Kiowa and Quachita Blackberries May 28, 2013

Still lots of unripened berries on the vines.  I will make some jam and jelly next weekend.  I'm dreading the next step which is removing the canes.  Berries grow on one year old wood.  After they have produced berries the canes have to be removed.  That will be some stickery, painful work.  With the little bit of cleaning up I did this weekend I have scratches, bruises, and bug bites all over my legs.  Not very attractive.

Weekend at the Farm May 25 - 27, 2013

This is Satin Marina Althea.  I have  two of them.  One of them is growing in partial shade, and the other one is growing in full sun.  The one in partial shade is bigger and looks healthier looking.  It's hard to get established in the hot Texas sun.  The color of the flowers are blue with a red throat.  Really pretty.

• I put a big dent in spring clean up this weekend.  I pulled up spent flowers, cut away plants flopping over into the paths, weeded, and clipped.  I hauled 10, 20, maybe 30 wheel barrows of greenery to the compost pile.  And I've started laying cut up greenery down in my beds as mulch. It's good for the soil and rots quickly, and nothing grows underneath it.
• Pulled up blackberry vines that spring up in all the wrong places.
• The pine cone ginger is beginning to emerge.  It gets a late start!
• The elephant ear bulbs I planted in the Shade Garden have shot up several leaves, sort of a blue-green color.
• The zinnia seeds that fell to the ground last summer are starting to sprout.  The Nigella is going to seed, the daffodil greenery is almost completely brown (I can finally clean that mess up).  The Giant Dutchman's Pipe (pipevine) is really going growing well this year.  And I finally see the Coral Vine around the Orchard arbor springing to life. 
• I watered lots of plants with my bucket and my rain water.  And I fertilized here and there.  
• Watered with the hose many of my roses in the Rose Garden, and I fertilized them as well.  Next week I will do the other half of the Rose Garden.  They need a good drink of water every once in a while.
• Cleaned house on Sunday.
• Sat outside and watched lightening bugs Saturday night.
• The armadillos are nuisance.  There are plenty of spaces wide enough for them to get into the yard, but last year they never figured it out.  This year they are turning everything upside down.
• Picked lots of baby patty pan squashes and green beans from the garden.  Cooked them in chicken stock with spinach, fresh thyme, chives, oregano, lemon balm, and rosemary from the Herb Garden.  Tossed with pasta and Parmesan - delicious.
• Gathered squash blossoms from the garden, stuffed them with Parmesan, fresh herbs, and mozzarella.  Mom and I dipped them in batter and fried them.  Served them to my family with a little arugula tossed in lemon dressing on Monday for a little snack.  Never made them before.  They are around for such a short time every year that it makes them seem kind of special.
• My mom, sisters, and I made blackberry jelly on Monday (Memorial Day).  We all went down to the Orchard and picked the berries.  Fun day.  Still lots of unripe berries.  I will make more jelly or maybe jam next weekend.  Improvement for next time:  I didn't think we needed to bother with skimming off the foam.  That was a mistake.  It will be prettier without the foam clouding up the jelly. 
• I have two varieties of blackberries:  Kiowa and Quachita.  Kiowa has thorns, and it is really aggressive.  But it has huge berries.  Quachita is a thornless variety.  The berries are smaller, and they ripen later than Kiowa.

Butterfly Bush May 19, 2013

Each little floret is a piece of nectar heaven. 

Growing Pumpkins May 19, 2013

This is my third attempt to grow pumpkins.  This time I started in early spring.  The other two times I planted the seeds in the fall thinking I'd get some fall pumpkins.  That didn't work out, not sure why they didn't prosper.  They always start out looking exceedingly healthy - huge gorgeous leaves, lots of flowers... But I have quite a few baby pumpkins now, so maybe I'll be carving a pumpkin in October!

 

Bees Coming Home for the Night.

It is dusk, and they are all waiting in line to get into the hive for the night.

Parsley Going to Seed May 19, 2013

I have scads of curley leaf parsely going to seed in the Orchard.  I grow it for the butterflies that lay their eggs on the parlsey.  It pays off in the summertime.  August in particular is butterfly season.  The air will be alive with butterflies.  I grow many larval food plants that are attractive to butterlies.  I grow pipevine, parlsey, fennel, cannas, senna, passion vine, spice bush, citrus, milkweed, and sun flower just to name a few.

St. John's Wort May 19, 2013

My St. John's Wort is blooming.  It is a mounding, evergreen spring bloomer.  I have several shrubs of it growing in my Medicine Garden because, although my variety has only ornamental value, many varieties are used medicinally to cure depression.  The leaves and flowers can be dried and used to make teas and tinctures.