twice this summer- just think where it would be if it hadn't. 

At least the beans have finally started flowering. 

You can see the bean blossoms superimposed on a morning glory. 

The morning glory is also snaking along the ground too. The petunias are almost the same purple as the morning glory.

Roma VFs are Wimps

Of all the tomatillo varieties in my garden, they are the only ones with blossom end rot. 

Adding to the Urban Forest

 

In October we removed the cottonwood and apple tree from the backyard. Yesterday we replaced them with a Bur Oak (above) and an Amur Maple (below).

 

It will take decades for them to reach the size the other two were, but it's a start.

First Ripe Tomato

Raspberries

 The smallest of many canes. Yum!

What's Growing in the Garden

 We've had grey skies for close to a week; the forests in northern Saskatchewan are on fire and the prevailing westerlys are blowing the smoke this way. I hear close to five thousand people have been evacuated from the path of the fire.

Smoke-grey skies -literally.

 Of course, thunderstorms are predicted for tonight so there may be clouds up there too.

Garlic curls.

 I hear garlic shoots are very tasty cut into salads or added to dishes. I can't say in all the years I've had garlic in the garden I've ever thought of doing that. But I will now.
 

Pea blossoms.

 The peas are blooming, and I found one or two on the beans, but those blossoms were hiding when I went to photograph them.

Ground cherry? Or tomatillo?

 I have both a tomatillo and a ground cherry but I can't remember which is which. Either way, they are both blooming, but this one is a show-off with dozens of bright blooms.

Peppers

 More blooms on the peppers.

There are cages on those tomatoes.

 The tomatoes have grown considerably since they were planted.

Cherry tomatoes.

 Lots of green tomatoes too -lucky us.

Ripe raspberries.

 Tasty berries. We've sampled them already.

Cheerful red birdhouse.

 And finally, after all these years, we have something growing in the bird house.

Mama

 Maman wren is busy even tho' I don't hear the sounds of chicks yet. The adults have been singing in the yard for weeks now. It is such a happy sound.

I spent ages trying to get a pictue of the female flying into her house and finally managed this one. At least she picked a better location than the last wren nest I found out about.

Midsummer

Echinacea

When You Turn Your Back

Things can grow out of control.  We had a burst of hot weather and this burdock went crazy. It took the both of us to pull this out. 

Burrs and slugs. 

That Took Aaaa-ges

I planted these morning glories in May. I was starting to think the squirrels had eaten them. 

Glossy Green Tomatoes

I like the look of these. 

Roses and Petals

Morden Sunrise amongst wind-shattered peonies. We has so much wind last weekend, it's amazing anything is still standing.

Happy Canada Day!

It has been a miserable, wet, windy day; we have yet to reach our forecast high of 17. I have only been out of the house briefly whereas on most Canada Days I am out all day enjoying the festivities somewhere.

I have a very cheerful song tho', co-written by Chris Hadfield, arguably one of our most famous Canadians, and his brother.

Enjoy what ever you are doing today; one of the benefits of living in this grand country.

Wild Roses and an Early Morning Glory

Morning Glories

I don't remember planting Morning Glories along the side of the house, but shortly after we finished filling the moat, I found this one growing beside the path. I moved it closer to the trellis, and forgot about it until I saw the first flower on Monday.

The plant grows several inches each day -I guess the last burst of warm weather has been great for it.

There are other Morning Glory plants struggling to stay alive in the grapevine. At least I have a vague memory of planting those ones. I'm not totally to the point of hiding my own Easter eggs.

Sour Cherries

Mom and Dad have had this cherry tree for years but this is the first year it's done anything like this. 

A bumper crop for sure. P

In The Garden

The tomatoes are doing their thing, the tomatillos are doing theirs, there are ground cherries on the ground and hollyhocks blooming in the lane. 

Inconspicuous or Not

Ours is the only tent in a sea of RVs. And these you see are the little ones. 

Favourite Flowers

Next to Black-Eyed Susans, daisies are my favourite flowers. I love it when there are huge swathes in yards. It feels so summery!

Hellooooo Summer

Last week was absolutely wonderful. The only day without sun was Friday, when we had an inch of rain.
Maybe we have finally beaten our bout with unseasonably low temperatures. We have been sitting below normal, temperature wise, since November.
This coming week looks highly promising as well, which makes everyone happy.

I took this picture as I rode to work yesterday. This is the first time this summer I have seem hot-air balloons.
I just hope it lasts a long time. A nice autumn would be great after the chilly summer we just had.

A Home for Elves?

The cottonwood on the parking pad is not a healthy tree. There have been fungi growing on it in the past, but today we found more than ever before.
If I were a fanciful sort of person, I would imagine a fairy or an elf lived here and this was the overhang for their front door.


And here are their steps to the top of the tree...