Late August Harvest

I've been really thrilled with how the well the vegetable garden has performed this year.  Better than all previous years and I'm sure it was the hot sunny weather we've had all summer long.  It's been really dry so I've had to hand water almost every day, but this week we are experiencing lots of rain, which has been a refreshing change. 

The tomatoes have been outstanding and I've certainly been in competition with squirrels to harvest them.  I've made some tomato sauce bolongese with them and we've been having tomato salads almost every night.  I've got 8 varieties planted and the one that seems to be sweetest and most tasty is a heirloom called the German Stripe. 

We've had more than enough cukes, squash, and zucchini.  The summer squash is dying off now from powdery mildew and I'm OK with that.... we've had quite enough squash thank you very much!  I'll be pulling up the spent plants sometimes this week.

Eggplant has been abundant as well.  YUMMY!  I adore eggplant parmesan and it freezes well too.  There are also more green beans than we can eat.  I've let a bunch get mature seeds so I can dry them and hopefully plant the seeds next summer.

The perennial garden is really slowing down too.  There is so much that has gotten brown, died back, and gone to seed so much earlier than usual, but I kind of expected that since we had such a warm spring and everything seemed to be about 3 weeks ahead from previous years.  Thank goodness for black-eyed Susans otherwise we wouldn't have much color in the flower bed right now, since I don't put in mums until after Labor Day.

I was delighted by seeing this surprise in the backyard bed.  (Sorry the picture is so bad, but the light was waning.) 

I stuck this amarylis plant in the ground because I couldn't kill it even though it had long since bloomed last January.  To my amazement it bloomed again August.  What a nice surprise!  The garden although frustrating at times always brings me much joy and wonder!

Mid Summer Island Bed

My front island perennial bed looks best in late-spring (when the peonies and fox gloves are blooming) and mid-summer when the phlox, cone flowers, and rudbeckia take center stage.  Mid-summer can also be a time when the garden starts to show signs of stress from the heat, humidity, and pests.  With mid-summer comes humid weather, which means that controlling fungus and powdery mildew can be a full time job, but even with the foliage not looking its best the blooms of mid-summer usually puts on a lovely show. 

I've got several varieties of phlox.  Some of them are new cultivars that resist fungus, but most of what I have are older varieties that lose most of their lower leaves to disease every summer.  The one is my favorite (sorry don't know its name).  I love the color and how tall it is - almost as tall as me (5'2")!. 

Notice the darn Japanese beetle munching away.... grrrrrr....

Since cone flowers are native to America not much bothers these hardy plants.  I've got purple, pink, peach, and green blooms in this bed (sorry folks I don't know their common or botanical names). 

The rudbeckia (also native) has lots of buds and should be blooming in a few days (sorry no picture).

Larkspur is new to my garden this year.  I love how they look so similiar to delphiniums (some people think they are the same but they are not).  Larkspur blooms later and longer than delphiniums.  They don't have as a deep a color as the delphinium, but are tall and sturdy and bit more resistant to disease.

Hollyhocks are one of my all time favorite flowers.  I planted them last year and this year they are blooming for the first time.  Only one has started blooming, but 2 others are not too far behind.  I planted them at the back of the bed knowing they are tall plants, but I've been disappointed so far in their size.  They are probably only 3 feet tall and the flowers are smaller than I expected.  They aren't done blooming or growing for the season so I hope they will get bigger (does anyone have any idea why they are so small?)

These sweet coreopsis with grassy foliage and small lavender flowers is planted at the very front of the bed.  I have mixed feelings about it.  The flowers are so small you really only notice them unless you get close up and the foliage is a bit messy looking to me.  I'm undecided as to whether they are staying or being moved.  I'm thinking of replacing them with something that has a bit more impact.  Any ideas anyone?

Around the large oak tree I've planted reblooming daylilies in all different colors and varieties.  I need to take better pictures of them early in the day.  I usually go out with the camera late in the day as the blooms fade so I haven't captured them at their best, but they are really gorgeous.

The Endless Summer hydrangea is blooming really nicely this year.  Good thing too because I was ready pull it out.  I planted it 3 summers ago and this is the first time it has bloomed (and I haven't pruned it for fear that it wouldn't bloom). 

Finally at the back of the bed are tons of liatris.  I inherited them from the previous owner.  They were peppered throughout the bed with no rhyme or reason, and 2 springs ago I moved them all towards the back in a long row for impact.  I love they way they look.

This bed is still a work in progress.  I've got many more kinds of plants then I've listed in this post, but this is what is blooming right now. There are still plants in the back of the bed that are smaller and need to be moved up front since they are hiding behind the cone flowers and tall phlox.  These include the shasta daisies, salvia, and lamb's ear.  I've got that on my "to do" list for next spring.  As the summer goes by that list is growing and growing... but then again a garden is never done and that's what makes it so much fun!

Back from Cape Cod

At summer's end we always take a vacation the week before Labor Day. As usual this year we rented a cottage in Chatham on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The cottage is an adorable little beach cottage that is located within walking distance to a nature preserve and Forest Beach. The Forest Beach area is quintessential Cape Cod with sand dunes, marshes, and clapboard cottages. I dream of owning a summer cottage there some day.... well one can only dream... this is one of the most expensive neighborhoods on all of Cape Cod.

Here's a view from the outside of the cottage. I love the blue awnings and weathered look.

This is the dinning area - it looks like at one time it was a screened in porch. We sat here evenings and let the cool breeze blow through as we lit candles and played cards.

The living room.

The fireplace in the living room for cool evenings.

One of the bedrooms.

A very functional kitchen with original beadboard cabinets.


Another view of the living room.

A marina nearby the cottage in Harwich.

The lighthouse in Chatham.

Lighthouse beach - 3 great white sharks were spotted in the waters here while we were there!

This is what happens when you leave your lunch on the beach unattended while going for a dip in the ocean. It all starts with one hungry seagull. (This was not our lunch it belonged to someone near us).



Then a friend joins him for lunch.

Before you know it an entire flock is having a party. Look at the guy laying down in the background - the seagulls didn't even faze him. Amazing because they made a ton of noise.

Another view of Chatham Lighthouse Beach.



A visit to Monomoy Beach and Nature Preserve was loads of fun for Ellie.... you'll see why... below are the steps leading down to the beach. This picture was taken at low tide, but we've been there when the water was right up to the rocky cliffs at high tide.

A horse shoe crab has molted its shell.

Another view of Monomoy Nature Preserve Beach. There are tons of seals right off these shores, which is what brought the great white sharks in for a visit.


Ellie's absolutely favorite thing to do while visiting Monomoy Nature Preserve is to roll around in the seaweed and hide her favorite ball.










I love looking at all the beach cottages around Chatham. Some are large and grand while others are small and cozy. This one was grander than most and had a gorgeous garden.







This isn't a cottage but a family gathering shack. Right after this photo was taken the family that owned it pulled up, threw open the hurricane shutters and had a family barbecue for Labor Day. The shack is right on the beach and has been owned by a Chatham family for decades. It has no running water or electricity so they don't stay there overnight.
Some rocks on the Jeddy at Forest Beach.


Ellie's paw prints.

Another view of Forest Beach... this beach was a short walk from where we stayed for the week.

This shack is called a half way house. It's actually a historical landmark. These shacks were placed along the shore on Cape Cod for ship recked sailors in the late 1800s.

You see these blue boxes all over salt marshes in Cape Cod. They are used to lure and trap horse flies. The flies think it's a horse or cow and they are drawn in to the underside of it and can't escape -- dumb flies -- doesn't look like an animal to me.

Wild flowers growing along the fence at the Forest Beach Nature Preserve.

The salt marsh at Forest Beach.



A row of birdhouses in front of a beach cottage.




Another cottage....

This cottage is for sale at $800,000! It's tiny in size but because it's right on the beach it commands a high price.

More cottages in the Forest Beach area below....



























On the 2nd to the last day of our vacation we took a drive to Sandwich, Cape Cod (east of Chatham on the cape). I love this bird house.

A bridge that takes you from the marshes to the ocean beaches.

An osprey nest in Sandwich.

A boardwalk on the marsh in Sandwich, Cape Cod.

Another view of the boardwalk.

The rocky ocean waves in Sandwich.

A great place for kayaking in the salt marsh of Sandwich.




On our final day of vacation we stopped by the Bird Watchers store in Orleans, Cape Cod. I LOVE this store and have to hold back from buying everything in there. Here is Andy haming it up in front of the store with a huge pair of binoculars.


These are fused glass bird baths. I would love to have one.

While vacationing Andy and I did a lot of kayaking. We enjoyed it so much we bought our own. Here's Andy proudly displaying his new purchase. We bought 2 Wilderness Systems Pungo 120s. The lime green one is mine and the yellow is his. We should be able to kayak until early November at least. This weekend we hope to try them out for the first time.
I hope you enjoyed the tour of our Cape Cod vacation. I've got lots of catching up to do with my blogging and can't wait to read what you've all been up to.