Update on flora
It's been a little while since I last talked about the stuff that's (purposely) growing in our yard.
--The flowers in front are doing okay. They're not as full as last year, but I think that's a combination of my father not feeding them that much and, of course, the really hot spell we had about a month ago. The impatiens back by the porch are pretty full, at least, and the ones at the front (read: the ones completely baked in the high temperatures) recovered and are doing nicely. The violas were a bust, though. They've grown, but not a lot, and the flowers have a hard time staying upright.
--The potted plants are doing well. The columbine never bloomed again, but its greenery is full. The geranium's blooms just died off, but it had been going strong for a while and I'm thinking it might bloom again. The bluebird, wow. It's so tall. I think we were thinking it might trail, but no. And the viola we planted here is doing just fine. In the smaller pot, the zinnia was so big it was tipping over; I kept grabbing more soil out of the tray dad had used for the vegetable seedlings to prop it up, which has helped. The double impatiens are plugging on; there's always a handful of pretty blooms on it, though much of it is rather brown.
--My strawberries were doing well up until a few days ago, when I chose not to water it since it had been wet over the weekend; it promptly dried out. Whoops. I'm hoping it'll still produce fruit, though a number of the leaves turned brown. With the other (still-)hanging baskets, the petunias are wonderful. They never ceased being full and pretty. The fuchsia is coming back after nearly dying off in the heat.
--Our vegetables. The cucumber plant is the big winner, though considering I just read that they love super-hot weather, it's no wonder. Dad brought a few cucumbers to his friend's house last week, and the friend said we'd let them get too large. Oh. Whoops. Our thinking was that we'd leave them until they got uniformly dark green, but apparently that's not going to happen with the ones we have. Also, at least one of them turned orange. They're nice to have around, though, and I've made several different salads out of them. The lone pepper plant is starting to bloom, finally; sure took it long enough. Since I'm not a huge pepper fan it doesn't bother me much, but I know dad's disappointed. As for the tomatoes, they are *finally* starting to change color. We've had a monster fruit hanging there for a while. It's bigger than my hand. I noticed a few days ago that it seemed to have the slightest orange tint, and when dad went out to check he confirmed it. Good. This morning when I went out I saw that two more were also turning orange. It's about time. Grocery store tomatoes are so mealy.
--And then there's apparently surprise cucumbers growing in our neighbors' bushes. Like, I can see this bush from the laundry room, and I'm thinking, wow, that's quite a weed they have there. (We really can't talk. I weeded the side of the house the other day and our weeds, while different, were no less prolific.) And then I noticed how big and leafy it is--and it appeared to have tendrils coming off it. Wow, that really looks like our cucumber plant. And the other day, I swear I saw a blossom appear. Heh. I kind of wonder if a critter didn't manage to snatch part of one of our plants and eat it under their bush, transferring seeds. Just before I went out to water, I saw one of the neighbors standing near the edge of his yard, and he kind of looked like he was looking at our plants; after I finished, he came back out and went over to the side with the weed. Yeah, you probably have surprise cucumbers. Hope you'll eat them. If not, trust me, the critters will be along.
--The flowers in front are doing okay. They're not as full as last year, but I think that's a combination of my father not feeding them that much and, of course, the really hot spell we had about a month ago. The impatiens back by the porch are pretty full, at least, and the ones at the front (read: the ones completely baked in the high temperatures) recovered and are doing nicely. The violas were a bust, though. They've grown, but not a lot, and the flowers have a hard time staying upright.
--The potted plants are doing well. The columbine never bloomed again, but its greenery is full. The geranium's blooms just died off, but it had been going strong for a while and I'm thinking it might bloom again. The bluebird, wow. It's so tall. I think we were thinking it might trail, but no. And the viola we planted here is doing just fine. In the smaller pot, the zinnia was so big it was tipping over; I kept grabbing more soil out of the tray dad had used for the vegetable seedlings to prop it up, which has helped. The double impatiens are plugging on; there's always a handful of pretty blooms on it, though much of it is rather brown.
--My strawberries were doing well up until a few days ago, when I chose not to water it since it had been wet over the weekend; it promptly dried out. Whoops. I'm hoping it'll still produce fruit, though a number of the leaves turned brown. With the other (still-)hanging baskets, the petunias are wonderful. They never ceased being full and pretty. The fuchsia is coming back after nearly dying off in the heat.
--Our vegetables. The cucumber plant is the big winner, though considering I just read that they love super-hot weather, it's no wonder. Dad brought a few cucumbers to his friend's house last week, and the friend said we'd let them get too large. Oh. Whoops. Our thinking was that we'd leave them until they got uniformly dark green, but apparently that's not going to happen with the ones we have. Also, at least one of them turned orange. They're nice to have around, though, and I've made several different salads out of them. The lone pepper plant is starting to bloom, finally; sure took it long enough. Since I'm not a huge pepper fan it doesn't bother me much, but I know dad's disappointed. As for the tomatoes, they are *finally* starting to change color. We've had a monster fruit hanging there for a while. It's bigger than my hand. I noticed a few days ago that it seemed to have the slightest orange tint, and when dad went out to check he confirmed it. Good. This morning when I went out I saw that two more were also turning orange. It's about time. Grocery store tomatoes are so mealy.
--And then there's apparently surprise cucumbers growing in our neighbors' bushes. Like, I can see this bush from the laundry room, and I'm thinking, wow, that's quite a weed they have there. (We really can't talk. I weeded the side of the house the other day and our weeds, while different, were no less prolific.) And then I noticed how big and leafy it is--and it appeared to have tendrils coming off it. Wow, that really looks like our cucumber plant. And the other day, I swear I saw a blossom appear. Heh. I kind of wonder if a critter didn't manage to snatch part of one of our plants and eat it under their bush, transferring seeds. Just before I went out to water, I saw one of the neighbors standing near the edge of his yard, and he kind of looked like he was looking at our plants; after I finished, he came back out and went over to the side with the weed. Yeah, you probably have surprise cucumbers. Hope you'll eat them. If not, trust me, the critters will be along.